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Friday, June 5, 2009

Kong coleus

You may have noticed even more coleus varieties at your garden center this spring. This is a plant that our mothers liked a lot, but like clothing and wine, plants wax and wane, falling out of favor only to rise again. Coleus is definitely king these days. 'Kong' popped onto the gardening scene in 2005 and caused a sensation. It's pretty, yes, but its main claim to fame is size. It is truly a coleus for our times - supersized, monster-big, splashy, flashy. This one is planted in a container with an apricot-colored canna in the middle. Not a dwarf canna, either. I expect this to be a conversation piece by July. Like so many of the coleuses on the market now, it's very colorful, a really interesting plant. I've tried 'Chocolate mint' and a trailing variety that's a startling combination of pink and violet and quite a few others. They're fun to play with. Coleus expert Ray Rogers calls coleus "a living paintbox," but that's exactly what some detractors don't like. Coleus can be bright and covered with blotches. But there's one for everyone. Or two. Lime green, autumn orange, with curly or broad leaves and funny names like 'Careless Love,' 'Inky Fingers' and 'Fishnet Stockings.' They're endlessly variable and quickly becoming one of my - and many other consumers' - favorite container plants.
Posted by virginia smith @ 5:18 PM  Permalink | 2 comments
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 8:04 PM, 06/09/2009
    That's not exactly Kong....here it is http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/B000UGWVFG/ref=dp_image_0?ie=UTF8&n=286168&s=garden
    — pootershow
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:33 PM, 06/15/2009
    This is definitely a Kong coleus, my guess 'Scarlet'. The amazon listing is also a Kong coleus, my guess 'Mosaic'. Both are beautiful and both are Kong.
    — kforrest


2 comments
About Virginia A. Smith
Ginny Smith, a Philadelphia native, worked as a reporter at newspapers in New York, Connecticut and Ohio – with six short months at the end of the Bulletin tossed in – before returning to Philadelphia in 1985 to join the Inquirer. Her favorite beats here have included Center City, roving around Pennsylvania (and getting paid for it!) and alternative medicine. She’s also been City Editor and Pennsylvania Editor. Ginny has been happily writing – and learning - about gardening fulltime since 2006. She’s won two silver medals of achievement from the national Garden Writers Association and in 2011, Bartram’s Garden honored her with its Green Exemplar award for her stories about “the region’s deeply rooted horticultural history, cultural attractions and bountiful gardens.”
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