This is another plant that reminds me of Grandma Adelman. As I recall, she had a few nestled in and amongst those red geraniums in her porch that she took outside during the growing season where they prospered. In the fall, she brought them back inside where they overwintered in her three season porch. Her coleus variety was pink and green although they come in many varieties and colors.
Coleus are in the Lamiaceae, or mint, family and are also known as painted nettle or poor man’s croton in some parts of the country. They were first discovered in the mountains of Java in Indonesia and were a popular plant in Victorian gardens. Today, they are cultivated as an ornamental due to their bright foliage and outside, most thrive in total shade. As such, folks often plant them in their front porch arrangements where they stay shaded most of the day. They come in all manner of color, leaf shape and size. Leaf colors include green, yellow, pink, red, purple and maroon. They grow rather quickly so be mindful of how close you place them to other plants in your pots and gardens. The occasional bloom is at the end of long stalks which I usually remove to keep the foliage growing nicely.
They can be started from seed although most folks buy established plants at the nursery. They shouldn’t be placed outside until after the last frost and kept out of the wind as their stems are quite fragile. They do best in moist well-drained soil and benefit from a fertilizer in mid-summer. Fall cuttings will root nicely in the house which quickly adds to your menagerie of indoor plants. Pests to watch out for include aphids, mealy bug and whiteflies. Overwatering can cause stem or root rot.
There are over 600 varieties, most cultivated for shade but some for full sun. Popular shade varieties include: Brilliancy (red leaves with ruffled green edges), Fishnet Stockings (lime green leaves and dark purple veins), Mardi Gras (red, green and yellow leaves) & Japanese Giant (burgundy leaves with pink and purple veining). Sun varieties include: Pineapple (lime-gold leaves and burgundy stems), Solar Shadow (green leaves and dark red edges and tips) and Alabama Sunset (brick red leaves with yellow edges). Leaf texture is another area for choice as their leaves come large, small, twisted, elongated, scalloped, lobed, finger-like and one even resembling a duck’s foot. They can be upright, round or trailing in nature. I can picture most of them from these descriptions so am assuming many are available in our area greenhouses.
Because of their diversity they are great plants to use if garden design is part of your repertoire (i.e. color contrast, complementing, sizing, diversity, etc.). Remember to pay close attention to the shade or sun loving notation on the plant so you don’t plant them in the wrong areas; I think I had some sun lovers on my shaded porch one year that didn’t do so well. I got it right this year though as my large leaved lime green and purple variety are thriving nicely along with pink impatiens and dark bushy grass plants in my white porch pots. I think I will try a trailing variety called Burgundy Wedding Train next year as its dark purple center and ruffled green edges will nicely complement our muted grey-green house color and purple shutters. I love coleus and think they come in more varieties to choose from every year.