In the landscape
Border · Container · Hanging basket · Houseplant · Patio · Vertical · English
Data sources
Missouri Botanical Garden, NC State Extension, NC State Extension
Coleus
Plectranthus scutellarioides · Perennial
Coleus is a perennial, hardy in USDA zones 10-11, that matures to about 0.5–3 ft × 0.5–3 ft. It does best in part shade and full shade with medium water needs in well-drained soil. Expect blue, purple and white blooms in fall and summer. It attracts pollinators, stands up well to deer and grows happily in containers.
- USDA zones
- 10-11
- Sun
- Part shade, Full shade
- Water
- Medium
- Mature size
- 0.5–3 ft × 0.5–3 ft
- Spacing
- 12–18 in
- Maintenance
- Low
- Soil
- Well-drained
- Foliage
- Red, Pink, Green, Yellow, Purple, Variegated
- Bloom color
- Blue, Purple, White
- Bloom season
- Fall, Summer
- Attracts
- Pollinators
- Tough against
- Deer
- Toxic to
- People
- Native to
- Tropical and subtropical Asia to northern Australia
Will it survive your winters?
We score Coleus’s freeze-trouble range against the real coldest nights your area has recorded.
Powered by ~35 years of daily lows from the nearest NOAA weather station. A risk read, not a guarantee — a sheltered spot or mature plant beats the odds.
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