Best Grey Foliage Plants

Plants with grey foliage are bound to look ethereal and striking in any garden.

The colour grey is broadly defined as a neutral or achromatic colour normally associated with indifference, uncertainty, modesty and boredom, and is apparently not a favourite colour if compared to other colours. This, however, is definitely not true in the world of flora!

The colour of most grey-foliaged plants intensifies in the cold months and if you study them closely, you will notice cool undertones of blue, or hot undertones of yellow and red which gives an interesting variation. Grey plants glow in the dark and light up gloomy places in daylight. Without the strong contrast of grey leaves, other plants would just not look as good.

Grey-leaved plants come in many shapes and sizes and can be used as large focal plants, for hedging and screening, in perennial flower borders, as groundcovers, in containers, in the rock or succulent garden and for topiary work. The grey leaves are not always dominant as lots of them also flower spectacularly when it is their season to do it!

Large Grey Accents

Juniperus scopulorum ‘Skyrocket’

If you need a tall focal plant in a small garden or want to create drama with striking ‘pillars’ in a formal design, go for this evergreen slender conifer with its steel-blue foliage. Drought, wind and frost resistant. Size 8m x 75cm.

Brachylaena discolor (coast silver oak)

This is an indigenous, evergreen tree which naturally branches out low down. It can easily be trained into a dense hedge. The leaves are dark green and glossy with a silvery-white flipside which give the plant an elegant grey appearance from afar. Drought, wind and frost resistant. This fast grower can reach a height of 8m.

Bismarckia nobilis

This is a rare and extremely striking palm species hailing from Madagascar. From a thick grey trunk full of character, sprouts huge fan-shaped, steel-blue fronds. It has a slow to moderate growth tempo. Very frost and cold hardy. Size can be 21m x 3-5m.

Weird and Wonderful Grey Plants

Agave parryi (artichoke agave)

An award-winning agave producing very striking rosettes of rigid silvery-blue leaves tipped and edged with short, dark spines. Great accent plant to use in containers, or in rock and grass gardens. It is cold-hardy and tolerates full sun and light shade. Size 30 – 60cm x 60 – 90cm.

Echeveria runyonii ‘Topsy Turvy’

Stemless rosette-forming succulent which in time becomes a dense groundcover and is great for pots too. The leaf colour is powdery blue-grey with a waxy sheen. More interest is supplied with the leaves rolling downwards along their length, with tips pointing upwards towards the centre of each rosette. Long stems with starry orange or yellow flowers appear in summer and autumn. Quite drought tolerant, but regular watering in summer will keep it lush and happy. Height 20cm.

Kalanchoe beharensis (felt bush)

Quite a curiosity to have in a large container or as a contrasting accent plant in the garden, is this lovely native from Madagascar! It has a tree-like appearance with a stout, knotted stem. The large leaves with their velvety texture are triangular, irregularly lobed, and look like they have been folded. The leaf edges are undulated. Soft hairs cover the leaves which have a brownish sheen on the upper side and are grey beneath. Mature plants can produce numerous urn-shaped, greenish-pink to greenish-yellow flowers arranged in clusters on long stems in winter.

Plant in a position with morning sun and afternoon shade to prevent sunburn on the leaves. Do not overwater or the leaves might start rotting. Can reach a height of 3m.

Superb Grey Shrubs

Correa alba (white correa)

Truly a plant for all seasons and climates with many worthy attributes. The growth habit is dense and rounded and the grey leaves are leathery and tough. Creamy bell-shaped flowers appear throughout the year with a peak season in autumn and winter. Not at all fussy about soil types. Drought-tolerant when mature. Tolerant of salt spray and frost. Size about 1.5m x 1.5m.

Teucrium fruticans (bush germandera)

This sturdy shrub with aromatic grey-green leaves with silvery undersides really glows in the landscape. It can be allowed to grow naturally in mixed borders, or can be shaped into hedges or used for topiary work. Tiny lavender-blue flowers are bee magnets and appear almost throughout the year. Suitable to alkaline soils. Drought-, wind- and salt spray-tolerant. Virtually disease and pest free. Size about 1.5m x 2m

Salvia africana (blue African sage)

This soft, greyish, hairy and very aromatic multi-stemmed beauty grows naturally in sandy slopes and flats from Namaqualand in the Northern Cape to Caledon in the Western Cape and is a perfect addition to a fynbos garden. Two-tone sky-blue and white flowers in whorls, crowd the tips of the stems from midwinter to midsummer. Perfect for full sun. Frost- and cold-tolerant. Height 2m.

Other grey-foliaged shrubs to plant include:

• Chenopodium robertianum (salt bush)
• Westringia fruticosa (Australian rosemary)
• Helichrysum petiolare (liquorice plant)
• Convolvulus cneorum (silver bush).

READ MORE: Take a look at our list of the best colourful winter shrubs.

More greys to blow you away

Senecio candicans ‘Angel Wings’

A recent new release with enormous silvery or grey-white leaves with a soft and downy texture. It has a short period of dormancy in winter, only to sprout with renewed vigour in spring. This is simply a must-have grey-foliaged plant. Very drought-hardy once established. Frost tender. Height 40cm.

Coleus argentatus (silver spurflower)

A vigorous and very attractive shrub with large, velvety leaves in a sage-green to silver colour which is perfect to add glow to shade. Size 1m high with a spread of about 1.5m wide.

Stachys byzantina (lamb’s ears)

A really smart groundcover to use as a bordering option with silver-grey, soft and velvety leaves which complements any plant growing near or behind it. Trouble-free and rapid grower which forms a dense mat along the ground. Height 40cm.

Leucophyta brownii (cushion bush)

An evergreen shrub with an unusual, rounded shape in an iridescent grey colour. Downy, silver-white stems cross each other, and the fragrant grey leaves are small and scale-like. It is a perfect candidate to shape into spheres. If not, you will see small, round terminal white flower heads of pale-yellow flowers aging to a cream colour in late summer. Slow growing and frost tender. Moderate water needs when established. Height 50cm – 100cm.

READ MORE: Learn all about Mangaves, a new succulent that it taking the world by storm.