How is your coleus doing?

Pictures everyone!!!

And

This is 2 wks ago and it's even bigger now....3ft x 3 ft I'd say.

This one is doing the best for me:

I love the colors of this one but it hasn't grown much.

Most of the others are doing just so-so, as you can see by this photo.

Mine just won't grow this year......I started two full flats of seed back in Feb. All grew well to about 3 inches and two to three leaf sets. Now they are all just sitting doing nothing.
Very odd indeed :-(

I love coleus!!!! Try to get some pics later. Here's one: heirloom Giant Black Palisandra. Awesome plant - hardly ever blooms but when it does - EVERY seed comes up! I grew it from Parks seeds three years ago and its still popping up here and there.

Here's another fav - "Tobasco" First year I grew it in full sun it got 5 ft tall and 6 ft wide and killed about 6 perennials, but I didn't care! The most robust one I've ever found. Slow to flower too!

Here's the Tobasco in the distance, only couple weeks after planting, and in part shade now...we call it the "Red Tide" I literally filled whole trash cans with the prunings from it last year, just to try and keep it somewhat tamed!

Beautiful!

Thanks! Your first pic is so beautifully composed - looks like a magazine cover!

OOOoohhhhhh, these are GORGEOUS! I'd like to have one of everything I've seen here. I especially like the 'tobasco' and I wish I lived next door to Delphinium when she threw away those trimmings. :-D

I have to wonder, has anyone saved a coleus from year to year? ...you have to realize that I live in Wisconsin so it's a logical question (...sorta :-D)

I have a couple, 'Super Duck's Foot' and 'Wild Lime', that I'd like to have again next year, but doubt I'll be able to find. I was actually thinking of keeping the plants indoors under lights and taking cuttings through the winter just to have a single 'donor' plant to sacrifice next spring.

You guys have some great plants. Thanks for sharing.
~julie~
edited because I can't type! ;-)

This message was edited Jul 4, 2004 8:30 PM

Julie-

I brought my Black Dragon in last year and kept as a house plant. Then in Feb/March I started taking cuttings and potting them up after they rooted. I'm doing it will ALL my varieties this year!

Here is 'Rose Explosion' It was a 1/2 gal pot when I bought it -- now it's a monster and sits in full sun on my deck all day!

This is a close-up of the leaves on Rose Explosion

Here is 'Black Dragon' that was a little 3" potted cutting I took in March.

Close up of Black Dragon leaves

langbr, your Black Dragon is super! I think I just saw seeds for that one in Park's catalog...it'll be on my "gotta get" list for next year (*if* I wait that long ~grin~). Is the caladium in the first pic of Black Dragon by any chance "Rosebud"? My first Rosebud leaf is about 1/2 way open and is the tiniest little thing...please tell me it'll grow up before it freezes. :-)

I'm glad to hear that someone other than me is going to try to winter-over our plants.

Here's a shot of my Wild Lime...right after I canabalized it for cuttings. :-D (I'm not sure at the moment whether the red one is 'Defiant' or something else.)

Again...thanks for sharing!
~julie~

Julie - yes the caladium is Rosebud a gift from MsCK. I didn't even know what it was....she had to tell me how to start it. I started the caladium indoors under grow lights in March also and then planted out in the pot with the Black Dragon and some Pink Polka Dot plant I picked up.

This one is Freckles. Bought about 1 month ago and didn't plant in ground until 2 weeks ago. It's my runt right now.

Now the rest I don't have tags for so if anyone recognizes them please let me know.....

Rose Explosion is on the right. The left is an unknown. It's fading to pink on the leaves so I think it needs to go in the shade.

This one has a tag that says "Florida Sun Jade coleus" so I guess that's it's name or the brand. This pic was of my Calibrocha but it shows the size of this coleus well.

Here's the close up of the Florida Sun Jade one.....

The one in the back (behind the million bells) is Kiwi Fern. This photo doesn't do it justice (I have a hard time photographing this one just right)

Here is Kiwi Fern closer up.....the left side shows it's color variation best.

Another unknown with some Ace of Spades potato vine and burgundy foliaged dahlia. I love this container.

I showed this one earlier in the thread but it's my FAVORITE coleus. Don't know it's name either but it started as a little 1/2 gal pot and the lily on the left and the Russian Sage on the right are about 3-1/2 feet tall and the Krossa Regal hosta behind it is about 3-feet so it gives you an idea of it's size.

I can't photograph this one right either. The green is like neon in the shade of this bed and just glows.

Here's a closer shot of the leaves...

Last one.....This one is called 'Burnt Orange' and it sure is. It's in a pot but was a 1/2 gal when purchased and is now about 2-1/2 feet in diameter.

Close up of Burnt Orange.

Anyone that would like to do some trades for cuttings, just let me know. I LOVE coleus and enjoy having it inside over winter.


Delphiniumdiva - I'd sure like to get some of that Black Palisandra heirloom you've got there. That's one gorgeous coleus.

This message was edited Jul 4, 2004 11:26 PM

Hi Langbr! I can id a couple of these. Your favorite is also my favorite - Solar Sunrise - couldn't live without it! The one with the pinkish leaves next to Rose Explosion looks like Alabama Sunrise - it will take full sun and get huge, but the color will go to mostly yellow and peach.

How about a Palisandra for some of that Ace of Spades potato vine? Never seen that before! Love it! Can also root you a cutting of Tobasco if you like. I have some Super Duck's Foot rooted too. I like all those coleus with the really "cut" looking leaves - don't have any of those. Sounds like trading time! Here's a pic of my yard last year with Palisandra in the foreground, just to show how big it gets!

Whoops, the color in that pic isn't really right. Its more purple....here's my original source:

http://www.parkseed.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StoreCatalogDisplay?storeId=10101&catalogId=10066ÃfÂfÃ,Â,ÃfÂ,Ã,°l1.v278ÃfÂfÃ,Â,ÃfÂ,Ã,°p16.v235&langId=-1&mainPage=prod2working&ItemId=2990&coremetricsCategory=22001

They have other Giant Exhibition varieties also.

Delphiniumdiva - I stayed up late last night looking at coleus image libraries until I was blurry-eyed. I was thinking the one you call 'Solar Sunrise' might also be 'Thunder'???

http://www.rareplants.com/downer/Coleus%20Thunder.html

Solar Sunrise seems to have ALOT of green (more than the dark maroon). What do you think?


I was thinking 'Texas Parking Lot' for the other and found that it is also called 'Alabama Sunset' and 'Shocking Pink'.....so I think that's right on.
http://plantsdatabase.com/go/37661/

I'm thinking 'Pillage' on the other red unknown (in with the Ace of Spades vine). It has a touch of green at the base of the leaves near the petiole so I was leaning towards 'Pillage'......

http://www.rareplants.com/downer/Coleus%20Pillage.html


I'll take cuttings of the Ace of Spades vine and get it rooting. Would you like some starts of any of the coleus for the Palisandra? Maybe Kiwi Fern since its got the wild leaf shape? Let me know your addy and I'll get a package out to you as soon as they are rooted.

Brenda

All of my coleus are still inside, waiting for me to put them out. Might not make it out this year.

But I wanted to share these shots of Giant Black Palisandra. Grew this from seed a couple of years ago, and took it to the office, where it was growing under the flourescent lights.

It wasn't getting good color under the flourescents, so took a cutting and placed the resulting plant in a very sunny window in the office. MUCH better color ... and way bigger leaves!

I'd been growing coleus for years as a houseplant; never even knew the leaves could get so big!

Now I've got the lime green version growing in the office - and it's even bigger! Will have to take a pic....

PV

Wow! PV....that's a huge leaf!! Do you know the name of the green leaved plant in your 1st pic above of the Palisandra under the flourescent lights? My mom gave me so of it and I don't know what it is? I know it's a common tropical houseplant. Thanks!

Julie88: a note of caution. Last fall I took about 30-40 coleus cuttings and they all rooted. However in early spring as they grew, I didn't have enough space between them, and also overwatered them. I lost almost all of them.

langbr - that's syngonium podophyllum, "arrowhead vine".

http://plantsdatabase.com/go/54483/index.html

I had a humongous pot of that (used to call it "elephant ears", till I knew better) growing inside for eons. Finally got tired of it last year, took some cuttings and dumped the mother plant. I'm going to see if I can "train" the new plants a bit better.

PV

Thanks!!! I got it all added into my Journal so I won't forget.