Not that specific cultivar but there are several purple or chocolate leaved asperas on the market, Plum Passion being the most widely marketed variety. There is also some discussion that Burgundy Bliss is just a reintroduction of Plum Passion under another name to avoid patent rights.

These have been around for a while (at least 5 years) but as they are not hardy for most of the country - forget any allusions to zone 5 hardiness, this is a firm zone 7 plant! - chances are many have not seen it or encountered it in stores.

Asperas are relatively common here. Big bold plants with striking foliage, purple or not, and often fuzzy. They produce large lace cap flowers on old wood; in PNW soils blue fertile florets surrounded by pale, almost white sterile florets.

I have only seen it in pictures for the last few years. BP popped into the scene some time after Plum Passion was released, then replaced with Plum Passion Improved by Monrovia. Most asperas are big (>= 6 feet) and not very winter hardy. They would not survive my zone 8 winters without getting zapped to the ground often. I would not try them unless you can keep them very well protected somehow, like a heated greenhouse or some such stuff and keep them there all the time or in pots. They tend to be advertised as 6' tall but some can get to 10 feet. Golden Needle is probably the more compact one that I can remember (sometimes advertised 4-6' high)..

I would not try them unless you can keep them very well protected somehow, like a heated greenhouse or some such stuff and keep them there all the time or in pots.

Nope. My hardiness zone would not 'permit' it. (If I drove 3.5 hours south I could get to a zone 7 CDN)(As well it is too large for our garden.)

I was just curious about the plant.

The foliage does look different and nice though.