Check out Rosy Dawn Gardens. They specialize in coleus and have gorgeous selections that will do well in sun.

Martha

when trying an alleged shade plant in sun ..

let me propose that the issue is the potting media.. and the size of the pot.. and water management.. not necessarily the plant itself ...

MANY shade plants are simply shade TOLERANT.. but prefer such.. because they are heavy water users ... such as hosta .. and coleus is a heavy water user ...

if you can provide enough.. and PROPER water.. they can do just fine in full sun ... especially in z5 ...

so if you are jamming all your plants.. in a 1 gallon pot.. with soil [instead of media] .. you will probably fail ...

if you get a good potting media.. and a big enough pot to support the mature plant size ..and insure that it is PROPERLY watered all summer long.. the sky is the limit.. usually ...

and one trick.. is to insure the plant is out of sun from say 2 to 6pm .. if you can .. the hours when the most water is lost .... especially a black pot ...

but sometimes you pick the wrong plant.. lol ...

sooo... its more than just the plant you want ..

ken

hi there,
I grew a `Wizard Jade`last year on the balcony in a large window box, south facing, sun all day long. Cut it back several times to prevent the beast from taking over the whole window box. In the end it was a large dome shaped thing, more than a foot in diameter.
Foliage always looked good, no melting out or such, so I would second Ken`s comment on "shade plants".

Personally I would stay away from the nasturtium as they always always get blackflies at the start of the season and don't make it on my balcony. In real soil they always thrive, so perhaps a soil thing.

bye, Lin

Here is a link that might be useful: description cultivar

ken Adrina wrote:

MANY shade plants are simply shade TOLERANT.

I understand Ken except I think you have it reversed for the coleus. This plant thrives in (significant) shade and only some are sun tolerant!

For example Alabama Sunset unlike many other coleus have a much better tolerance to sun and heat (and so require less water).

I am just wondering which others do similarly well in sun.

no.. i understood that ... at the link it says:

Coleus Blumei is one of only a few species with members that can thrive in sun or shade. Provided with reasonable soil, fertilizer, and regularly watered, coleus will flourish in a garden during the summer or indoors on a windowsill or a greenhouse all year long.

and do note the culture requirement .... WATER!!!

i found that by googling NATIVE HABITAT FOR COLEUS ....

anyway .. as linaria says .. in my words.. she had to beat it back with a stick.. in full sun ...

good luck ....

ken

ps: the link also says:

Coleus Blumei is just one of over 150 species of Coleus. It is a large genus, with members naturally found from Africa to Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands.

===>> and that surprised me.. i didnt really thing of it as a south pacific native across the whole south of the Mediterranean type plant ... though the Indonesia part doesnt surprise me.. i dont think of those areas as heavy shade ... by my definition.. this should not be a foo foo plant.. lol ...

Here is a link that might be useful: link

linaria wrote:

Personally I would stay away from the nasturtium as they always always get blackflies at the start of the season and don't make it on my balcony. In real soil they always thrive, so perhaps a soil thing.

Lin, I have had good success with 'nasturtiums' both in "real ground" and in containers...an outstanding colourful annual.

Two more coleus described as being very successful in full sun:

Wasabi and Sultana