Coleus flower

I managed to raise 10 coleus from a Burpee variety seed packet this year, and two of them got chewed up by deer when I left them outside three weeks ago. Those two have recovered well, and the green one that looks like lettuce now has a flower stalk.

Flowers are a no-no in the coleus world because they detract from the real show, the leaves. Although this one has unusual leaves, it has no color other than green. I decided to let the flower stalk go and see what happened. Every once in a while I take the greenhouse potted coleus outside and let them sit in water for half an hour. When they go back inside, I put them on top of the beds without the saucers.

A solid green coleus might be interesting if paired with ones of different colors, but for the most part this is what you want when you plant an unknown variety from a seed collection. I moved this one into our bedroom today.

I'm presuming that the 10 Burpee coleus are not sun tolerant and I keep them on the back porch where they miss the morning and mid-day sun. The four ColorBlaze 'Wicked Witch' (original plant and three clones) are fine in the sun. I have some things I want to do next year and I'll probably have to get ColorBlaze varieties to do them. The three 'Drop' varieties (Strawberry, Cherry and Chocolate) have a trailing habit and could be used in hanging baskets or large planters. I also want to get the 'Golden Dreams' variety. I'll have a hard time finding a place for the colorful generics, and the generic greens probably will not make the cut for overwintering in the garage. So flower away, it may be your closing act.