A Reliable Stunner : Coleus


What plant likes sun or shade - is Fast Growing - Easy to Grow - Adds a visual POP to planters or beds?


the answer  :  Coleus
(Solenostemon scutellarioides )


'Sedona' Coleus - Planting by Melanie Granger

Coleus is a versatile foliage plant that is always at your service, no special requirements other than water and maybe a little pinching as the season progresses... and it thrives in part shade!

What's not to love?



It is an exuberant houseplant, a summertime dazzler and a fabuloso filler plant suitable for any and all applications...

It looks especially wonderful in pots. Place several together like this:

Inky Fingers Coleus, Chartreuse Sweet Potato Vine and others - by Melanie Granger


or in a low, wide mouth planter with ferns:


Or you can plant it in shady plant bed alongside the perennial Ladies Mantle ( alchemilla mollis):


Alabama Sunset Coleus with Ladies Mantle

Or you plant it beneath larger plants - as I did below with a weeping blue atlas cedar.

Coleus sports a wide range of leaf types, colors, and color patterns....Below is one of my faves - Coleus 'Kiwi Fern' - same leaf type as 'Inky Fingers' shown above.


Coleus Kiwi fern - courtesy HMA plants


Coleus plants are tender perennials. They do best in temperatures above 55 degrees F. And remember to pinch off the Flower buds as soon as they develop so they keep producing beautiful leaves......


I love the pink leaf varieties. They make a  luscious blend:


My favorite pink coleus is Pink Chaos. This 18 inch high plant has long weeping leaves of iridescent pink, mint green and cream. It can tolerate some sun although a location with morning sun and afternoon shade is best.

Look at Proven Winners website for more info

I planted it in a flower bed along with double impatiens, angelonia, euphorbia 'Diamond Frost':

Jan Johnsen  - Design

and it looks great in pots with grasses and flowers as well (photo from Proven Winners) :


There are so many types of coleus that you can plant a vibrant coleus garden in a rainbow of colors in that shady corner of yours....a great site to see photos of many coleus varieties is HMAplants.

Comments

  1. Gatsbys GardensJuly 6, 2010 at 9:12 AM

    I grow many coleus and a couple of my favorites are Sedona and Inky Fingers - two I always recommend. I am doing some different ones this year, like Gay's Delight, Lemon Twist and Red Velvet. Great pictures!

    Eileen

    ReplyDelete
  2. Beverly SeatonJuly 7, 2010 at 3:40 AM

    Our local nursery creates lots of new coleus--this year it'd a curly leafed rusty red called Gnash Rambler that caught my attention. But my all-time favorite is Inky Pink.

    ReplyDelete
  3. KynaJuly 7, 2010 at 8:33 AM

    I LOVE coleus. I could have nothing but coleus and be happy. And usually I'm the type of person to buy plants for the flowers, not the foliage! lol

    ReplyDelete
  4. Jan JohnsenJuly 7, 2010 at 10:54 AM

    and to think coleus was viewed as a lowly houseplant....Coleus rules.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Shyra @ eCarportOctober 1, 2012 at 11:37 AM

    Wow! Just a great feature. I have one of these in my garden. So cool. Thanks a lot for this.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jan JohnsenOctober 1, 2012 at 2:20 PM

      Hi Shyra - Coleus rocks! and never disappoints.....

      Delete
  6. AnonymousDecember 16, 2012 at 10:13 AM

    I stumbled upon your blog while searching for Coleus plants. These are incredibly beautiful. I do hope to find at least some of them here in the Philippines. Been on the look-out for sellers of Coleus, but a lot of garden stores here do not sell them.

    Glad to see these colorful varieties. Thank you for posting them. =)

    ReplyDelete
  7. UnknownNovember 7, 2013 at 2:06 AM

    Creating an outstanding stuff need a dedication and promising to our work. to do it in the awesome way.
    Beds and Mattresses shop

    ReplyDelete

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