When you are looking for color that lasts the season through, think Coleus!
Coleus has a long history of use in our gardens as a foliage plant and with new varieties each year, coleus has become an indispensable plant for many gardeners.
This member of the mint family comes in a wide range of foliage coloration, leaf texture, and plant form. Considered a herbaceous perennial in its native range of Southeast Asia, coleus are used primarily as annuals. Previously grouped into different species or classified as hybrids, coleus are now all placed under Solenostemon scutellarioides.
While modern coleus breeding focuses on new color combinations and foliage characteristics, other considerations of sun tolerance, delayed flowering, more prolific branching and unique forms have also become more prominent recently.
Coleus: Shade, Sun or Both?
Coleus has long been considered a shade plant but they thrive well in part shade and can languish in deep shade. In fact, their best leaf coloration is achieved with morning sun and some degree of afternoon shade. For varieties that do well in both shade and part sun, look for these series:
- ColorBlaze
- Fairway
- Superfine Rainbow
- Main Street
- Kong
Some varieties can take quite a bit of sun as long as they are not allowed to dry out. For sunny areas, consider the series of …
- Stained Glassworks
- Wizard
- Versa
- Marquee
- Or any variety with the word sun in its name.
NEW
New for 2017, Fancy Feathers™ Copper is one of the most unique coleus every introduced! It has long feathery multi-colored leaves, which are layered in a tuffeted formation.
For more information on these New Coleus Varieties, go to our New Plants Section.
Shop Our Members to Find Many Coleus Varieties.
“This post is provided as an educational/inspirational service of the National Garden Bureau and our members. Please credit and link to National Garden Bureau and author member if applicable when using all or parts of this article.”
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2 Comments. Leave new
I wonder how many series are they?
Who created the series ?
The number of series changes all the time as new ones are brought to market and older varieties are dropped. The breeding companies are the ones who create the series.