Prior to the reign of Queen Victoria, gardening for the pleasure of gardening was a pastime of the wealthy and they had gardeners who actually dug in the dirt to keep their gardens beautiful! Common people gardened, but it was mostly to grow food and herbs with maybe a few flowers to brighten the dooryard. But the world changed toward the direction of a global economy and the coleus was a colorful exotic tropical that anyone could grow.

Everyone wanted a coleus, well, actually two, three, twenty. And the best thing about the coleus is that those grown from seed were seldom identical. If the gardener wanted more of the same, well, just break off a piece and root it in a glass of water. A particularly beautiful specimen could be shared with friends, make neighbors jealous, and be a grand gift to anyone the gardener wanted to impress. And other Coleus were arriving in Europe from southern Asia and Africa. Coleus became the focus of hybridizing—that is the problem today. Our modern coleus has a very uncertain parentage.

The plant was originally named Coleus blumei in honor of Blume. Botanists were very aware the plants were not the original, but it was impossible to figure out just which plant was a variation of the original and which where hybrids. The solution was to lump the many varieties under the name Coleus x hybridus.

Thousands of varieties were named since its arrival in Europe. A few of the oldest varieties like "Brillancy" and "Buttercup" can still be found—if one is willing to search. Unlike orchids or roses, coleus are whimsical plants and many were named by gardeners possessing a bizarre sense of humor.

There is a coleus named "Cardinal" and a coleus named "Sin" and a coleus named "Cardinal Sin". There is the "Religious Radish", the "Religious Rutabaga", and the "Tantric Can-Can". Perhaps one wears "Flirtin' Skirts". The "Blond Bombshell", the "Brooklyn Horror", "Grape Expectations" and the "Pistachio Nightmare" could have been B movies. "Bada Bing" also smacks of show biz. A green and purple "October Wedding" was followed by a purple and green "September Divorce". And perhaps, the lawyers involved got to "Pillage".

Glasshouse Works has a fantastic gallery of many coleus varieties. To view some of those named above and a whole lot more, click on the link: http://www.rareplants.com/downer/ Use the navigation above the pictures to view their entire collection of photographs.

(Compiled from: Hortus Third, Staff L.H. Bailey Hortorium, NY State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University, Macmillan, NY, 1976; A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants, C. Brickell and J.D. Zuk, eds., American Horticultural Society, DK Publishing, NY, 1996; and "Coleus, a new light on a shady character", Dave Trinklein, Missouri Environment and Garden, Vol. 9, No. 4, April 2003)