Any well drained soil suits coleus well, though it responds amazingly to one enriched with old manure or other organic matter or commercial fertilizer. With coleus the aim is luxurious foliage, so you need not be wary of a little overfeeding, as is the case with petunias, nasturtium, ageratum and other flowering annuals. With these and others, overfeeding results in lush, rank foliage and a few, puny flowers.
Many kinds of plants that tolerate shade can be combined with coleus effectively, but most of all concentrate on a background of green to show them off to most advantage. This can be the green of many kinds of deciduous shrubs or needle or broad-leaved evergreens.
Arrange coleus in large groups, or better still in drifts, spacing plants one to two feet apart, depending on how quickly results are desired and the length of the growing season. A few of the green and yellow-leaved kinds interspersed among the red-foliaged varieties create a pleasing and dramatic contrast and pattern.
Coleus – The Lighting
The amount of sun to allow is important. Coleus will grow in full sun, but leaves lose the soft radiant colors that are the charm of this favorite.
Instead, colors become very deep, almost brown, lacking the animation and sparkle of plants grown where light is strong or where sunlight strikes for a few hours a day, preferably in the early morning or late afternoon.
In part shade, colors have a luminous quality and glow warmly, particularly on an overcast day when the light is hazy bright. The biggest thrill of all is the effect of the reflected light of a sunset, when the entire sky is aglow with pink, scarlet and amber. Coleus leaves then are beyond the descriptive power of words.
Indoors, mealy bug is perhaps the worst enemy of coleus, and this insect may find its way out-of-doors through indoor grown plants or cuttings. To control use a spray of neem oil or malathion. Aphids may also become troublesome and the same chemicals will check them.
The amount of sun to allow is important. Coleus will grow in full sun, but leaves lose the soft radiant colors that are the charm of this favorite.
Instead, colors become very deep, almost brown, lacking the animation and sparkle of plants grown where light is strong or where sunlight strikes for a few hours a day, preferably in the early morning or late afternoon.
In part shade, colors have a luminous quality and glow warmly, particularly on an overcast day when the light is hazy bright. The biggest thrill of all is the effect of the reflected light of a sunset, when the entire sky is aglow with pink, scarlet and amber. Coleus leaves then are beyond the descriptive power of words.
Indoors, mealy bug is perhaps the worst enemy of coleus, and this insect may find its way out-of-doors through indoor grown plants or cuttings. To control use a spray of neem oil or malathion. Aphids may also become troublesome and the same chemicals will check them.
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