Coleus Plants Alligator Tears & From Biltmore Gardens Shiny Shoes

Each spring, gardeners who love coleus plants inevitability find themselves looking for one they have not grown, yet. Whether an enthusiast of Solenostemon scutellarioides grows them outside, in a planting bed or in a container garden, or as part of a houseplant collection, the shear expansion of choices ensures unending years of ideas.

Obviously, a new cultivar is worth a look as is one with unusual texture, like shiny leaves. But consider a challenge like growing these colorful foliage plants from seed or treating them as flowering plants instead of instantly lopping off the blooms.

Solenostemon Scutellaroides Alligator Tears & Shiny Shoes

Solenostemon scutellarioides ‘Alligator Tears’™ is a new coleus plant from Proven Winners ColorBlaze® series, which will be in garden centers beginning in 2011. This coleus is meant for shade or sun locations; indoors it needs bright light. Not for its flowering ability will it be remembered, because it rarely will, Solenostemon ‘Alligator Tears’™ grows large up to 30″ tall with a spread of 16.” Each leaf has a gently toothed margin of green and a creamy yellow center.

The very black gleaming leaves of Solenostemon scutellarioides ‘Shiny Shoes’ remains small with crimped margins along petite leaves on a 18″ tall and wide plant. It is bound to catch a coleus collector’s eye, as it did when it was discovered growing under a bench in the Biltmore Gardens Conservatory. Solenostemon ‘Shiny Shoes’ has been grown combined with the new Petunia ‘Black Velvet’ and Euphorbia ‘Diamond Frost’ to make a flower garden in a pot.

Although not a new coleus, Solenostemon scutellarioides ‘Henna’ is a coleus winner at trial gardens many times over. Solenostemon ‘Henna’ grows 18″ tall, best in full or part sun. The upright plant’s leaf coloring can range from purple and chartreuse to coppery and warm brown with burgundy undersides, depending on the light exposure. The leaves have deeply incised margins creating a slightly ruffled appearance.

Coleus Foliage Plants Grown for Blue Flowers

Coleus plants are grown for the colorful foliage but, gardeners can consider the blue flower spikes they produce added value in a garden. In The Encyclopedia of Container Plants is pictured a Solenostemon ‘Compact Red’ with a mass of blue flowers while the trailing red coleus easily drapes over the edge of the pot.

Orange colored leaves contrast well with the plant’s blue flower spikes. Solenostemon ‘Sedona’ has orange leaves splashed with dark reddish violet. Although perfect for an indoor garden as it prefers shadier gardens, developing flowers indoors may be more difficult than when growing the plant outside. Solenostemon ‘Sedona’ grows 18″ – 24″ tall with an 18″ spread. The coleus plant Rustic Orange is another orange leaved idea, this plant grows 16″ tall and 14″ wide.

For gardeners who like the coleus Alligator Tears™ because of the green and cream coloring but want flowers, consider Solenostemon ‘Butter Kutter.’ This coleus develops a finer texture and compact habit but the blue flowers easily complement the greenish chartreuse foliage.

Starting Coleus From Seed

Gardeners used to love starting coleus from seed because they were so easy to grow. But not all Solenostemon cultivars will grow true to the original parent plant as vegetative varieties have seeds that are unreliable. Gardeners should look for seed strains such as Black Dragon, Giant Exhibition, Rainbow or Wizard series to have good success.

As with other easy annual seeds, use a light soil, keep the soil moist and locate the planted tray in a warm place with bright light. Remember to harden off the plants before permanently placing the coleus outside for the summer. Use vegetative propagation methods for other coleus plants.

Looking for New Coleus Plants

There are so many coleus plants each with a different color, or combination of colors, that it seems a gardener could never run out of choices. The challenge remains to find the coleus plant that fits the type of garden one intends to grow it in.

A new coleus like Alligator Tears™ or Shiny Shoes, growing coleus for the flowers or finding fun in growing coleus from seed are ideas to consider for the summer garden, inside or outdoors.