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Coleus gained its popularity among gardeners and landscape designers thanks to the huge variety of varieties, each of which surprises with unusual combinations of colors, leaf texture and shape. The plant is similar in appearance to croton, but its pricing policy is significantly inferior to its relative.

Currently, a huge number of varieties of different types of ornamental nettle have been bred, capable of pleasing the eyes of the most fastidious connoisseurs of garden plants.

Coleus species

This tropical plant in nature has more than 100 varieties. Some are grown as annuals, others are suitable for permanent planting. They all differ in leaf color, size, bush shape and flowering.

Hybrid varieties of coleus are used in indoor floriculture. Most of them are obtained by crossing with other species of Coleus Blume.

Hybrid coleus

There is a huge variety of varietal varieties of this plant. However, there are certain common features that help distinguish hybrid coleus. This species has erect shoots with a rectangular cross-section. The leaves are located opposite each other and have a neat elongated oblong shape.

The plant itself is large, but not powerful. The root system is easily subject to mechanical damage and rotting.

Coleus varieties

Hybrid coleus has many varieties. They differ in the shape and color of the leaves, the size of the plant itself and its purpose. Basically, all varieties are suitable for growing both as a houseplant and a garden crop.

Coleus variety Firebird

The variety is tall and suitable for cultivation in gardens. The plant is powerful and compact. The leaves are densely arranged, have a green-crimson color, a strongly corrugated edge and a corrugated plate structure. Coleus goes well with any plant. It must be grown in sunny or semi-shaded places. In the shade, the leaves lose their color and look faded and undecorative.

Plantings need to be fed periodically. It is advisable to carry out the procedure during the growing season. Since the plant loves moist air and moderate watering, plantings near artificial ponds, fountains and waterfalls will take root well.

Coleus variety Brilliant

The variety is classified as medium-sized. The bush is compact and grows quickly. The leaves are oval-oblong with a pointed edge, small in size. The shoots are thick, tubular, translucent. It is noteworthy that on one bush the leaves can be bright yellow and red, which cannot but attract attention.

In garden culture, coleus is grown as an annual. In indoor floriculture, Diamond is cultivated as a perennial. The variety is not picky about soil quality. It is important that the soil is loose and fertile. The plant requires moderate watering, fertilizing and regular pruning.

Coleus variety Buttercup

The variety is used in garden culture to add additional shades to compositions. The bush is of medium height, reaches a maximum of 50 cm. The plant is formed compactly. The shoots are powerful. The leaves are small in size with a grooved edge, yellow-light green in color, arranged mirror opposite to each other.

Butterkap is grown using standard agricultural technology. The plant looks great in compositions and is ideal for creating small border hedges. Maintenance is not difficult; you need to regularly water, fertilize, loosen and weed the soil.

Coleus variety Crimson Ruffles

Another fancy variety of coleus. The bush is powerful, tall and can reach up to 70 cm. Forming a plant is quite simple by pruning. The leaves are densely arranged, have a wine color with a glossy sheen and a wrinkled structure. Crimson Ruffles looks great in single and group plantings, rock gardens and flower beds. The variety is unsuitable for growing indoors due to its tallness.

To grow this variety of coleus, standard agricultural techniques are used. Due to its relative unpretentiousness, the plant will take root even in unfavorable conditions. It is enough to give it sun, watering and fertilizer.

Coleus variety Sabre

Unlike its relatives, the Sabre variety is shorter and reaches a maximum height of 20 cm. The leaves are arranged in pairs, mirror opposite to each other. They are attached to powerful shoots. The color of the leaves is mosaic. In the middle they are pink-cherry in color, which flows like veins into a yellow-green heterogeneous border.

Coleus variety Evening dawn

Popular decorative deciduous annual. Flower growers value it because it can be grown equally well both indoors and in a flower garden. The color is very bright. It has a predominant red or brownish color with a thin light green border along the edges of the leaves. The color does not change under the sun, so throughout the entire season the flowerbed will be full of the brightest colors.

The height of the plant is average, no more than 35 cm, the branching of the bush is also small. It is recommended to remove flower arrows as soon as they appear.

Coleus variety Rainbow Dance Festival

A tall annual hybrid characterized by large, decorative, colored leaves. The variety is ideal for forming a flower bed, both in the form of group plantings and as a background for flowers that are much lower. The leaves are velvety and seem soft. Combines 3 colors. Bright blood-red veins cut into the dark burgundy main area of ​​the leaf. The carved edges are outlined with a light green or yellow-light green border.

The stem is powerful. The bush has strong or medium-strong branching, so it needs to be planted at least 25 cm from each other. The variety tolerates semi-shaded areas well, but will grow better in the open sun.

Coleus variety Blume Jade

Plants are classified as annual flowers. The hybrid is used for growing in plots, gardens, flower beds, in edging areas, and also as a houseplant. The leaves have a velvety texture. On one bush you can observe a wide variety of leaf shapes.

Their color is unusually bright: milky white gradually turns into yellow, which runs like veins into a bright green border. The bush reaches a height of 3-40 cm, so seedlings of this hybrid need to be planted in a square with a 25-centimeter distance between sprouts.

Coleus variety Butterfly

This variety of coleus is not like the others. The plant is medium-sized, reaching up to 60 cm in height. Gardeners love the variety for its unusual shape and color of leaves. They look more like torn yellow-burgundy inflorescences.

To grow coleus, it is recommended to choose moderately lit areas with light, well-drained soil. The plant does not like excessive waterlogging and stagnation of moisture. It is recommended to fertilize regularly. It is best to use complex mineral or organic preparations.

Coleus variety Pineapple

Medium-sized variety of coleus. Looks ideal both in street plantings and in flowerpots in a room or on a balcony. The leaves of the hybrid have a color that combines whitish, yellow, light green and green in different shades. The unusual color is that all the colors are combined in spots, moving from the middle to the edges from light to darker.

Coleus variety Black Dragon

The variety is considered one of the most beautiful and unusual. Belongs to the Lamiaceae family. Low-growing plant (has no more than 18 cm in height). The leaves are velvety, small, and colored in colors ranging from purple to dark burgundy. Looks beautiful as an outline of a pattern on a flower bed. However, it also looks irresistible in single plantings. It grows well in balcony boxes, flowerpots or in a flowerpot on the window.

The coleus flower belongs to the genus of the Lamiaceae family (also known as Lamiaceae), which has more than 150 species. The name of the plant is derived from the Greek “kleos” - case. The tropics of Africa and Asia are considered the homeland of coleus.

Amateur gardeners also call coleus the “poor man's croton,” because its variegated leaves are similar to the foliage of this plant, but they look a little simpler. However, new varieties of coleus are able to compete not only with croton, but also with many popular expensive flowers. In addition to its variegated foliage, coleus has the great advantage of being easy to care for.

Description of Coleus

Coleus has a ribbed, tetrahedral stem that becomes woody at the base. The leaves are heart-shaped, pubescent, toothed, opposite, can be small, and in some species the foliage reaches a length of about 15 cm.

• Coleus is popularly called “nettle”, because its leaves and stems are similar in shape and structure to nettles.
• The color of coleus foliage is varied - various combinations of green with burgundy, yellow, and red tints. The flowering of coleus is unremarkable and does not cause much interest: small flowers of a blue or purple hue are collected in a spike-shaped inflorescence.
• The peduncle can be cut off so that the plant does not lose its decorative appearance.
• Most types of coleus are grown for the amazing beauty of their leaves, but there are types and varieties of coleus with quite interesting flowering.

How to sow garden coleus for seedlings

Coleus is popular for its variegated foliage and ease of care. The main thing is that it can be grown both indoors and in gardens. It reproduces well by seed; various seeds of interesting English, Dutch and many other varieties are available in flower shops.

• Sow seeds at the end of March in flat boxes.
• You can sow in the winter, but you will have to create artificial lighting in the fall and winter.
• Choose fertile, light soil.
• It is best to take a flat container for sowing.
• Spread the coleus seeds singly, not in groups, on the surface of the soil, spray them with a spray bottle, do not deepen the seeds, but lightly sprinkle them with sand, as if salting them.
• Build a greenhouse, cover it with glass or film, place the container with the crops in a warm, dark place. Keep the soil moist.

Purchased seeds germinate well; literally every seed can germinate. The seeds will sprout quickly - in a week, maximum 10 days. When the first shoots appear, the cover must be removed and the greenhouse must be moved to a lighted place, preferably to a western or eastern window. Protect tender seedlings from direct sunlight. Maintain a temperature of 17-19 ºC.

Once the coleus are 3-4 weeks old and the first pair of true leaves have appeared, transplant the coleus into separate cassettes so that a strong root system can develop that can withstand subsequent transplanting into the ground. Young plants at the age of 5-6 weeks are transferred to spacious cups and pinched to stimulate branching.

How to grow coleus, watch the video:

Planting coleus in the ground

Coleus in open ground with the establishment of real heat. Choose a brightly lit place, but slightly shaded during the midday hours, the area should be protected from the wind. Prepare the holes, fill them with fertile air- and water-permeable soil, plant coleus from cups into the holes.

Planting coleus does not require special knowledge and skills, especially if you grow it as an annual. It is unlikely that it will be possible to grow it as a perennial, because after a couple of years the bushes degenerate, and during the winter the coleus will need to be dug up and brought indoors in order to be planted in the ground again in the spring.

Caring for coleus in the garden

• First of all, it is necessary to water regularly, especially in dry summer weather.
• Water preferably with settled water. You can install a tub or barrel in the garden to hold tap water and accumulate rainwater.
• After watering, loosen the soil and remove weeds.
• To make coleus bush more strongly, you can pinch the tops of the variegated beauty a couple of times during the summer.

During the period of active growth, apply a high nitrogen content once every 10-12 days. This will encourage vigorous foliage growth and delay early flowering. Peduncles must be removed immediately, because they take away the strength of the nettle.

Growing indoor coleus from seeds

Indoor coleus, like garden coleus, reproduces by seed and vegetative methods. Seed propagation occurs in exactly the same way:

• Sow into a wide, shallow container with drainage holes in the bottom to a depth of 0.5-1 cm as little as possible. You can scatter it over the surface and lightly sprinkle it with earth.
• Spray from a spray bottle, cover with a transparent lid, glass or bag, ventilate daily, water through a tray or from a spray bottle.
• When the shoots appear, remove the cover.
• Maintain moderate humidity and good lighting.
• Pick up seedlings at the stage of 2-3 true leaves into separate cups, and after growing, plant them in permanent pots using the transfer method.

How to grow coleus from cuttings

• cut small, about 10-12 cm.
• Remove the leaves from the bottom, stick the cutting into moist soil or sand, cover with film or a cap from a cut plastic bottle, place in the shade and maintain the temperature at 18-20ºC.
• After 8-10 days, roots will appear, and when the first shoots appear, you can transplant the seedling into a permanent pot.
• You can simply root in water, and when roots appear, plant them in pots.

This type of propagation is simple and reliable, allowing you to quickly get strong new plants.

Coleus care at home

Watering and fertilizing

Abundantly settled with softened water at room temperature. Spring and summer are the most important times to maintain watering. During this period, you also need to fertilize weekly. Apply mineral fertilizers in half the doses recommended in the instructions. In winter, it is enough to feed once a month.

Air humidity

In the warm season, regularly spray coleus, but do it not in direct sunlight, but take the plant into the shade. The best way to maintain air humidity in winter is to periodically place a flower pot on a tray with damp expanded clay. If the coleus is not an ornamental flowering plant, the spike with flowers must be removed.

Pinching and trimming

During active growth, coleus must be constantly pinched to stimulate branching. After winter dormancy, in order to renew the plant, you need to cut off all the shoots at a height of 5-7 cm. The shoots obtained during pruning can be used as cuttings, because there is a risk that last year’s flower will not justify your efforts and will lose its decorative appearance.

The video will tell you how to form a coleus bush:

Coleus plant care problems, diseases and pests

Important points:

• If you do not pinch and trim the coleus in time, the shoots will noticeably stretch out. The same situation will occur with a lack of light or when the plant gets old.
• Very bright lighting will lead to fading and discoloration of foliage.
• with a lack of moisture, as well as with waterlogging, the result is the same: the foliage will begin to fall. Pay attention to what you are doing wrong.

Coleus can be damaged by spider mites, aphids and whiteflies. Yellowed and shriveled leaves will indicate the appearance of aphids - you can treat the above-ground part of the plant with a soap solution, do not forget to cover the soil so that the soap does not get there. After a week you can repeat the procedure. For garden coleus, this procedure can be problematic, so it is better to treat it with insecticides. A soap solution will not help against other pests - also use insecticides. The use of chemicals will not add health to the plant, so ensure proper care and no diseases or pests will disturb the flower.

Wintering coleus

Garden coleus is grown as an annual. But, in order not to lose the plant, you can dig it up and bring it into the house, caring for it like an indoor flower. By winter, you need to gradually reduce watering, fertilize once a month. Maintain the air temperature between 8-15 ºC.

Types and varieties of coleus with photos and names

Coleus hybrid Coleus x hybridus ‘Japanese_Giant’ photo

Most often grown as a houseplant. This species is completely unpretentious. The stem has a square cross-section and reaches a height of up to one meter. The leaves are elongated oval in shape, with serrated edges. Depending on the lighting, the color of the leaves changes: in the shade it is green, and in the sun it is burgundy.

There are a great many varieties of hybrid forms; it is impossible to describe all the variety of shapes and colors, and each creation of breeders is distinguished not only by its beauty, but also by its resistance to diseases, excellent vitality and survival rate in any conditions.

Coleus rehneltianus

Originally from Sri Lanka. Grown as an ornamental hanging plant. Reaches a height of about half a meter. The leaves are wide, heart-shaped with a wavy edge, attached to long petioles, arranged oppositely. The foliage is decorated with veins of different colors - yellow, purple, brown, red.

Coleus Blumei Coleus blumeii

It is most popular among flower growers. A native of Southeast Asia. This is a subshrub, reaching a height of about 80 cm. The shoots become woody over time.

The best varieties of coleus, popular with us:

Black dragon: has ribbed leaves of a brownish-purple color with red veins;

Wizard Series:

Golden Wizard - has yellowish satin leaves;

Wizard Evening Dawn - fiery red foliage with a greenish border;

Coleus variety coral dawn Black Dragon Wizard Coral Sunrise photo

Wizard Jade - white foliage with a wide green border.

A wide variety of species and varieties will allow you to decorate your home all year round, and your garden in warm weather.

Coleus has two names: one Latin - Coleus, the second popular - nettle. You can meet this ornamental plant in the park, at a friend’s dacha, in the office or at a friend’s apartment. The easy-to-care flower has long gained popularity among amateur flower growers and professional designers.

Coleus is a perennial tropical ornamental deciduous plant that grows in the natural conditions of tropical Africa and Asia; in our country it is grown as an annual plant. Due to the highly decorative properties of the leaves and its unpretentiousness, it is widely used in landscape design.

The leaves have a velvety surface covered with graceful geometric patterns in various shades of color. It is very difficult to describe the beauty of the leaves; the color transitions alone are worth it. You can appreciate the beauty of plants from photos, and the options for color patterns are simply listed:

• light green;
• white;
• deep red;
• purple;
• yellow;
• purple;
• pink;
• brown.

The leaf blades are oval-heart-shaped, in some species they are covered with patterns in shades of the same color, in other varieties - with patterns of contrasting colors. The graceful, serrated edges of the leaves make the plant even more decorative.

The stems of the flower are erect, tetrahedral. The flowers are small, inconspicuous, collected in a panicle. Their colors are faded: light blue or purple. The height of plants depends on the type and variety. And since there are more than 150 species in the genus Coleus, among them there are both low-growing varieties and tall specimens.

Types and varieties of coleus with photos

Of the variety of species, representatives of three types have found use in our country:

1. K. Blume.
2. K. Renelta.
3. K. hybrid.

K. Bloome (or Coleus Bloome) is a species most common in temperate climates. It unites tall, shrubby plants, the average height of specimens is 0.8 m. The shape of the stems is ribbed, tetrahedral. The leaves are large (15 cm), ovate with a pointed point. The colors of the leaves are varied:

• dark red;
• brown-yellow;
• black;
• white;
• cream;
• pink;
• burgundy;
• purple.

The flowers are small, purple, collected in a spike-shaped inflorescence. The most common varieties of this species:

1. K. Candidum. Yellow leaves with a light green pattern.
2. K. Saber. Dwarf variety (15 cm). The center of the leaves is pink-cherry, the border is greenish-yellow.
3. K. Salmon Lace. Leaves with a red center and green edge. The border is wide.
4. K. Wizard Scarlet. The border is thin and yellow. Red is the main color of the leaf plate.
5. K. Wizard Pineapple. The color is beautiful - a mixture of cherry and green colors.

Coleus Renelta

All hanging, decorative varieties belong to this type and are widely used in the design of premises for any purpose (office, apartment, sales area). The colors of the leaves are very diverse. Popular varieties: Reneltianus, Reneltianus superbus.

A herbaceous perennial plant with a bush height of 50 to 80 cm. The bush is formed from erect, branching stems, tetrahedral in cross-section. The leaves are arranged oppositely, on the petioles. The shape is varied: wide ovoid, oval-heart-shaped. The edges of the leaves are crenate, wavy, the surface is fleecy. The color is uniform or variegated.

Coleus, as a typical representative of a tropical country, loves warmth and absolutely cannot tolerate low temperatures. A spring drop in air temperature to + 12°C can lead to its death.

In the central zone, in the Urals and Siberia, it is justified to plant ready-made seedlings in flower beds at the end of May and early June; they can be replanted throughout the summer. Seedlings grown in separate cups take root quickly. Direct sowing of seeds into the soil is permissible only in the southern regions, since they germinate at air temperatures of 20°C and above.

The established warm days at the end of May and the first days of June are the right time for replanting if you have grown colorful coleus seedlings to decorate your garden or yard. Coleus will not grow well in full shade, so choose sunny places for flower beds. Light partial shade in the middle of the day will not hurt.

It is worth adding a little sand and peat to heavy loamy soil. The plant is tropical, so it prefers fertile and loose soil. In the lowlands, where water lingers for a long time after rain, it will grow poorly.

Holes for seedlings are dug according to the size of the pot. Humus, ash, peat, sand and mineral fertilizers (superphosphate, potassium nitrate) should be added in advance during spring or autumn tillage.

The spacing between holes should be as recommended by the seed manufacturer.

The standard spacing is 20-30 cm if the cutting is borrowed from friends or from a flowerbed in a public park and the variety is unknown. After transplanting seedlings into the ground, the holes must be well watered.

The main thing in caring for coleus planted in open ground is to be gentle with the beautiful plant with velvety leaves. If watering, then use water that has settled in a barrel. Apply fertilizers only after watering. Mandatory loosening of the soil.

Loosen after the end of prolonged rains and the next day after watering. Water carefully, do not splash on the leaves. Avoid sprinkling irrigation method. Remove weeds that appear in the flowerbed. Start treatment as soon as you see signs of disease or damage caused by pests of ornamental leaf plants.

Monitor the shape of the bush:

• pinch the crown of the central shoot and side stems
• Carefully cut out damaged leaves and stems with pruning shears
• Remove the inflorescence immediately after it appears.

For a novice gardener, it will not be difficult to master two methods of propagating coleus:

• seeds into the ground;
• seedlings;
• cuttings.

In flower shops you can choose seeds to suit your taste; their choice is very wide and can satisfy anyone.

Growing from seeds at home

Even a beginner can cope with seedlings. Success is ensured if high-quality seeds of the desired variety are purchased, which means they have a high percentage of germination. The second component of success is soil. It can be purchased at the store or prepared with your own hands. Take for this:

• 4 parts soda earth;
• 2 parts pine or spruce needles;
• 2 parts of well-rotted cattle manure;
• 1 part sand (washed, river).

Prepare the soil mixture in advance, preferably in the fall. Grind the needles well. Two weeks before sowing, disinfect the soil. Don't skip this step if you want healthy seedlings. Most plants become infected through the soil due to pest larvae, fungal spores and other infections found in it.

You can treat the soil in any of the following ways:

1. Warm up for 45 minutes at 120°C or 2 hours in a water bath.
2. Hot water treatment.
3. Freezing.

Any method is effective if, in addition to temperature treatment, the soil is additionally shed with a solution of Fitosporin 10-14 days before planting. The biofungicide will accelerate the development of beneficial microorganisms.

You can use different containers. Small disposable cups made of transparent plastic are suitable. The ideal option would be seedling cassettes, sold in any flower shop. If you sow in peat tablets, you will greatly simplify the care of young plants.

The size of the seeds is very small, which is why they are never buried in the soil, but scattered randomly on top of well-moistened soil. A thin layer of sand moistened from a sprayer is acceptable on top.

A mini-greenhouse constructed from PVC film or glass will maintain the required level of air and soil humidity in the planting box. Before sprouts appear, the crops will need to be moistened with a sprayer only 1-2 times.

Important! Seedlings do not need bright sun. The container with seedlings should be placed on the eastern or north-eastern windows. After the appearance of young shoots, the air in the room can be reduced to 19°C.

The root system of coleus does not need increased soil moisture; it promotes rotting of young roots. Therefore, water wisely and evaluate soil moisture.

Seedlings sown in a box need picking. It is carried out as standard in the 2-leaf phase in separate cups. You can pour fine expanded clay onto the bottom of the glass. Use a hot nail to make 2 holes in the bottom of the cup. Such measures will prevent root rotting.

You should definitely pinch the top when the seedlings grow and the central stem is 5 cm long. Pinching stimulates the formation of side shoots. By the time the seedlings are planted in the ground, they will have the shape of a small bush.

Cuttings taken from a healthy, mature plant take root quickly and easily. By cutting at the end of summer and beginning of autumn, flower growers constantly renew their planting stock. Rooted plants in autumn decorate apartments and offices.

For outdoors, cuttings are carried out in March-April.

Any shoot no shorter than 15 cm and thick enough is suitable for cuttings. First you need to put it in ordinary water at room temperature. Replant into the ground after a sufficient number of roots appear. Change the water several times until the roots appear. In a high-quality cutting, the first roots will hatch within a week.

Standard care for rooted cuttings:

• watering;
• sufficient lighting (solar, artificial);
• fertilizing 1-2 times before planting in open ground.

Do not expect great decorativeness from coleus if you neglect the rules of care: water the plant often and abundantly, there are no drainage holes in the pots, there is no drainage, the flower receives little light. With such care, you will most likely end up with a sick plant. It is susceptible to root rot and leaf loss.

Pests can spoil the appearance of a plant:

• mealybug;
• whitefly;
• spider mite.

1. Extra.
2. Confidor.
3. Aktofit.
4. Bison

Do you like to eat citrus fruits: lemon, orange, tangerine, this is good. Don't throw away the peels. They are a good remedy for mealybugs. From them you can prepare an infusion for treating the plant. Just pour 50 g of crusts with a liter of boiling water and leave for a day.

A soap solution will also help against aphids, but to achieve a greater effect, you should add sifted wood ash to it. You can powder the soil in the pot, the leaves of the plant and its stems with ash. Spider mites are fought with the same soap solution, but to be sure, crushed garlic is added to it.

When propagating coleus from cuttings:

1. There should be no inflorescences or apical buds on the shoot for the cutting.
2. Make a straight cut clearly under the leaf node. Use a sharp, clean knife for cutting.
3. Be sure to pinch off a few bottom leaves. The area of ​​the cutting that is in water should not contain leaves.
4. Rooting is faster when using the drug "Kornevin". A root formation stimulator is added to the water. Strictly adhere to the dosage indicated in the instructions.
5. Change the water every 3 days.
6. Can be rooted in vermiculite with added water.
7. Maintain an even air temperature in the room (20°C).
8. Use additional artificial lighting to obtain strong coleus bushes. Bright coloring in sufficient light is guaranteed.

Brief tips for caring for grown plants:

1. Watering. Water often, but little by little. Avoid splashing water on the leaves. The soil should always feel moist to the touch.
2. Feeding. Once every 10 days, combine watering with fertilization. Use complex fertilizers intended specifically for decorative deciduous species.
3. Pinching. Form the desired shape of the decorative bush using the pinching method. Tall specimens are obtained by pinching all side shoots, ball-shaped bushes by uniformly pinching the tops of all shoots. Always remove the top of the panicle during flowering.
4. Lighting. The good shape of a seedling bush depends on the uniformity of lighting. To do this, pots with seedlings need to be rotated occasionally in relation to the light source.

Advice! Remember that coleus does not need bright sunlight. Take this into account when growing seedlings.

Landscape designers willingly include coleus in flower arrangements. The best combinations are obtained with flower plants of monochromatic colors. Coleus looks harmonious against the background of sage and cineraria. It successfully coexists with lilies, daylilies, and gypsophila is a good neighbor.

Combinations of purple coleus with yellow marigolds, silvery cineraria, fiery salvia, and sapphire-colored aggregum are considered classics of the genre.

An ideal duet - red coleus, silver alyssum.

Carpet flower beds and arabesques are created from different varieties of coleus. A “Persian” carpet made of multi-colored coleus becomes an excellent decoration for the lawn. The most suitable species for carpet beds is Verischffelt's nettle. Its varieties with golden yellow and dark purple leaves tolerate our climatic conditions well.

Small patios are decorated with containers containing colorful arrangements of bright coleus, red-leaved cannas and other green and yellow plants.

Dwarf coleus combined with a border of trimmed boxwood are the ideal decoration for any rose garden. The combination of coleus and a border of white sedum is equally impressive.

For rosaries, plants belonging to the Colossus nana variety are used. These are low (30 cm), colorful plants with beautiful leaves. In a rose garden, coleus should act as a backdrop for the regal beauty of roses. Its color should highlight their beauty.

Red and burgundy roses pair well with pale green or golden foliage. A carpet of dark red coleus of the Terro variety perfectly sets off the delicate beauty of white and delicate salmon-colored roses.

Faded lilies and other bulbous plants are depressing. Coleus, planted between the bulbous plants, quickly restores the decorative appearance of the flower garden. Pinching its top stimulates the accelerated growth of side shoots. In a short period of time, the coleus covers the entire flowerbed with a multi-colored carpet. Bulbous forms that have lost their decorative effect are cut off.

Varieties of ampel-type coleus, planted in beautiful flowerpots, fit perfectly into the interior of loggias. Surfinia, white-edged budra are excellent companions to decorative nettle. Balconies decorated with colorful hanging baskets make the facade of the house unique and inimitable.

Growing, planting, wintering coleus in open ground: video

Coleus awakens the creative imagination of gardeners. The ability to create colorful compositions makes it a popular design element for park areas, garden plots and loggias.

Coleus hybrid

Not only beautifully flowering plants are used for garden landscape design. Coleus - perennial or annual flowers, which many grow as indoor flowers - are becoming increasingly popular in landscaping.

The growing bushes of coleus attract lovers of beauty not with flowers, but with their beautifully colored leaves, reminiscent in shape of the leaves of stinging nettle. It is because of this that coleus received the popular name “nettle”.

Coleus belongs to the Lamiaceae family. This is a fairly extensive genus, whose representatives are native to tropical Africa and Asia. These are perennial or annual herbaceous plants or subshrubs with elongated heart-shaped or elongated oval leaves.

Coleus is a spectacular and unusual plant. Coleus flowers, unlike other plants, are not particularly interesting. Coleus is grown for its unusual brightly colored velvety leaves.

That is why coleus as an annual crop is used for high borders along the edge of a flower garden, in carpet beds, in containers or vases, combining plants of different shapes and leaf colors.

Hybrid coleus (Coleus hybridus) is a herbaceous plant up to 50-60 cm high. Its stem is erect, branching, tetrahedral, succulent, finely pubescent.

Coleus leaves are often wavy along the edge, finely velvety-pubescent, with sparse long hairs, variously and variegatedly colored in green, red, dark purple, violet-brown and other colors. With the contrasting colors of the split veins and frames, coleus are reminiscent of works of art from tropical Africa and Asia.

Characteristic features are: square, erect stems and opposite arrangement of oval, velvety leaves.

Each young plant grown from seeds intrigues the gardener for some time, being a mystery to him - after all, the first leaves appear green and it is not at all clear what color the leaf will be.

The flowering of coleus is not very decorative: small, inconspicuous flowers with a two-lipped corolla with a blue-violet upper and whitish lower lip are collected in complex spikes. The formation of flowers takes a lot of energy from the plant, which is why the leaves become smaller, so it is better to remove the buds.

Despite their tropical origin, coleus are unpretentious and grow quickly. They require a sheltered, sunny or diffused shade location. In spring and summer, there may be a loss of color (burning) and turgor in the leaves, associated with exposure to excessive amounts of sunlight.

Coleus is not picky about soil, so any land that is rich in nutrients will be suitable for planting it in the country.

During the period of active growth, the plant is fed every week with a mineral fertilizer complex intended for decorative deciduous plants. The addition of organic fertilizers has a good effect on the growth and color of leaves.

Coleus react very sharply to the lack of moisture in the soil - the leaves become flabby. If your tap water is hard, you should use rainwater.

To develop lush greenery, coleus plants must be pinched regularly. First, pinch the main trunk of the coleus, and then the grown side branches. Shortening the shoots not only stimulates the growth of a lush crown, but also prevents the coleus from blooming.

Coleus are propagated by seeds and sometimes by cuttings to avoid splitting and loss of decorative leaves.

Coleus seeds are very small. They are sown (or rather, scattered through a fine sieve) in February-March in small containers with a nutrient substrate and lightly sprinkled with sand on top. Crops must be sprayed with water several times a day so that the soil is always moist. At a temperature of 20-22°C, seedlings appear on the 15-20th day.

Seedlings are planted in peat pots with a soil mixture consisting of equal parts of leaf, peat and turf soil and sand, regularly watered and fed before planting them in open ground.

The main care of plants consists of watering and keeping them in a well-lit place, since the intensity of leaf color largely depends on lighting (sun rays).

Plant cuttings begin in February-April. Rooting occurs within 8-12 days. Rooted cuttings are planted in pots with a diameter of 11-12 cm. The composition of the soil is the same as for picking. Coleus are characterized by intensive growth - within 3 months they are already branched plants with large leaves.

Coleus are usually planted in small groups in a flower garden, combining different shades of leaves. They are notable for their rapid development. Over the course of 2.5-3 months, the seedling turns into a large, highly branched plant with large leaves. Specimens obtained from cuttings grow even faster.

Coleus look great against the background of a plain lawn or other plants with green leaves in single plantings.

With the onset of autumn cold weather, the plants that you want to preserve can be transplanted into ordinary pots of a suitable diameter with a nutritious substrate and sent to the apartment for the winter. Store it in winter in a pot on the sunniest window at a temperature of about +15°C.

If coleus is grown as an annual, it is not replanted. In other cases, replanting of overgrown plants is carried out once every 2-3 years. The substrate for transplantation is slightly acidic or neutral (pH 6-7). A mixture of turf, deciduous and humus soil, sand and peat in a ratio of 4:4:2:1:1 is suitable. The bottom of the pot needs good drainage.

And in the spring, coleus that have overwintered indoors (like houseplants) should be severely pruned (into cuttings), transplanted into fresh soil and fertilized. Cuttings from such a plant will quickly take root and produce lush new growth in the spring sun.

D. D. Chernyaeva

Photo from Yandex collection

Coleus from scratch

Reducing costs for flower beds is now not a recent task. And one way is to use plants with decorative foliage instead of flowering ones. And here, first of all, you should pay attention to coleus.

Yes, they have long been not only (and not so much) indoor flowers, but also full-fledged summer flowers with a huge assortment.

Some advantages

Varieties have appeared with a wide variety of leaf colors that do not form inflorescences, which spoil them so much. This allows you to make very colorful flower beds even from coleus alone.

Modern varieties and hybrids are distinguished by a wide variety of plant heights, which increases the possibility of their use in different types of flower beds.

All coleus grow well after cutting.

Increasingly, they are planted in containers of various types, especially large-leaved varieties and series.

They can grow in both sun and shade, and not many species are capable of such a wide range of possibilities.

It takes less time to grow coleus seedlings than flowering summer seedlings; thus, low varieties are ready for planting in flower beds after 6-7 weeks. When sowing in April, already at the beginning of June we have fully developed plants. Just after the last frost ends, you can plant them right away.

In containers, coleus can grow in the shade and in the sun, easily tolerate high air temperatures and are tolerant of low soil moisture, so they maintain the decorative appearance of the container all summer long. But of course, coleus is not resistant to cold; it can only be used in the open ground in summer, although it remains decorative indoors for a long time.

All types and sizes

For convenience, coleus varieties and hybrids can be divided into three groups: low (18-30 cm), medium (30-50 cm) and high (more than 50 cm).

Low

Carefree Series - plants with a height of 25-30 cm, which, thanks to their corrugated leaves, are suitable for growing in pots and containers.

Fairway F1 Series - very compact, highly branched plants 18-20 cm high. The series includes hybrids of 10 colors, of which Salmon Rose with dark pink leaves and a yellow-green edge and Ruby with bright red leaves with a narrow yellow edge are especially elegant. The series is considered the best for 10 cm pots.

Wizard Series shows the most compact plants with a height of 20-25 cm that do not form inflorescences. The most common varieties in flower beds are: green with cream Jade, yellow Golden, light green with dark red veins Pineapple, dark red Velvet Red, multicolor Mosaic.

Average

The Black Dragon variety, 30-35 cm high, has the darkest leaf color among coleus. Its leaves have jagged edges and are dark red with a purple-black center. Suitable for containers in sun and shade.

Kong Series are the fastest growing and most powerful plants with a height of 45-50 cm, which are intended primarily for large containers and pots. The series includes varieties with the following leaf colors: green with cream veins Green, unique bright green with cream and red veins Mosaic, with a dark red center and veins and a green edge Red, with a dark pink center and light green edge Rose and with a green edge, dark and light red centers and Scarlet veins. In open areas, the color of the leaves fades and fades.

Superfine Rainbows Series F1 - well-branched plants with large leaves 30-45 cm high. The series contains hybrids with 6 leaf colors, the most interesting of which are: Volcano - pure dark red, and Festive Dance, whose dark brown leaves with bright the red center looks more than intriguing. They color better in partial shade. The series is suitable for both flower beds and containers.

The Chocolate Series includes varieties with different plant heights and leaf colors that are unusual even for coleus. Mint - plants 35-50 cm high and 30-40 cm wide have brown leaves with a bright green edge. Splash - plants 30-40 cm high and wide with bright green leaves with large brown spots, which appear especially intense in the sun. Dark - plants 60-75 cm high and 45-60 cm wide with completely brown leaves. The series is highly recommended for large containers and 13 cm pots (3 plants each). Suitable for growing in sun and partial shade.

High

Versa Collection Series - powerful, well-branched plants 50-80 cm high and 45-60 cm wide. They form inflorescences late. The series includes varieties with the following leaf colors: Crimson Gold - red with a cream leaf edge, Rose To Lime - tricolor bright pink leaves with green and cream, Burgundy To Green - green with large brown spots, Green Halo - cream with a green edge. They grow in both sun and shade and are intended for tall containers and landscape flower beds.

We nurture with care

Sowing containers are filled with a standard substrate that does not contain fertilizers, since during germination coleus is very sensitive to high salt content. The optimal soil pH is 5.5-5.8.

The seeds are sprinkled with a thin layer of substrate or vermiculite. The optimal soil temperature for germination is 22-24°, then seedlings appear in 4-5 days.

For better root growth, keep the substrate moist, but not soggy, so water only when the soil dries out a little. Moreover, they try to do this at the beginning of the day so that by the evening the foliage is dry, which reduces the possibility of black leg and rot on the leaves.

With the beginning of the growth of the first true leaves, all conditions are created for obtaining compact seedlings. First of all, reduce the temperature to 20-21°. To speed up the growth of roots and avoid stretching of the stem, dry the soil even more between waterings, only trying to prevent the leaves from wilting.

When 2-3 true leaves develop or a little earlier, seedlings from seed boxes dive into pots ranging in size from 5.5 cm to 10 cm, depending on the varietal size. A small amount of fertilizer is added to the picking substrate.

In the future, varieties and hybrids that retain color better in the shade are shaded in sunny weather. Pinching is not recommended for coleus with large leaves, as it leads to a decrease in the size of the newly growing leaves.

A week or two after picking, they begin to apply liquid fertilizers. The compactness of the seedlings is guaranteed by alternating fertilizing with complex fertilizers and fertilizing with calcium or potassium nitrate. But at the same time, coleus grows poorly with an excess of ammonium, so fertilizers containing large quantities of it should be avoided.

D. Kudryavets , Candidate of Agricultural Sciences