I started some this year by seed. The Kong mosaic. I am flabbergasted by its beauty and large fleshy leaves. If the cultural instructions said I'd have to stand on my head to grow this one successfully, I probably would have. I am tucking all over the place in shady nooks. Ditto the kiwi fern, because it is also a winner.

Hoorah for appreciating foliage again. Flowers aren't the only reason for growing plants.

I have learned the hard way that Kong does not like dappled shade, nor do the Giant Exhibition varieties......yet, others say theirs do well in dappled shade. I just dont get it. Maybe other people have a different description of what "doing well" is. If my Coleus wilt all day long in dappled shade, yet freshens up in the evening, that to me is not doing well. I have actually seen Kong sold as a "sun coleus". I have seen them sold at box stores in full sun wilting all along the benches. Even some growing instructions say Kong and Giants are "sun coleus". My thoughts are, a person does not know if they are sun or shade until they try them themselves; Kong or any other coleus, or any other plant for that matter. Next year, I'll know better. But I sure cannot rely on growing instructions, that is for sure.

I've tried different kinds of coleus also. I've found that the dark ones do best in at least 4 hrs of sun. Most of mine get 6 hrs. One of my favorites is 'Blood Dragon'. All the plants I've had of this kind have gotten about 6 hrs of morning sun. They have been planted in my gardens and I also have them in pots. They are great. I bought 3 of the Giant Exhibitions and 2 are getting 6 hrs and one is getting 8 hrs which includes the hot afternoon sun. So far so good. They all have dark purple leaves. I also bought 2 of the 'Painted Glass' ones. They get 6 hrs of morning sun. So far, I'm not thrilled about them. They aren't doing much at all. They don't wilt, but they're not really growing much either. I mulch the gardens they are in and I also mulch the planters that I have them in. This really helps so they don't dry out. We've had some 90 plus days and very little rain. I water the gardens once a week and the pots every few days.
I hope later, like in mid-August, someone will have a post asking how the coleus that are in full sun are doing. That would be interesting.

Kat

I also have some of the dark red, ruffled ones in full sun in containers. They are flourishing even when their companion plants are suffering. I have them in dark red ceramic planters, with light blue annual sage, and dark blue lobelia. I do water every other day: no rain here and high temps.

I don't know what variety they are. Each year when I do my annual shopping ("annual annual shopping"?)I get these if I see them.

It's funny but I had always thought of coleus for shade. In the back of my mind I wondered why these were doing so well this year. In years past I had planted them under a tree. I had not realized that they were being bred for sun now.

Are they easy to grow from seed? I was just thinking about that this morning, then saw this thread! I would like to try some of the shade varieties you mention too.

Ellen in Mo.

If you live in Texas - EVERY plant wilts in the daytime!!! :)

Oh I am definitly glad I dont live in Texas!

I spend most of my gardening time outdoors during the day, I would not be happy seeing all my plants wilt. I would not be happy with intense heat all the time either, how do you all do it?!

Easy from seed. I did Kong Mosaic, some Giant Exhibition & Black Dragon from seed. Anybody want some Black Dragon plants?
The thing about coleus this year is that the selection in nurseries is amazing. There are some simply outstanding varieties out there. Since you can't get seeds for these new ones yet, you got to buy a plant or 2. I did. Coleus is indispensible for my deck display garden.
I like the tan/orange ones this year. And there's a dark one with red, gold and green freckling that is the bomb!

coleus is my absolute and most loved plant in my garden. However I regret saying that alot of my varieties died Christmas eve. We never, never get snow down here in deep south texas and so as I did not believe the weather reports. and that evening it got really cold and it snowed plenty. I did go out and carry my plants into the unheated green house but many things died. the only ones left are the ones I took cuttings from that night and brought inside. What I regret the most is that this was a collection from all my travels.

I've just purchased 3 of the giant exhibition series and 3 of the kong series. I'm so excited about their possibilities and want to do everthing right. I have all the light options open to me. What I'd like to know is if I can grow these in deep shade and do their roots need alot of room? I have 3 of them in a 6" x 24" planter and am thinking that that's too many plants for that size of a planter.

Mskhanson, I've found that the bigger the planter, the bigger the coleus gets. When planted in the ground, they really get big and full. Imho, in your zone, I wouldn't plant any in full sun, and would avoid afternoon sun. You said your planter is 6"x24". How deep is your planter? They can get good size root systems if given the room. If it's 6" wide, well, that's not very wide for these plants. Myself, I'd probably plant only 2 of them in there. They do get bushy. I have planted coleus in the ground that have gotten only 2 or 3 hrs of dappled morning sun and the rest of the time shade. They grew, but they didn't get as big as ones planted in the ground that got at least 4 or more hrs of sun. Btw, I've had both kinds you mentioned and I was pleased with them. Just remember to not let them dry out. They'll wilt bad. Sometimes mine will wilt during hot, sunny days, but when the shade comes, they'll perk back up. Just because they wilt, doesn't mean they need water. They're conserving water by wilting. Other plants will do that also. You can stick your finger in the soil to see if they need water or not.
Good luck and enjoy!

Kat

Thanks Kat. It was very warm here over the weekend (88 degrees) and I had my coleus out in the sun from 9 am to 1pm. They may like some sun but they do not like that kind of heat!! I'm going to have to bring them onto my porch (full bright shade)for the summer and hope for the best.

Am hoping you "Kong" growers can give me some advice. I bought three each of Kong Green, Black Cherry and Dark Heart. I was going to make a planting with the Kong's surrounded by the other two but now am wondering if Kong will be tall enough? The tag says it grows to 22". Black Cherry's tag says it grows to 14" and there is no information for Dark Heart. Any thoughts? I absolutely love all the different types that are available now.

Tangerine, I found Dark Heart on a google search and the site says it's a trailing kind of coleus. It's gets 3-5" in height and trails. You could have the Dark Heart in front and on the sides of the others. You can keep Black Cherry shorter by pinching the tips down. It'll get bushier this way too. Are these going to be in pots or the ground? I've found that mine get bigger when in big pots and even bigger in the ground. All 3 sound like a great color combination!
Good luck!

Kat

Katusha, thanks for the information on Dark Heart. The coleus are going in the ground and since DH trails, I think I'll stick with my plan of Kong's down the middle surrounded by BC and let the DH trail and provide a visual resting point along the outside with its dark, velvety leaves.

That really sounds good. Maybe in July or August you could post some pics here.
Good luck!

Kat

I'm following up on the combination I planted of Kong Green, Black Cherry and Dark Heart. What a huge flop! They are robust enough and healthy, just remarkably ugly, both alone and together, with the possible exception of Dark Heart. They are all basically the same height and DH trails. Kong Green looks stunted to me, as though each new set of leaves has been jam packed on top of the others. Black Cherry is a bunch of muddy colors and I wouldn't bother with it again. DH could go well with certain combinations, but what those are, I'm not sure. Gotta love coleus though, next year I hope to try twice as many.

Thanks for the update Tangerine. Too bad it didn't work like you would have liked. I know I've tried some coleus that really looked good when young, but as they got bigger I didn't care for them at all. The ones I didn't like had washed out older leaves...very dull and faded. I had bought a couple of 'Stained Glass' series ones and they were pretty, but they just didn't get big like they were supposed to. Maybe Kong Green will surprise you yet in it's growth.
Good luck with next years choices.

Kat

I recently became a coleus lover, and found a place called Rosy Dawn Gardens that has stupendous plants. They may have only a short 'window' for having a lot of inventory and/or shipping times, but WOW the selection!
I spent a pretty penny over there, and came away with some awesome varieties. I will take cuttings and overwinter my 'investments.'
Such great varieties out there that simply are not offered in nurseries!