Get the exotic look with palms and coleus
For reliable garden performers you can’t go wrong with these hardy and colourful plants
When most of us think of exotic landscapes, it’s fairly sure that lush foliage and brilliant colour will come to mind very quickly. Two groups of plants which exhibit those characteristics perfectly are palms and coleus, or solenostemon as the botanists would have us call them now.
Most palms are tender but there are two hardy ones particularly suitable for UK gardens. Trachycarpus fortunei, the Chusan palm, is tough and totally hardy. Growth is slow but mature specimens can be seen towering in old gardens, giving credence to their durability. They’re readily available and grow well in containers as patio specimens. They make a single trunk covered with shaggy brown fibres, topped with fan-shaped fronds. The Mediterranean fan palm,
Chamaerops humilis, is much shorter, making a bushy clump of stems also with typical palm fans. Look out for
C. humilis argentea, with lovely Ian has spent his life working with plants and gardens. He has a particular interest in exotic planting and held the National Plant Collection of Canna. Ian is the author of nine gardening books and in 2008 he was awarded an Associate of Honour by the Royal Horticultural Society for his contributiont ib ti n to h horticulture.ti lt steely-blue foliage. Give a little protection to these when young with straw or fleece over winter until well established. Some other palms may be offered in garden centres or specialist nurseries but are borderline hardy and will be a gamble over winter or need moving to a greenhouse in the colder months. Butia capitata, the jelly palm, with blue-green, feather-like foliage, and Brahea armata, the Mexican blue fan palm, are worth trying. Plants of Phoenix canariensis, the Canary Island date palm, are sometimes offered but they’re very vigorous, with huge, spreading fronds armed with vicious spikes and not very hardy. While palms provide a dominant element and height in our exotic plantings, coleus provides excellent colourful ground cover. Coleus were extremely popular in the 19th century, when exotic planting was first high fashion. Since then their popularity has wavered but now they’re experiencing a revival with new and exciting varieties. There are many types, some dating back to the 19th century, such as the ever popular ‘Pineapple Beauty’. The best coleus are the named
varieties that have been raised from
cuttings. At RHS Garden Wisley last summer, Solenostemon ‘Campfire’ was voted as the top bedding plant. This is a recent introduction and you
should also look out for ‘Henna’,
‘Inferno’, ‘French Quarter’ and ‘Ruby Slipper’. All coleus grow best in well-drained soils in full sun. Avoid heavy feeding as this results in excess growth and poorly-coloured foliage. Coleus root easily from tip cuttings, so buy a few new plants, remove the tops to encourage bushiness and treat the tips as cuttings to create additional plants.
By the end of May, the risk of frost in most UK regions should have passed, which means it’s a perfect time to plant out tender summer exotics. If your soil’s still cold and wet, don’t rush, as exotics don’t like wet feet. Make sure tender plants are carefully hardened off from their cosseted locations under glass. On hot days, shade tender foliage with fleece to avoid scorching. When planting a display, position big specimen plants such as cannas, palms, bananas, cordylines, abutilons and brugmansia first. Fill in with lower groundcovering exotics such as coleus, dahlias, coloured leaf pelargoniums, iresine and helichrysum. Water in well and give protection from slugs.