Tower of flower

I am not going to overwinter all of the coleus, and the ones that are mostly green are the first ones on the chopping block. The usual advice for coleus is not to let them flower, but I decided to let this one go to see what would happen. This is the one with green frilled leaves that was mangled by deer just a month ago. I planted it in the greenhouse planting bed a few weeks ago and the flower stalks are now at least three feet high. It's actually rather impressive and I'm reconsidering its status for the upcoming cull.

To the right, over by the window is another coleus raised from seed. It probably will make the cut. Back in the corner is one of the ColorBlaze 'Wicked Witch' clones and it is a shoo-in. All of my coleus came from a Burpee variety seed pack, except 'Wicked Witch' which was Proven Winners Direct purchase.

I look this image on the 17th. It is one that I put in the planting bed, which implies that I wasn't planning on saving it. This is another one that is getting reconsidered. It isn't very tall but was producing a stalk with little purple flowers, so I nipped that in the bud.

So far the bushiest coleus, besides the original pot of 'Wicked Witch,' are a couple of mostly-green plants that I have at the house. I've been thinking about planting them on the north side of the house since, to be realistic, they are expendable. Unlike 'Wicked Witch,' these seed-raised plants don't seem to do well in full sun, so the north side probably would be an optimal location. The questions I want answered are (1) will the deer eat them and (2) how big will they get in the two months before they freeze.

Coleus foliage is considered mildly toxic to deer (Yay!), but that didn't prevent them from mangling the one shown in the top image. But that was at the greenhouse. The deer a mile away at the house have not bothered the coleus that are on the back patio. Those plants are either surrounded by stinky herbs or are close to an active part of the house. If I planted them on the north side, they would be on their own. I have found depressions in the stones on the north side which lead me to believe the deer nap there once in a while. Time for an experiment.