Colorful Coleus

Is there any plant more versatile than coleus? Available in every color of the rainbow, every leaf shape (wide, narrow, lobed, crinkly, corrugated, take your pick!), multiple growth habits (tall, filler, short, trailing), and every color combination the coleus breeders' imaginations can cook up, there is a coleus for every design, location, and light requirement. Yes, coleus are not just for shade anymore. In fact, some actually need to be in the sun in order to bring out the most vivid colors. The photos below are examples of coleus I've found perform best in part-sun or full sun.

'Big Red Judy'
sun brings out the yellow edge

'Sedona'
sun makes the orange more vivid and brings out the purple veination

'Fishnet Stockings'
sun brings out the lime green

'Indian Summer'
color contrasts are more distinct when in the sun

'Religious Radish'
sun intensifies and widens the fuchsia edge

There are still plenty of coleus for your shady spots. As a rule, the King Kong coleus (perhaps the best plant name ever) are shade plants. Again, these are the cultivars I've had the most success with in the shade.

*Note: when planting shade coleus, take care how deep you plant them. When soil is left too high on the stems, they will rot out. Few things are as disappointing as when your lovely, bushy coleus falls over from stem rot and leaves a gaping void in your annual container.

'King Kong Rose' (green, yellow, pink),
unknown green variety - possibly 'Life Lime' or 'Limelight'

'Pineapple Splash' (L), 'Black Dragon' (R)

'Amora' (green and peach), 'Strawberry Drop' (green, yellow, pink)

'Dipt in Wine'

With all the genetic manipulation going on to create the myriad of coleus color combinations, you would think the flower would change in the process. They don't. Not even a bit. Every coleus flower is always the same.

Personally, I've never been a fan of coleus flowers. They seem...stringy, and an ungainly detraction from the foliage. But that's just my personal preference; lots of people like coleus flowers, and that's just fine. Recently, I made an unexpected and pleasant discovery that, in my opinion, is a perfect and unique use for coleus flowers. We don't have a flagpole, but we wanted to show some patriotism for the Fourth of July. So we got some small American flags and stuck them in the annual containers flanking our porch steps. As the coleus sent up more flowers, I discovered that the flowers look like fireworks!

'Kingswood Torch'
sun widens and intensifies the fuchsia center