Beautiful, Marian! I don't think I nurture coleus enough. There may be a reason why I have so many sedum and russian sage...they thrive on neglect ;)
Brenda

The coleus are beautiful Marian. I bought a packet of seeds this year to grow next year. What wonderful colors for shade.
Mariann

Mariann, seed grown coleus are lots of fun. I used to do that. I'd buy the mix of rainbow colors.

Marian, love the coleus ! I like the last one best..here is one of my faves from this year 'Fishnet Stockings' ..one of the few I have that actually came with a label.

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Kathy in Napa

Brenda, believe it or not, Russian sage will not grow for me. I think it may be a drainage problem? The deer eat any of my sedum that are not caged. My coleus do not attain huge size, but please me.
Kathy, your "Fishnet Stockings" is beautiful. I haven't seen them around here.

I have more varieties that I didn't post pics of. Most of mine are unnamed...except for the ones from Deanne.

Marian, I love the first one after the caption "Next are the others." Wow. I've been trying coleus the past couple years and am always surprised how poorly they do here. I just assumed coleus would be rampant here. I think they grow gangbusters in humidity. I can't keep the names straight either, Kathy. This year I tried perilla, and it's flourishing. Really outstrips coleus in vigor but of course not the immense variety. And also I tried ornamental oreganos in a pot this year. Their detail gets lost in a mixed border planting, where I've tried out lots of different kinds. It really shines in a container.

Here's the Oregano 'Kent Beauty' from a couple weeks ago:

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And here it is today, with the nicotiana cut back to thwart the tobacco budworm. The oreganos's bracts haven't started to color yet, but it's really spreading:

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And here's the perilla. I think it's called 'Gage's Shadow' I'm about 20 minutes shy of "magic" hour for photos, so excuse the white-out:

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One last photo. I like the composition, with the bay standard running up the right margin. I ordered it from Heronswood years ago, an 'aurea' variety, which doesn't show up much:

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Denise, I had a Perilla last year and you are right, it was very vigorous. If it had not had a label I would have assumed it to be Coleus.Your Gages Shadow looks just like a Pallisandra Coleus.Love your pics !

Kathy in Napa

Denise, some of my coleus do very poorly too [ I didn't post their pics-:-) ]. You may be right about the humidity. I am a native Idahoan, and don't remember how they did there ( I've been gone 30 years).

The only oregano I have is some that I seeded in my veg garden years ago. They reseeded all over. I am still mowing them down. I have 2 types of the so called mexican oregano, Plectranthus. It is in some of my combos. One is plain green, the other is variegated.

Your combos are lovely, and differant. The perilla is unlike the common purple type that I have reseeding all over. I like mine.It is easy to pull if it is where I don't want it. I have a nicotiana that same color, that came up where my old compost pile was. It was a welcome surprise. It has been years since I had one!

Okay, friends, I need to hide this thread from my DH who now fancies himself a Coleus connesieur and is always on the lookout for new stuff. This year will be his first attempt at overwintering. I've told him he needs to get his own lights and not take up my space. LOL

Reseeding Perilla is not something I've experienced before, but would sure like to!!

Martie

Martie, I never use lights for my overwintered coleus. I 'do' keep them by sunny windows.

As I told Denise, I have several more varieties that I didn't take separate pics of.( You can see some in my pics). One of them is the small-leafed purple one in the lower right hand corner of the second pic. It is a trailer. This is the 3rd year for it's cuttings, and for the original cutting.
They frequently get quite straggly in the winter, but then I take more cuttings...lol. If the earlier ones get too tacky, and the later ones have rooted, the first can be tossed.

Remember? I hate coleus! Yet, I seem to have it everywhere and overwinter bits and pieces too. Tell me, do others remove the flowers the way I do? I have seen a blooming coleus standard that was gorgeous, but mine look rather odd with only 1-2 blooms going at a time.

I have no clue what the name of this one is, but I think it's pretty cool-ID anyone ??

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Kathy in Napa

Well I'd call it Kaleidoscope! Actually, I have no idea! ;-)

Kathy, I love that last coleus! I haven't the vaguest idea what it's name is.

Marie, I usually pick off the blooms. If any is left to go to seed, you may end up with some interesing varieties. :-)

Kathy, I have a similar coleus named "Solar Storm". Yours has a bit more red than mine, but possibly your California location could account for that. I tried finding a photo for you, but the one that pops up here is NOTHING LIKE IT! Hmmmm.

http://coleusfinder.org/

Here's another interesting site, but Solar Storm has no photo there.
http://davesgarden.com/pf/finder/index.php?sname=Coleus

'bug, that a great link you posted.. This coleus is in shade most of the day. I'm going to take uttings for sure this fall. Next time I'm at the nursery where I got it I'll try to find out the name. They never tag the coleus, but the guys who propagates them is always around.

Kathy in Napa

Kathy, I've reconsidered and don't think you have coleus Solar Storm.
This is what mine looks like today.

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I agree Marie, mine has much more yellow.But I like yours too!
Kathy

Boy do I feel like a dork ! I was watering the deck plants while standing on the ground, ( a differant angle than I usually water them ), and look what I discovered:
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My Fishnet Stockings !!!! I had told Kathy that I hadn't seen them around here, and all the time my little forgotten one was hiding behind some larger coleus! It even still has the label in the pot...with it's name.
I have moved it to a more visible location, and hope it reaches the size of Kathy's.

Marian, isn't this a neat coleus ? I'm going to take cuttings in case I can't find it next spring.I did a 'mono-pot' thing with it this year but would like to try it in some combos...

Kathy in Napa

Remember, I hate coleus!

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Kathy, mine is all alone in it's pot.It isn't growing very fast, and hasn't filled in the pot that I repotted it in. I will carry it over winter, along with most of the others...or at least cuttings of them.

LOL Marie ! I can see your 'hatred' of coleus in your lovely pics! I think I have some like the 4th and 5th pics.

I love the way coleus hold their colors all summer long. Who needs flowers !!!???