So Many Species: Coleus at Floriculture Field Day

As promised, I will be making a few entries about what we discovered at the Floriculture Field Days held at Disney’s Epcot last month. The event is coordinated by Florida Nurseries, Growers & Landscape Association and entails the collaboration of many industry professionals: breeders, growers and landscape folks, as well as the horticulture staff at Disney.
Of course a field trial in Central Florida in May is the ideal venue to test varieties’ tolerance of heat and intense sunlight. Some of this year’s best performers would have to be the amazing array of coleus cultivars presented. They fell into categories based on vigor (rate of growth) and mature height– basically: small, medium and large. The largest varieties can get 30 – 36 inches tall (or more if packed tightly as they were at the trial). These large spreading varieties offer BIG visual impact when planted in drifts. Medium sizes will work well in landscape beds of a smaller scale and can also be used in containers. The smallest of the cultivars are appealing to growers whose production is driven by quantity. These new diminutive cultivars of coleus offer unique colors & shapes in a plant that can be packed and shipped in the greatest volume per cubic inch of truck space and box-store bench space. Whenever this goal can be accomplished without the use of plant growth regulators, the better it is for all concerned. These smaller cultivars are great in containers and can offer a good option for color in smaller beds. It is also nice to layer the repeating colors of coleus across the various heights in one planting.
I was really impressed as I looked out across eight or so beds of these new cultivars of coleus with not a single bloom stalk to be seen. While the blue spires of delicate bloom can be sweet, when a planting of coleus plants all stretch and bloom at once, it can certainly undermine the original design concept. And in these days of shrinking maintenance budgets, this can translate to additional costs in dead-heading. But through events like this Field Day, breeders have responded to the concerns of growers and landscape professionals by selecting for delayed or absent bloom. Other attributes this batch of cultivars can boast about: uniformity within categories, interesting foliar forms, sun tolerance and colors and patterns that push the limit of what is expected from Solenostemon hybrida.

Designers and Contractors will be pleased with new cultivars

Designers and contractors who have shied away from the sprawling and erratic habits of older varieties of coleus, will find comfort in the predictable behavior of these new cultivars. Choose your scale-Large, Medium or Small–then select among a diverse group of coordinating colors and patterns for a first rate show of color that is uniform. I have to admit, though, that for me it is all about color. Personally, the most exciting thing is the advent of more selections with colors in the pink-to-rose color palette. Take a look at the slide show posted on Facebook to see which cultivars you favor.

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