The appeal of coleus (Solenostemon scutellari- oides) lies in its fantastic, bizarre, amazing foli- age. Three or four brilliant kaleidoscopic colors of green, yellow, red, pink, orange, magenta, white—even black—adorn each soft, velvety leaf in discrete patches or intricate lace-like pat- terns. The basic shape of a typical coleus leaf is ovate (egg-shaped), wide at the base and nar- row at the tip, but there are hundreds of cul- tivars, several of which have earned the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit. Leaves of most cultivars are 3 to 4 inches long and 2 to 3 inches wide. Some cultivars have long, narrow leaves, others have short, wide leaves. Some cultivars have leaves with scal- loped edges, others have lobed or fringed edges. Easy and fast-growing, these bushy evergreen perennials get 2 to 3 feet tall and wide. Stems get woody at the base as they age. The flowers are unremarkable—small, pale purplish blue, borne in spiky inflorescences at the tip of each stem. owers pinch off the flower buds to keep the plant vigorous and encourage additional fab- ulous foliage. Making flowers and subsequent seed production saps the energy of the plant.

OPTIMUM HOUSEHOLD ENVIRONMENT

Read the Introduction for the specifics of each recommendation.

MEDIUM LIGHT.

Coleus prefers light from an east or west window filtered by sheer curtains. Direct sun at midday will bleach the color of the leaves or even burn them badly.

MODERATE TEMPERATURE.

Daytime 70 to 80°F, nighttime 60 to 70°F.

AMPLE WATER.

During the growing season, water whenever the top of the potting medium becomes dry to a depth of 0.5 inch. In winter, water whenever the top of the potting medium becomes dry to a depth of 1 inch.

HUMIDITY.

Keep humidity high by misting your plant several times a week with a spray bottle of water on a mist setting, or use a handheld mis- ter. Put the pot in a saucer or tray of water, mak- ing sure the bottom of the pot never sits directly in the water by raising the pot up on pot feet or pebbles.

POTTING MEDIUM.

Use any good organic, well-drained, general-purpose potting soil that incorporates organic fertilizer, mycorrhizal fungi, and other beneficial microbes.

FERTILIZER.

Use any organic fertilizer, in either a powder or liquid formulation, where the first number (nitrogen) is higher than the other two. Apply dry fertilizer once in early spring and again in June. Apply liquid fertil- izer at half-strength once a week through the growing season.

POTTING.

When your plant needs up-potting, shift it to a container with a diameter 4 inches larger than the current pot. Coleus generally does not need a pot larger than 8 inches
in diameter.

PROPAGATION.

Coleus is easy to propagate from stem tip cuttings rooted in water. It is also easy to grow from seed, but each seedling will be a unique individual that does not duplicate the original plant.

COMMON PROBLEMS

Watch for sunburn (page 256), mealybugs (page 262), and gray mold (page 268).