Eucomis comosa 'Sparkling Burgundy'

Eucomis comosa 'Sparkling Burgundy' is the pineapple lily dressed for drama, a selection grown as much for the foliage as for the flowers. In spring the broad, strap-shaped leaves emerge a deep, glossy burgundy-red, the richest color of the season, then soften toward bronzed green as summer heat builds, holding a smoky, wine-stained cast that sets the plant apart from any ordinary green pineapple lily.

By midsummer a stout, maroon-flushed stem rises through the leaves, carrying a dense spike of small, star-shaped flowers in soft pink and white and topped, like all pineapple lilies, with a jaunty tuft of leafy bracts. The spike holds for weeks, ages to dusky rose, and gives way to purple-tinted seed pods that carry the show well into fall, excellent in the garden and long-lasting in a vase.

Compact at a foot and a half to two feet, 'Sparkling Burgundy' earns a spot at the front of a sunny border, in a gravel garden, or in a container where the dark foliage and curious flower spikes can be seen up close. The burgundy leaves make a superb foil for silver, chartreuse, and hot-colored neighbors, and a mass planting in a large pot reads as a bold piece of living sculpture on a terrace or by a door.

Grow 'Sparkling Burgundy' as you would any pineapple lily: full sun for the deepest leaf color, rich and well-drained soil, and free water through the growing season, easing off as the foliage dies down in fall. Hardy in the ground in USDA zones 7 through 9 with a winter mulch and a sheltered, sharply drained spot, the bulb can also be lifted and stored, or simply grown in a pot that overwinters under cover. Few bulbs pack this much color and character into so small a footprint.