Coleus – Solenostemon scutellarioides (Coleus blumei)

Common Name: Coleus, Painted Nettle

Botanical Name: Solenostemon scutellarioides (Coleus blumei), so-len-o-STE-mon sku-te-lay-ri-OID-es

Decorative Life: 2-4 plus weeks, months or even years depending on environment.

Flower Color: Blue, Red

Availability: Year Round

Chill sensitive, hold at 55F or above, but varies by cultivar. For example, both ‘Red Rainbow’ and ‘Weimar Buckley’ are chill sensitive while ‘Harequin’ was much less sensitive. Also, exposing plants to low light levels for 1-3 days before exposing them to chilling temperatures can actually reduce the severity of the chilling damage.

• From the Greek “solen” (tube) and “stemon” (stamen), in reference to the stamens being united into the corolla (petal) tube. Family members are easily recognized by their square stems. Many family members are important for volatile oils used in the perfume industry. More commonly listed under Coleus blumei.
• Stem cuttings easily root in moist sand or water.
• Some favorite cultivars and their respective leaf colors include ‘Wizard Scarlet’ (red with green edges) and ‘Wizard Rose’ (fuchsia/green/cream). Will generally do well in light levels at least bright enough to read a newspaper in comfort but more light (up to filtered full sunlight) would be better.
• Is sometimes classified as a flowering plant but more commonly grown mainly for its colorful foliage.

Rajapakse et al. (1988) showed that under low light intensities generally encountered under interior conditions, the majority of the transpirational water loss was not through stomata but directly through the leaf surface. Hence, anti-transpirants that work by controlling stomata opening will not work with this species.