Home-propagated coleuses are ready to play in the outdoor garden.
Photo by L.A. Jackson
Compared to the bright blossom displays of spring and the brilliance that is autumn in its full foliage blaze, the midsummer ornamental garden can often be ho-hum visually. During this lull, green tends to dominate the summer landscape. There are always colorful blooming flowers, of course, but many of their shows can be fleeting.
So, what will provide constant colors to counter such a green wave in the summer garden? Variegated plants do help break up this wash of greenness, but I like to stir in more razzle to their dazzle by also adding sassy coleuses to my planting beds.
Coleuses, which are usually treated as annuals, are foliar floozies that have been used in American landscapes since the 1800s, but in the last few decades, rowdier, swankier forms have crashed the garden party, with several of them being generally larger and, in many cases, more colorful than their past cousins.
Speaking of color, almost every hue but blue is part of the coleuses’ palette these days. And for even more ocular bang, their leaf forms are also all over the map.
Coleuses won’t be hard to find at local garden centers this month, but do take a look at Rosy Dawn Gardens’ website at rosydawngardens.com. This Michigan nursery has finished shipping for this season and won’t take new orders until December, but if you want an informal tutorial on just how wide a range of colors and shapes coleuses now come in, check out the images of their 200-plus selections.
To keep coleuses happy through the long growing season, mulch these pretties after planting them in rich, loamy, well-worked soil. Well-draining growing ground is important because a yucky, damp setting will encourage root rot to come out and play.
I have found planting these dandies where they receive generous morning light but are shielded from the worst of the midday to early afternoon summer sun results in the best colors for their displays.
There are also so-called “sun coleuses” that can tolerate more exposure to natural light. I’ve even seen them flaunting away on open traffic island berms, but they are usually watered thoroughly every few days to encourage deep root development, which is important for extended perky displays under the hot summer sun.
Want really bushy coleuses? Simply pinch the tips of their stems back just a bit about three or four weeks after planting and again a month later.
July in the garden
• Long periods of hot, dry weather can stress tomato and pepper plants to the point that they begin to drop blossoms, which will reduce their crops. Try misting the plants twice a day to help counter the effects of such extended summer simmer.
• For better taste—and less slime—pick okra pods when they are about three inches long. And for even less slime, leave the pods whole when boiling okra.
• Continue filling the bird bath with water at least once or twice a week, and to keep this refreshment stand fresh, also clean it every two weeks.
Tip of the month
Coleuses won’t survive the winter outside, but in the fall, cuttings can be easily rooted and tucked away indoors until next spring. Simply snip a five-inch stem just below a leaf node, take off all but the top four or five leaves and place it in a bottle of water. In just a few weeks, white roots will begin snaking out of the submerged parts of the stem, and you can then transfer the new plant to a container of quality potting soil.
Locate young coleuses in a sunny window and water the pots as well as mist the leaves regularly. Come spring, take your propagated pretties out to play in the garden!
L.A. Jackson is the former editor of Carolina Gardener magazine. Contact him at lajackson1@gmail.com.