Coleus flowers (“Poor Croton”, “Nettles”, COLEUS) – these are small bushes, densely covered with large leaves, similar to nettle leaves, but the most varied and bright color options. The Coleus plant is valued by flower growers both for the richest selection of color combinations on variegated leaves, and for its rapid growth. Caring for a Coleus and its cultivation is not difficult, planting a plant is simple, and reproduction is not difficult at all.
Coleus flower has many species and varieties, many of them are cultivated in home floriculture.
Coleus plant species
In nature, there are about 150 species of coleus – both annuals and perennials, common in tropical regions of the world. In indoor floriculture, the most popular species and varieties of coleus of polyhybrid origin, one of whose parents was Coleus blumei.
The name of the genus comes from the Greek coleus – “sheath, case” – and is associated with a characteristic feature of the filaments.
Pay attention to the photo of Coleus flowers – the staminate threads grow together, forming a kind of case.
The popular name “poor man’s croton” reflects the variety of colors of pretty velvety leaves that compete with the more noble and demanding codiaum, and the affectionate “nettle” notices the similarity of leaf blades with nettle leaves, but at the same time their complete harmlessness.
Coleus hybrid
For such diverse and sometimes dissimilar varieties of the hybrid coleus (Coleus x hybridus), the characteristic features are: square in cross section, erect stems and the opposite arrangement of oval velvety leaves.
As you can see in the photo of the Coleus flower, the edges of the leaf plates can be jagged, dissected, wavy, fringed and even curly.
Each young plant grown from seeds intrigues the grower for some time, being a mystery to him – after all, the first leaves appear green and it is not at all clear what will grow. But how interesting day after day is to observe the appearance of more and more colors and elements of the pattern and to be amazed at the skill and taste of the artist-nature. The varieties of Coleus differ in the size of the plants themselves – there are large and powerful ones among them, there are also miniature, as well as ampelous options.
Coleus flower varieties and their photos
Popular varieties of Coleus include the following:
“Brilliant” – a variety with small red and lemon leaves.
“Buttercup” – tall bushes (up to 50 cm) with delicate light green leaves.
“Butterfly” – a variety of coleus with a wavy edge of the sheet plate.
“Crimson Ruffles” – a large variety with burgundy-crimson leaves.
“Candidum” – the center of the leaf is almost white, the border is light green.
Coleus “Firebird” – the entire sheet plate is corrugated.
Coleus “Golden Bedder” – leaves are monochromatic, yellow.
“Glory of Luxembourg” – coral-sand strokes are scattered on the yellow background.
“Rose Blush” – highly branching variety. Pay attention to the photo of this variety of coleus – it has large, corrugated leaves, pale pink in the center and light green along the edge.
“Saber” – dwarf variety of coleus up to 20 cm high.
“Salmon Lace” – the center of the leaf is red, the border is green-yellow.
Series “Kong” characterized by a fast growth rate and very large leaves, due to which the height of the plant can be equal to the width of the crown.
According to the color of the leaves, they are distinguished:
Coleus “Green” – green-cream color.
Coleus “Red” – green-red option.
Coleus “Mosaic” – spotted-striped leaves of green-red-cream color.
Planting and caring for the Coleus
To get a beautifully formed bright bush, when planting and caring for the Coleus, you need to choose a well-lit place (in the middle lane, especially in winter, even direct sunlight is not scary). Winter temperature should not drop below + 12 … + 15 ° C. Watering is plentiful in summer (drying of the earthy coma is not allowed), moderate in winter (roots are very sensitive to water stagnation, especially when the temperature drops). In hot weather, fresh air and spraying is necessary.
After planting the Coleus, you need to take care of feeding it. It is held monthly from March to August. It is better to use complex fertilizers for ornamental-deciduous plants or organic (there should be a predominance of nitrogen, since potassium-phosphorus fertilizers stimulate flowering, and the flowers at Coleus are not very decorative). Coleus can be transplanted every 2-3 years, but it is better to rejuvenate the plant annually, that is, to renew it from cuttings. It is imperative to carry out pinching and shaping pruning.
Coleus perfectly reproduces by cuttings, while maintaining all the parental external characteristics, and by seeds, but in this case the appearance of the obtained seedlings is unpredictable.
Coleus are plants that are indispensable for creating flower arrangements, for decorating balconies, terraces, and for decorating flower beds. A rich color scheme allows you to use them both as a background and for placing color accents. Coleus alone can create amazing flower paintings.
