{"id":8096,"date":"2016-02-01T12:00:01","date_gmt":"2016-02-01T17:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/?p=8096"},"modified":"2015-11-02T18:33:59","modified_gmt":"2015-11-02T23:33:59","slug":"coleus-thrive-in-summer-heat-and-humidity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/2016\/02\/01\/coleus-thrive-in-summer-heat-and-humidity\/","title":{"rendered":"Coleus Thrive In Summer Heat And Humidity"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Coleus<\/a>

Coleus ‘Campfire’ on Ohio State Campus<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"Coleus<\/a>

Coleus flowering in October<\/p><\/div>\n

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Coleus (Plectranthus scutellariodes<\/em>) is a summer annual treasured for\u00a0its colorful foliage. Plants thrive in summer’s heat and humidity (USDA hardiness zone 11).\u00a0 Coleus is a member of the nettle family Lamiaceae<\/u>.\u00a0You\u00a0can create\u00a0dazzling\u00a0beds of\u00a0 color using coleus\u00a0alone or mixed with\u00a0flowering annuals.<\/p>\n

Modern day coleus\u00a0grow\u00a0more compact and better branched. Trailing forms\u00a0add another option.\u00a0Every year new varieties\u00a0surpass previous color barriers.\u00a0The color array includes green, pink, yellow, orange, red, purple (almost black), cream, and white. Choose from solids, blended colors, or color-veined foliage.<\/p>\n

Most varieties perform best in morning sun and afternoon shade, although\u00a0shade only types are available. Cultivar series such as the ColorBlaze\u00ae, Wizard Sun\u00ae, Main Street\u00ae, and Ducksfoot\u00ae prefer partial to full sun, while the Mosaic\u00ae and Kong\u00ae series excel in moderate shade. \u2018Fish Net Stockings\u2019 struts lime green leaves with dark purple venation.<\/p>\n

In northern climes (zones 7 and north), coleus prefers\u00a0moist, compost-rich soil. Excesses or deficits\u00a0in\u00a0soil moisture should be avoided. Plant coleus after the spring frost threat has passed\u00a0and soil temperatures have warmed above 50 \u00baF. Light feeding with a water soluble fertilizer such as Miracle-Gro\u2122, Peters\u2122, or Schultz\u2122 every 6 -8 weeks is recommended. For containers incorporate a slow release fertilizer or feed with water soluble fertilizer.<\/p>\n

Spacing between plants differs with\u00a0cultivar size and vigor and\u00a0this information is usually\u00a0printed on the plant tag. In general midsize and trailing cultivars should be 16-18 inches apart. Large shade types cultivars should be spaced 24 inches apart unless they\u2019re routinely pinched back.<\/p>\n

Over the first 4-5 weeks newly set plants benefit by pinching (light tip pruning)\u00a0to increase branching and plant density. New coleus cuttings may be quickly rooted\u00a0from pinched shoots. After 3-4 weeks you can\u00a0plant\u00a0rooted cuttings\u00a0into new garden areas.<\/p>\n

Many gardeners opt to pinch off the small flowers to channel energy into plant growth and enhance leaf color and size. Some new cultivars exhibit delayed flower formation.<\/p>\n

Scale, spider mites, mealybugs, whiteflies and aphids are occasional pests on coleus.<\/p>\n

\"Coleus<\/a>

Coleus MainStreet ‘River Walk’<\/p><\/div>\n

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\u00a0               Coleus (Plectranthus scutellariodes) is a summer annual treasured for\u00a0its colorful foliage. Plants thrive in summer’s heat and humidity (USDA hardiness zone 11).\u00a0 Coleus is a member of the nettle family Lamiaceae.\u00a0You\u00a0can create\u00a0dazzling\u00a0beds of\u00a0 color using coleus\u00a0alone or mixed with\u00a0flowering annuals. Modern day coleus\u00a0grow\u00a0more compact and better branched. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[444,747,1040,1037,521,674,665,602,877,551,843,1060,601,629,646,113,455],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8096"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8096"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8096\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8268,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8096\/revisions\/8268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8096"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8096"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whatgrowsthere.com\/grow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8096"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}