Full sun to partial shade; low water. Purple color is best in full sun. Deciduous shrub grows to 12-15ft high and wide. Oval, dark purple foliage with red veins and stems. Leaf margins are edged with a thin line of red. Leaves turn scarlet in autumn. Holds its purple colors through most of the summer. Panicles if small, insignificant flowers that give the shrub a smoke-like appearance. Flowers late spring to early summer.