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| Coleus | ||||||||||||
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Coleus amboinicus Coleus barbatus Coleus blumei Coleus forskohlii Coleus pumila Coleus pumilus Ref: ITIS 32469 2002-08-19 |
Coleus is an perennial (though it is often grown as an annual as it is not hardy and becomes leggy and unattractive with age) plant with colorful variegated leaves, typically with sharp contrast between the colors; the leaves may be green, pink, yellow, maroon, and red. The plants grow well in moist well-drained soil, and typically grow 12 to 24 inches tall, though some may grow as tall as four feet. Coleus are typically grown for ornamental purposes; they are heat-tolerant, though they do less well in full sun in subtropical areas than in the shade. In bright hot areas, the colors of the plant will typically be more intense in shaded areas than in full sun, and the plants will require less water. Coleus also make low maintenance houseplants, and can often be propagated by clipping a length of stem just below the leaves and putting the stem in water to root.
The plant's flowers grow on a stem above that stem's leaves, and tend to be purple and quite small in comparison to the leaves. The plant is not generally grown for its flowers.
*Several plants in the genus Coleus and still commonly called "coleus", have been moved to other genera in Lamiaceae.
