mature flame nettle for its brightly colored leaves , not its tiny flowers . A tropic plant , coleus potentially grows as a perennial in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 10 and 11 , but is more often treated as an one-year or grown as a houseplant . easygoing to care for and perdurable , choose a coleus that will bring well for you and where you be after to grow it .
Step 1
Most variety of flame nettle opt part tint , but several tolerate full sun . With fringed , deep red red leaves edged with a layer of dark bronze and a hunky-dory agate line of chartreuse " Red Ruffles " ( Solenostemon scutellarioides " Red Ruffles " ) makes a stunning presentation as a garden or container plant pair with another sort of contrasting color . Althoughred folio generally indicate sun tolerance among coleusvarieties , there are exclusion . " The Line " ( Solenostemon scutellarioides " The Line " ) flame nettle , for illustration , flourish in full sunshine and has pea green leaves marked with melodic phrase of deep purple down the center .
Coleus for Shade
One coleus variety that grows well in full shade is " Brown Sugar Drop " ( Solenostemon scutellarioides " Brown Sugar Drop " ) , which has small , heart - shaped maroon leafage edge in bright dark-green . Another shade - loving smorgasbord " Black Magic " ( Solenostemon scutellarioides " Black Magic " ) has standardized colors to " Brown Sugar Drop " but has large leave and can grow 3 human foot tall . " Black Dragon " ( Solenostemon scutellarioides " Black Dragon " ) also prefers shade and offers textural contrast with violet - black scallop folio and unripened stems .
Step 2
Coleus for Containers
Most flame nettle grow well in a containers . Using containers makes it easy to move the plant indoors for winter . Certain diversity make excellent displays in windowpane box , hanging baskets or urns , specially in shadowy area where colour is usually scarce . One example of atrailing varietyof coleus is " Lava Rose " ( Solenostemon scutellarioides " Lava Rose " ) , a compact flora that mutant rose and burgundy - colored , scallop leaf with green edging . " Trailing Salamander " ( Solenostemon scutellarioides " Trailing Salamander " is an oculus - catching , shade - have sex , trailing coleus with lobate green leave with deep maroon center . For gay spot , consider " Strawberry Drop " ( Solenostemon scutellarioides " Strawberry Drop " ) , mention for its heart - shaped dark-green farewell with strawberry mark pink and ointment centers .
Dwarf Coleus
Dwarf varieties of flame nettle are suitable for containers or for employment as garden borderline plants because they lean to grow incompact pile . With deeply lobed leaves of green , Bourgogne and cream , " Mint Mocha " ( Solenostemon scutellarioides " Mint Mocha " ) is a striking looking dwarf coleus with ferny leaves . The feathery appearance is even more marked in " Stained Glassworks Kiwi Fern " ( Solenostemon scutellarioides " Stained Glassworks Kiwi Fern " ) , which has long and narrow lobed leaves of deep Bourgogne edged in chartreuse . For a refreshful line , try out " Lifelime " dwarf coleus ( Solenostemon scutellarioides " Lifelime " ) , which has bright Citrus aurantifolia gullible leaves .
Tree Form Coleus
With careful pruning , you could train almost any potpourri of flame nettle to grow like a tree diagram , which is technically shout out acoleus criterion . Larger " trees " or topiaries can be created from flame nettle varieties that will attain 3 to 4 foot tall , such as red - leafed " Defiant " ( Solenostemon scutellarioides " Defiant " ) or " Saturn " ( Solenostemon scutellarioides " Saturn " ) with undimmed fleeceable leaves edge in burgundy . For smaller standards of 2 to 3 infantry , consider burgundy and green " Inky Fingers " ( Solenostemon scutellarioides " Inky Fingers " ) or " contestation - a - Whirl " ( Solenostemon scutellarioides " Tilt - a - commotion " ) with rippled red go away with green bands down the center .
References
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