If you are a flower person you really need to try the plant which doesn’t truly have flowers but the whole plant is a flower! Coleus provides great texture and a great array of colors to brighten your garden. Having been around since the 1850’s this genus has provided color and décor to gardens for years.
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This is a tropical plant so it is grown as an annual in most places but it is very tough and can be overwintered indoors during the winter. It can be used in pots or in the garden, it likes warm soils and plenty of water, don’t plant it somewhere that gets too dry. Full sun is fine for some, they do like a little shade in really hot areas. There are hundreds of varieties of this genus presenting colors from very bright magenta to softer tones of yellows, with leaves from regular shapes to those which have a very frilly nature.
They are found with many types of growth patterns to suit your needs, there are low growing, trailing plants, mid-size and taller varieties, as a matter of fact in one season the tall varieties can become quite large, overwhelming smaller plants around them so be aware of their final size. To find the right one let Nature’s Friends Landscaping pick the correct plant, in color and size, for your garden landscape. They can make great looking combinations and plant them for you too.
These are fast growing, spring to fall, easy to grow plants, everyone needs to have three or four, but it’s definitely hard to narrow it down because there are so many beautiful varieties. You can control their growth pattern by pinching off the stem tips, this will keep their size where you want it and make them bushier. Also you can cut off the flower stems which grow unless you want to try growing them from seed.
They are also lovely in the fall because a lot of the colors will blend with mums and kales. Naturally they won’t survive well once the night temperatures fall below 50 degrees but during the beginning of fall while it’s still warm they will continue to shine.
