This shrub is deciduous so it will lose all its leaves in autumn, then fresh new foliage appears again each spring.

• Position: full sun to part shade
• Soil: any moderately fertile, reliably moist soil
• Rate of growth: fast-growing
• Flowering period: May to June
• Hardiness: fully hardy
  
  Offering year-round colour and interest, this tough and undemanding shrub can be used as a stand-alone specimen, an informal screen, or an eye-catching addition to mixed borders. Each spring, its new foliage emerges with a bright pink flush, but this soon fades to reveal the leaves green and cream variegations. These add tonal interest to mixed planting schemes throughout the summer, but in the autumn, the leaves start to develop reddish tints again, and these intensify as the season progresses. Therefore, before they are shed at the end of the growing season (and before the skeleton of bright red stems is revealed), the leaves are often an intense shade of purple-pink.
  
  Garden care: In March cut the stems back hard to within 5-7cm (2-3in) from the ground and apply a generous 5-7cm (2-3in) mulch of well-rotted garden compost or horse manure around the base of the plant.