Coleus

Coleus are no longer your grandmother's parlor plants. Favorites during the Victorian period, they have made a dramatic comeback. It's easy to see why: no other plant offers such a dazzling variety of leaf colors, shapes, and patterns, and no other plant is so easy to grow and propagate. Given a modicum of care, coleus will flourish from spring until frost. Although older varieties performed best in shady situations, newer ones have been selected for sun tolerance, making it possible to grow coleus in every part of the garden. With their sumptuous colors and tough constitution, coleus are ideal both as attention-getting focal points and as complements to other foliage or flowering plants. As happy in a container as in open ground, they are the ultimate in versatility, their uses as unlimited as your imagination.
Whether you're a weekend gardener in search of easy, reliable color, or an enthusiast who wants to collect every colues available, this exciting and comprehensive resource will give you exactly what you're looking for--and more. Expert plantsman Ray Rogers offers equal parts inspiration and practical advice, with history, plant characteristics, problem solving, propagation, and designing with coleus in both containers and in the garden, all brought to life by Richard Hartlage's masterful photographs. An encyclopedia covers more than 225 varieties.