Kong Junior, a monster coleus of living colour
Compact Electric Orange SunPatiens look stunning with lime green coleus.
The summer has a lot of hot days left, and the Kong Junior coleus selections will let you perk up a tired garden and give it a festive atmosphere.
Whether for the landscape, containers or window boxes, the Kong Junior coleus allows your artistic side to shine. You can create lush foliage partnerships in the tropical-style garden as understorey plants to tall bananas, gingers or with colourful impatiens that will look like the Balata Garden in Martinique.
Since we grow coleus for its boldly coloured foliage, there is no point in letting them use energy to develop flowers. Pinch these off when they form to help keep a bushier plant and those colourful leaves coming.
One key to success with Kong Junior or any coleus is to add organic matter to your
soil. In heavy clay soil, organic matter will improve drainage and aeration, and allow better root development. Liberal amounts of organic matter help sandy soils hold water and nutrients.
Organic matter, which improves soil and serves as a food source for soil fungi and bacteria, comes in the form of peat moss, compost, shredded bark, leaves and even shredded newspapers.
If you have tight, heavy clay, add enough to physically change the soil structure. Ideally, at least one-third of the final soil mix should be some type of organic material.
To accomplish this, spread two to four inches of organic matter and the recommended rate of fertilizer over the garden surface and till to a depth of six to 10 inches. My favourite fertilizer for coleus is a 12-6-6. A preplant fertilizer followed by light monthly applications will keep the plants growing well.