Acalypha wilkesiana
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Tried and True Recommended by 3 Professionals
Common Name: Jacob's coat
Type: Broadleaf evergreen
Family: Euphorbiaceae
Zone: 10 to 11
Native Range: Pacific Islands
Height: 2 to 4 feet
Spread: 2 to 4 feet
Bloom Time: Seasonal bloomer
Bloom Color: Pink, Red
Bloom Description: Reddish-pink
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Unknown
Flowers: Showy Flowers
Leaves: Colorful, Evergreen
Uses: Suitable as Annual

Culture

Winter hardy to USDA Zone 10. In St. Louis, best grown as annual bedding plants or in containers which can be overwintered indoors. In the ground, grow in moist, average to moderately fertile, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. Best foliage color in full sun. Soils must be kept consistently moist. If soils dry out, rapid leaf drop usually occurs. Stems may be pinched to control size and shape and to promote bushiness. Take tip cuttings in late summer to overwinter. Container plants may also be overwintered as houseplants as long as they receive intense bright light and soils are kept uniformly moist.

Noteworthy Characteristics

Native to Fiji and neighboring South Pacific islands, copperleaf is an evergreen, often suckering, tropical shrub or subshrub that may grow to 10-15’ tall and as wide in frost free areas. It is typically grown as an annual in St. Louis where it will grow 2-4’ tall in a single growing season. As the common name suggests, this shrub is grown for its attractive foliage which features shiny, coarsely-toothed, oval to elliptic, bronze-green leaves (5-8” long) that are mottled with red and purple or red and bronze. Insignificant green flowers, sometimes tinged with reddish-pink, appear in slender spikes to 8” long. Species is named after Admiral Charles Wilkes who explored the South Pacific in the 1800s. Synonymous with A. tricolor.

Problems

White fly, mealy bugs, spider mites and various caterpillars are occasional visitors.

Garden Uses

Bedding plant, filler in borders or container plant.

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