What Does Coleus Look Like? Detailed Guide to Growing Conditions and Pairing Methods
Coleus plants and seed brassica plants are dazzling plants, easygoing with incredibly colorful leaves that are easy. They are beautiful on their own in pots, and the shimmer of their leaves brightens flower beds. Coleus (Coleus blumei) is grown for its leaves
Coleus plants and seed brassica plants are dazzling plants, easygoing with incredibly colorful leaves that are easy. They are beautiful on their own in pots, and the shimmer of their leaves brightens flower beds.
Coleus (Coleus blumei) is a tender tropical plant grown for its leaves rather than its flowers. The leaf patterns are distinctly wild - spots, splashes and artistic edges in shades ranging from purple, yellow, pink, intense red and bright chartreuse. Coleus thrives. For generations, the rhizomes of fancy coleus plants were simply passed from one gardener to another, but in recent years the market has opened up, and the selection of coleus varieties is now greater than ever.
Gardeners have always found creative ways to use coleus. In the 19th century, Coleus was the star of Victorian bedding: an older garden book contains an enticing reference to a coleus mosaic, including a brief mention of George Washington among the coleus in the Boston Public Garden.
Today coleus is more commonly found in pots. Jimmy Turner, director of the Dallas Arboretum, displays a wide variety of painted coleus in the 66-acre display garden. He likes combinations that capture the beauty of complex arrangements, but he also likes simple combinations of just two or three plants. Coleus works well in both cases: they do not get lost in mixed plantings with elephant ears, castor beans, trailing sweet potato vines or towering canna lilies, and they are delicate enough to pair with ferns, heucheras, or glowing blue scaevola. Turner adds coleus to pots of silver, purple, blue and pink flowers, and uses them as bright spotlights, filling a bed that needs a shake of color with pots full of lavish chartreuse coleus.
Few plants are better suited to novice gardeners than coleus. Coleus thrives in partial shade, needs nothing more than regular watering, and will flourish all summer long. If the plants send up flower spikes, pinch them off - it is the leaves you are after, and they are the showstoppers.
Pairing with Coleus Plants
There are many different coleus plants, but they all have one thing in common: coleus plants are easy to grow and relish the summer heat. Some coleus are trailers, perfect for hanging baskets; most are just the right size to fill a pot on the porch or a spot in a perennial border. Here are some ideas and combinations to try:
Flouncy coleus forms a handsome contrast with the pointed leaves and bottlebrush flowers of fountain grass.
Pair ink coleus with Artemesia, Plectranthus, dusty miller and other silver-leafed plants.
White sweet alyssum forms a lace around rose-pink or chocolate-leafed coleus varieties.
The green edges around the leaves of some coleus match perfectly with the yellow-green leaves of ornamental sweet potato “Margarita”.
Try bold coleus with the yellow-striped leaves of canna 'Pretoria'.
Go ahead and grow coleus and vegetables in pots: the purple, pink and green in coleus leaves looks great with tomatoes, peppers and eggplant.
