These are not your grandmother's coleus!

Coleus are no longer your grandmother's parlor plants. Favorites during the Victorian period, they have made a dramatic comeback. It's easy to see why: no other plant offers such a dazzling variety of leaf colors, shapes, and patterns, and no other plant is so easy to grow and propagate. Given a modicum of care, coleus will flourish from spring until frost. Although older varieties performed best in shady situations, newer ones have been selected for sun tolerance, making it possible to grow coleus in every part of the garden. With their sumptuous colors and tough constitution, coleus are ideal both as attention-getting focal points and as complements to other foliage or flowering plants. As happy in a container as in open ground, they are the ultimate in versatility, their uses as unlimited as your imagination.

Whether you're a weekend gardener in search of easy, reliable color, or an enthusiast who wants to collect every colues available, this exciting and comprehensive resource will give you exactly what you're looking for—and more. Expert plantsman Ray Rogers offers equal parts inspiration and practical advice, with history, plant characteristics, problem solving, propagation, and designing with coleus in both containers and in the garden, all brought to life by Richard Hartlage's masterful photographs. An encyclopedia covers more than 225 varieties.

“Traces the history of a single plant since its formal discovery. The book includes 385 brilliant color photographs.”

- Washington Post

“Paging through the new book, Coleus, is like looking at a fine-art catalog or an old book of fabulous wallpaper prints.”

Seattle Times:Pacific Northwest

“Coleus can turn even a curmudgeonly coleophobe into an ardent admirer as Rogers enumerates their many benefits. The stunning color photographs by Richard Hartlage add even more credence to the claim that coleus have their place in almost any garden setting.”

The San Diego Union-Tribune

"The most comprehensive work ever written on coleus."

West Hawaii Today

“Any coleus lover will find it enjoyable and educational.”

Lifelong gardener Ray Rogers is a garden editor and writer, working on more than 40 garden titles. He has written for The American Gardener magazine, Green Scene, and American Cottage Gardening and is coauthor of The Philadelphia Flower Show: Celebrating 175 Years. Ray has appeared on a variety of radio and TV programs, including Martha Stewart Living, and has taught in the George Washington University Horticulture Program. Currently a consultant for a specialty nursery, he continues to pursue his horticultural interests as a home gardener, as an amateur hybridizer of Hippeastrum (amaryllis), and as an award-winning horticultural exhibitor. He lives in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

Publisher: Timber Press
Distributor: Workman Publishing Company
Publication Date: 02-15-2008
Pages: 227
Measurements: 9.25in X 8.34in X .86in X 1.14lb