Cool Coleus With a Hot Name - Wasabi

Those of us who use coleus in our gardens and containers love to find one that works in the sun AND the shade....having great color and leaf texture is icing on the cake.   The bright green of Coleus 'Wasabi' is perfect for adding some spice to your containers and gardens.  In the full sun it tends to lean more towards a yellow-green but in the shade the crisp green color is nearly fluorescent.  Besides its versatile color the scalloped leaf edge adds a lot of texture to arrangements.   

When I first saw Wasabi sitting on the bench at the nursery I was not impressed but since it was hanging out in the blazing sun and doing okay I thought it was worth a try.  I had a row of Coleus 'Dipped in Wine' that really needed a companion to set off its darker colored leaves.  And boy did Wasabi do it right.  The lime green on the leaves of Dipped in Wine came to life next to Wasabi....a perfect marriage. 

Coleus Wasabi

18-30" tall
16-20" wide

Full sun or shade

Excellent in containers or in a garden bed






This combination is in the shade and really happy there at the corner of the Welcome Center Garden, but I plan to get a couple more and try them in full sun to see how they compare in growth, color and plain ole survivability. 

I guess I better tell you a little about Dipped in Wine too.  This is a tried and true shade coleus that I've used many times in the past.  It mixes well with a lot of color combinations and in this grouping I've added some yellow portulaca to give the bed some sparkle at the base of the taller plants.  Late day sun allows the portulaca to bloom okay although it is stretching a bit.   

Coleus Dipped in Wine

24-36" tall -- 12-18" wide

Shade or morning sun

Tucked in between the coleus are some lantana -- "In the shade" you are asking.  Right, it doesn't work well.  They were extra plants and I wanted to see what they would do with minimal sun.  Lush green foliage and little flowering is all I'm getting, but they provide a nice bit of texture to the mix.  

It is getting late in the season to be finding choice plants at the nurseries so you might have to put these on your list for next year, although I know that Thomas Orchards & Greenhouse still had some Wasabi last week....with a marked down price at that. 

I know I promised to showcase the Under the Sea collection of coleus -- they had to grow a little more to look like anything in the camera lens -- coming soon though.