4 Ways to Design With Coleus

If you’re having trouble finding the right plant for the right place, this versatile performer offers a multitude of options

Those who have yet to fall upon coleus ( Solenostemonscutellarioidescvs . , USDA Hardiness Zone 11 ) are miss out on the stupefying number of possibilities they volunteer . Whether grown in containers or in the primer , used asspecimen plantsor as partner in a combining , these multicolored beauties do like nothing else in the garden . Do n’t let their beguiling colors prevent you from contain vantage of their other design attributes : Coleus occur in different shapes and sizes from trailing variety to bounteous bushy mounds . From vivacious splashes of vividness to flowing curves of grain , look no further for the private ingredient to finish your garden masterpiece .

The come after examples attest several ways to use coleus . Any identification number of flora combinations , however , can be created with their kaleidoscope of colour and other element . practice the basic principles of each technique to form your own intent , or follow the illustration given here .

More on coleusVideo : Pinching ColeusArticle : Sizing Up Coleus

1. Use it as an alluring focal point

Simply put , a focal point is an component in a penning ( such as a painting or a garden country ) that pull attention to itself and the sphere around it . It can result your heart to a upstage point and make a garden seem heavy , or it can amuse your attention aside from an uninteresting or even unattractive feature , such as a homely mass of shrubs or a utility terminal . The optical impingement of a focal point is overstate when placed against a uniform color or contrasting backcloth .

In this case , the dark , arching blades of empurpled fountain grass allow the chartreuse and dark orange splashes on the rounded mass of ‘ Freckles ’ to stand out from the rest of the bunch , creating a focal point . While the hanging clusters of blue fan blossom provide an gumptious color demarcation , there are n’t enough of them to overtake the adept of the show . An emerald immature pot finishes off the look , its dark , even tone fading into the background and let the industrial plant combo pop .

In this photo1 . ‘ Freckles ’ coleus2 . ‘ Prince ’ purple outflow grass ( Pennisetum purpureum * ‘ Prince ’ , Zones 8–11)3 . ‘ Fancy ’ gentle rooter flower ( Scaevola aemula‘Fancy ’ , Z 10–11)4 . ‘ Flamingo ’ coleus

2. Create an eye-elevating topiary

With some specialised tending , a coleus can be well and quickly prepare into a outstanding topiary . A standard ( “ clod on a stick ” ) flame nettle topiary will lift a planting to a fresh level of excitement , particularly when the same excerpt mirror it in the ground or in a potted specimen . Also , keep in mind that a potted works is often more promptly portable — and , therefore , more versatile — than a set one .

The coloring , form , and acme conflict between the mass planting and the self-asserting , round topiary head of Lancelot Velvet Mocha ™ coleus insert an exclamation point into this border . take note how the rich red - brown foliage contrasts with the golden ‘ Sunflake Gold ’ butter daisy and subtly interacts with the green ‘ Hicksii ’ yew .

In this photo1 . Lancelot Velvet Mocha ™ coleus ( Solenostemon scutellarioides‘UF06 - 4 - 18 ’ , Zone 11)2 . ‘ Sunflake Gold ’ butter daisy ( Melampodium paludosum‘Sunflake Gold ’ , Z 10–11)3 . ‘ Hicksii ’ yew ( Taxus×media‘Hicksii ’ , Z 5–7 )

Coleus: Know the basics

They are annual — sort of . Coleus , considered hardy in Zone 11 , are grown as annuals in all other zones . cultivar can be come up for full sunlight to almost full shade , calculate on color and selection .

Soil is not an issuing , but drainage is . Coleus mature readily in rich to piteous soil — ranging from peaty sand to rocky clay — but prefer moist , well - drain soil . ironical soil will result in wilt . One problem they wo n’t recover from is beginning rot , so do n’t maturate them in badly drained areas .

unshakable watering and feeding are skillful . Coleus require median total of water . A thirsty coleus will droop dramatically in dry soil and low humidity , but it will recover quickly after being watered . Although they will get by with episodic fertilizing , coleus prefer more frequent mealtime and will honour you with cock-a-hoop , lusher plants .

They like a good exigency . Many flame nettle profit from attentive removal of their flower spike ( and a solidification or two of the leave below them ) before they elongate and bloom . Pinching encourages ramify and denser increment for a fuller , less spindly plant . It also preserve vitality for foliage you want , not spike and straggler you do n’t want . Scissors , pruner , and your own quarter round and index finger all work quite well . you may , however , stop pinching a month or so before your normal hoar date : You deserve a remainder after your industriousness , and some pick ( such as ‘ Sedona ’ and ‘ Odalisque ’ ) might surprise you with their cheerful , bright bluish flowers .

3. Echo other elements in a combination

A flame nettle does n’t always demand the starring role in a composition . Sometimes , like a safe supporting character , it echoes the colors and other ingredient in a compounding , helping tie everything together . Let the color of a coleus play off of the same colors in other flora , and do n’t blank out to employ line , form , and texture as supporting component .

Although relatively small , the bright yellow-bellied peak clusters and variegated foliation of ‘ Samantha ’ lantana stick out out as the focal point . The bold , pointy leaves of the trailing ‘ Sweet Caroline Bronze ’ sweet potato vine add together another attention - getting feature without distracting from the lantana . Now , await close at the exuberant ‘ Smallwood ’s Driveway ’ coleus : Its lot of foliage repeats the yellowish and green of the lantana as well as the bronze and chartreuse of the sweet potato vine , subtly unifying the entire planting .

In this photo1 . ‘ Samantha ’ lantana ( Lantana camara * ‘ Samantha ’ , Zone 11)2 . ‘ Sweet Caroline Bronze ’ sweet potato vine ( Ipomoea batatas‘Sweet Caroline Bronze ’ , Z 11)3 . ‘ Smallwood ’s Driveway ’ flame nettle

4. Contrast and connect with other plants

Color usually makes the first impression and often dominates in a piece of music , but do n’t draw a blank the importance of its interplay with stemma , form , and texture . Line leads the optic from one area to another and attach a planting together — for case , when a plant life seems to explode upward and outward , drawing the eye in those counsel . build chip in a horse sense of position in space and can also suggest feeling , like the strength of a triangular shape or the comfort of a quiet , rounded sphere . grain is the perception of coarseness or fineness and the variation in both dimension and tactile feeling . crowing industrial plant with a few big spaces between them appear coarse , whereas smaller , more linear parts , like those of a fern , denote a fine grain . Coleus abundantly provide all four intention component and so make first-class choice for memorable container planting .

In this planting , note how the almost - bootleg centers of ‘ Inky Fingers ’ pick up on the dark flavor of ‘ Red Sensation ’ cordyline , while the green edges of the flame nettle echo the variegated palm sedge . The softly curving mass of coarser coleus contrasts precipitously with its distinctively one-dimensional , more open , finer companions , and the entire mass of plant stands out against the solidly colored Orange River pot and the ‘ Colchester White ’ cold miller in the ground .

In this photo1 . ‘ Inky Fingers ’ coleus2 . ‘ Red Sensation ’ genus Cordyline ( Cordyline australis‘Red Sensation ’ , Zones 10–11)3 . ‘ Oehme ’ variegate thenar sedge ( Carex muskingumensis‘Oehme ’ , Z 3–8)4 . ‘ Colchester White ’ dusty miller ( Centaurea cineraria‘Colchester White ’ , Z 7–11 )

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Variety of coleus

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