Sun-hardy Coleus

  This is a variety which is winter hardy if given a spot in the garden which is sheltered and away from cold drying winds. There are a few like this, though it is the really spectacular ones with very large floppy leaves like stained glass windows which tend to be the least hardy. So I was given a cutting of this one and I grew it on in a small 4 inch pot. It was placed in the corner of the glasshouse amongst some other plants and I hardly gave it a second thought over summer. Then last week as I cleaned up the plants around it over it toppled having grown some one and a half metres tall with thick woody stems and roots squeezed out of the pot and creeping across the floor. Fortunately Coleus are fairly forgiving and I can start the whole process all over again by cutting off the top branches and putting the pieces in a jar of water till they grow new roots. This time I will plant it out in the garden so it can end up looking as good as the one in the photo.
2017 update: I still grow this variety.