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Coleus (Coleus scutellarioides) - foliage plant, illustrated plant cardIllustration
Coleus (Coleus scutellarioides) - real photo
Photo by 黃美滿 / iNaturalist (CC BY)
Coleus (Coleus scutellarioides) - real photo
Photo by 黃美滿 / iNaturalist (CC BY)
Coleus cut-out illustration
Illustration
Photo credits and licenses

Real photographs from naturalists and photographers worldwide, each used under its own license. Credit: Photo by 黃美滿 / iNaturalist (CC BY) and Photo by 黃美滿 / iNaturalist (CC BY). How photos are sourced →

Coleus

Coleus scutellarioides

Coleus is grown for its foliage rather than flowers, giving the garden structure and color all season long.

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Bloom time
Foliage plant
not yet checked
Hardiness
Zones 10–11
checked
Sun
Part shade
checked
Water
Moderate water
not yet checked
Mature size
20 in × 16 in
checked
Type
Annual
house classification

Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.

Growing Coleus

Plant it in part shade. It prefers moderate water. It is hardy in USDA zones 10–11. Expect it to reach about 20 in tall and 16 in wide at maturity, in roughly 1 year (not yet checked).

Verification
Core facts checked
What was checked

Mature height and spread, hardiness zones, sun and the trait tags were checked against named botanical sources for this plant. The bloom months and water need on this page were not, and each fact above says which. The planting, spacing and size sections are derived from these checked facts by a fixed rule, not checked separately, and the plant type is the library's own classification.

See the 13 sources it was checked against

When to plant Coleus

Wait until all danger of frost has passed, then plant out Coleus into warm soil; in most zones that means late spring.

Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 10, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 10 in January. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.

How big does Coleus get?

Illustration of Coleus drawn to scale beside an adult20 intall5 ft 7 inan adult16 inwide
About 20 in tall and 16 in wide at maturity: knee-high beside an adult.

See Coleus in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.

How far apart to plant Coleus

Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.

Space Coleus about 16 in apart, center to center, so each plant has room to reach its full width.

Plant them
16 in apart
Per 10 sq ft
about 6
4 by 8 ft bed
about 18

Add Coleus to a garden plan and the planner draws it at its full width, so you see the spacing before you buy.

Where these facts come from

Coleus' height, spread, hardiness zones, sun and trait tags were checked against 13 published sources on July 29, 2026. Each one is linked below with every fact it carried, which can include a fact this page still marks as not yet checked, because a source carrying a value is not the same as the value being held to the standard. Facts not in that list, and the planting, spacing and size sections, are not covered by these sources.

How the checking works, and what each standard covers, is on the verified plants page.

Comes in 12 varieties

Same genus, similar care - pick the variety you are growing.

Compare every variety in the Coleus group

Every figure is the variety's own page fact. Tap a name to open it.

VarietyColorBloomsHardinessSunSize (H × W)
Black DragonFoliageFoliage plantZones 10–11Part shade16 in × 12 in
CampfireFoliageFoliage plantZones 10–11Part shade20 in × 16 in
Coleusthis pageFoliageFoliage plantZones 10–11Part shade20 in × 16 in
HennaFoliageFoliage plantZones 10–11Part shade24 in × 16 in
Kong RoseFoliageFoliage plantZones 10–11Full shade24 in × 20 in
Lime TimeFoliageFoliage plantZones 10–11Part shade24 in × 20 in
PineappleFoliageFoliage plantZones 10–11Part shade20 in × 16 in
Pink ChaosFoliageFoliage plantZones 10–11Part shade16 in × 12 in
RedheadFoliageFoliage plantZones 10–11Part shade24 in × 16 in
Sedona SunsetFoliageFoliage plantZones 10–11Part shade24 in × 16 in
WasabiFoliageFoliage plantZones 10–11Part shade24 in × 20 in
WatermelonFoliageFoliage plantZones 10–11Part shade20 in × 16 in
Wizard Velvet RedFoliageFoliage plantZones 10–11Part shade16 in × 12 in

Good to know about Coleus

Curated from university extensions, botanic gardens and other primary sources, with the source named on every note. A note reports what its source says; where that differs from a fact above, the fact above is this entry's stored value, and its mark says whether it has been checked.

Safety

The ASPCA lists coleus as toxic to dogs, cats and horses (essential oils cause vomiting and diarrhea); its leaves can also cause a contact rash on people. per ASPCA and NC State

Worth knowing

Light controls the very thing you grow coleus for: leaf color. Non-sun cultivars bleach in full sun, so richest color comes from bright indirect light or part shade. per Clemson and NC State

How much sun it wants

Sun tolerance depends on the cultivar. Classic and Kong-type coleus need part shade; newer sun series like ColorBlaze are bred for full sun. Match the plant to the spot. per NC State and University of Minnesota

Trouble-free or pest-prone?

Both, depending on setting. A well-sited outdoor coleus is usually low-maintenance; the real mealybug, whitefly and downy-mildew pressure shows up in greenhouses and on plants overwintered indoors. per NC State and Clemson

Downy mildew, the main threat

Coleus downy mildew shows angular leaf blotches, curling and heavy leaf drop, with gray-purple fuzz on leaf undersides. It thrives in cool, humid weather and eases above 25 C. per UMass and NC State

Overwinter it from cuttings

The first fall frost kills it, but stem cuttings root in water or mix in 2 to 3 weeks, so you can carry a favorite cultivar over winter indoors. per NC State

Pinch off the flowers

Coleus is grown for its leaves, not bloom. Pinch or shear off the small blue-violet flower spikes so it stays leafy and does not decline into seed. per NC State

What pairs well with Coleus

Good companions share its growing conditions and add something it lacks: an earlier or later bloom, a lower carpet in front, or structure through winter.

  • Northern Sea Oats

    Northern Sea Oats

    Shares part shade and moderate water; its seed heads stand through winter, for structure and the birds; taller at 3.5 ft, for the layer behind it.

  • Rhododendron

    Rhododendron

    Shares part shade and moderate water; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter; taller at 6 ft, for the layer behind it.

  • Camellia

    Camellia

    Shares part shade and moderate water; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter; taller at 6.5 ft, for the layer behind it.

  • Gardenia

    Gardenia

    Takes part sun to part shade and moderate to high water; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter; taller at 4 ft, for the layer behind it.

  • Bergenia

    Bergenia

    Takes part sun to part shade and moderate water; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter.

  • Hellebore

    Hellebore

    Shares part shade and moderate water; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter.

  • Japanese Forest Grass

    Japanese Forest Grass

    Shares part shade and moderate water; its seed heads stand through winter, for structure and the birds.

  • Christmas Fern

    Christmas Fern

    Takes part shade to full shade and moderate water; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter.

Try Coleus with its top companions in a garden →

Featured in these guides

Plants for ContainersThe Foliage GardenA Small-Space Garden

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Design a garden with this

Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.

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