Ooooh, now I really wish I had placed an order with Rosy Dawn this year. These are beautiful.

Thanks Kate. I'll get a better picture after I get them potted up. The colors are fantastic. I was really just trying to show how nice they came right out of the packaging. I don't think it's too late to place an order at RD. You should see my "wish list" there. LOL!!! Reminds me of when my kids were little and they would take the Sears Christmas catalog and circle everything!

~Betsy

Gorgeous, Betsy! I'm late in ordering, too, but I still plan to get some new varieties soon. After the plant swap, I'll be able to think about them and figure where I'm going to put them. Probably I'll do big containers, too. I love to be able to relocate them when I want to.

Last year, I kept them in back in full sun until mid-summer, then moved them to front beds where there was some afternoon shade. That worked very well, and gave me lots of color around the entryway.

Good luck with yours. I like Darth Vader, and you will be amazed at the size of the leaves on Envy!! Give it loads of room and a bit of afternoon shade, and it will reward you with leaves 12" long and about 8" or 9" wide. It's a real eye-popper!!

Marcia

...what is the red and green one on the left? Allison, maybe? Beautiful!

Marcia

Marcia,
The garden you had in front of the house last year that was all (or almost all) coleus was perfect. That area gets lots of shade, right? I'm thinking of filling in some of the open spaces in my garden with coleus cuttings. They'll get morning sun and hot noon sun but by 1:30 or 2 they'll be in full shade. Think that would work?

Yes Marcia that is Allison. She is so pretty! I remember your beautiful pot grotto of coleus last year. It was stunning and I'm sure it helped you earn your crown! Songbird is unbelievably pretty. I think it deserves a pretty pot all of its own. I washed out some old 6" pots tonight and will pot these up tomorrow night. I'll get a better picture then. I want to wait until I get the rest of what I ordered before I decide who will go where. I can already see that Envy will get large. I have the perfect spot for it by my front entrance. I think I will put Atlas and Beckwiths Gem there too.

I love the lance shaped leaves on Darth Vadar too. I think he will look good with Saturns Rings.

Kate, last year I had pots of Fiesta and Fire Dragon on the pool deck in full sun all day and they did fine. They get droopy in the heat of the day but pop right back up in the evening. I think you should try them. They make such a great statement. You'll smile each time you see them!

~Betsy

Kate, it all depends on the coleus variety. That front bed garden was almost all in containers, and until after mid-summer, they had been in full sun out back, all day long. Then when it got unbearably hot, I moved them into the shadier bed. Most of them will probably work with morning sun and afternoon shade, but some really LOVE all day sun.

It is really helpful to know which ones you have, as you can look on the Rosy Dawn website and find out how tall they get, and whether they like shade, sun, or half and half. Some will not take sun at all, and will shrivel and burn, and look lousy.

Betsy, thank you for the compliment. I really had fun with them last year, and today, I planted another bed out back with them. But the ones I put out are mostly NOIDS I got locally, so I'm only guessing as to what they will like. I think I recognize Defiance which can take a LOT of sun, and maybe Peter Wonder, which can take a fair amount, too. Others I'm just going to have to wait and see how they do where I just put them.

Darth Vader prefers shade, or filtered sun. It's a great plant, and looks really good with Lord Voldemort. Lots of black and green on those two.

Saturn loves sun, but I don't know for sure about Saturn's Rings. However, if it is a sport of Saturn, I would guess it wants sun, too. Again, Darth Vader doesn't do so well in sun, so be careful if you pair those two.

Fiesta and Fire Dragon are great sun lovers, too. I had them both last year and they got huge.

Marcia

Of course I don't remember which ones I bought so not sure which ones lived. Or which ones I got at the coleus swap, for that matter. I like them all so I guess it really doesn't matter. lol.

I'll have to hit the Rosy Dawn site just to ID the ones I have. I probably have 7 left from last year that are thriving so I'll have plenty to snip off and try around the garden.

Betsy - I had several last year but had the most luck with the ones in pots; they got huge and beautiful. This year I thought I would try the garden again but put them in a different spot.

Kate