With its pretty foliage, plectranthus works well in the garden and as houseplants.
Many plectranthus species are popular foliage plants, including coleus, Swedish ivy, and Cuban oregano.
While some smell pleasant, others have a pungent scent when their foliage is crushed.
Jeff McNamara.
With many plectranthus plants, foliage takes center stage, adding texture to the garden space.
An excellent and fast-growing bedding plant, plectranthus foliage adds color when flowering plants may not be in bloom.
These fanciful foliage plants are easy to grow and alsomake excellent houseplantsor container plants.
Credit: Dean Schoeppner
The blooms of plectranthus are not usually the main attraction, but there are some exceptions.
Several species are known for their flowers, often in shades of pink, purple, or white.
They also bloom in cool summer climates.
Credit: Dean Schoeppner
Plant them in a shady or partly sunny area with organically enriched soil that has good drainage.
They are also suitable for growing in hanging baskets and containers.
How and When to Plant Plectranthus
Outdoors, plant plectranthusin the spring after the last frost.
Credit: Denny Schrock
If the soil is not naturally rich, add compost or other organic amendments to the soil.
Dig a hole about twice the size of the nursery pot and just as deep.
Position the plants in the soil at the same depth they are in the pots.
Credit: Denny Schrock
The proper spacing depends on the pop in of plectranthus.
While some plectranthusgrow in full sun, most prefer protection from strong sunlight, especially in the afternoon.
Light foliage varieties, especially gold ones, sometimes burn in full sun, causing unsightly bleached leaves.
Credit: Denny Schrock
Plectranthus grown as houseplants do best in lots of sunlight.
A southern exposure yields the brightest color.
Others do well in eastern or western exposures, but only the most shade-tolerant will thrive in northern windows.
Credit: Denny Schrock
Soil and Water
For best results, plant plectranthus in high-quality,well-drained soil.
These plants are similar to succulents and tolerate occasional short droughts.
Any temperature extremes, whether hot or cold, are not conducive to growing plectranthus.
Credit: Marty Baldwin
These plants do best in average to high humidity.
Fertilizer
For houseplants, from midspring to fall, fertilize plectranthus with aliquid houseplant fertilizerat half strength.
In the garden, anorganic top dressingis appreciated, as is a monthly tool of10-20-10 fertilizerduring the growing season.
Credit: Dean Schoeppner
For the amount to use, follow product package instructions.
Pruning
Many varieties of plectranthus are quick-growing.
To keep them looking tidy, give them anoccasional pruning or pinching.
Credit: Dean Schoeppner
Its best to pinch off a few leaves just up from the base of young plants.
This encourages good branching early on and helps create a bushy plant.
Its also good topinch off old flower blooms.
Credit: Marty Baldwin
This coaxes some of the longer-blooming types to rebloom and gives all of them a tidier look.
Potting and Repotting Plectranthus
Any container is suitable for plectranthus as long as it has drainage holes.
Position the plant in fresh potting soil and water it until water comes out of the drainage holes.
Credit: Marty Baldwin
Repotting becomes necessary when the roots reach the sides of the pot or emerge from the drainage holes.
Pests and Problems
Mealybugs, spider mites, and aphidsare common pests of plectranthus.
Treat them with insecticidal soap orneem oil.
Credit: Dean Schoeppner
At the base of the cutting, trim the stem directly below where the bottom leaf attaches.
In a few weeks, roots will sprout.
It was selected from a species native to Australia.
Credit: Jeff McNamara
Blue Yonder has green foliage edged in white, and it sends up spires of sky-blue blooms in summer.
The plant grows 14 inches tall (24 inches in bloom) and spreads 24 inches wide.
Swedish Ivy
Plectranthus verticillatusis a common houseplant.
Credit: Dean Schoeppner
Swedish ivy is native to South Africa and Australia, not Sweden, where it was first popularized.
This mint relative has a trailing habit, making it an excellent choice for hanging baskets.
It used to be classified asPlectranthus australis.
Credit: Marty Baldwin
This trailing plant has scalloped leaves with white margins.
The plant cascades nicely from container gardens or hanging baskets.
It grows 6 to 12 inches tall and trails 24 to 26 inches.
Credit: Dean Schoeppner
It makes a great heat- and drought-tolerant addition to container gardens.
Growing only 18 inches tall and wide, it is also a compact indoor plant.
It grows 8 to 12 inches tall and spreads 12 to 36 inches wide.
Credit: Plectranthus forsteri Marginatus
Nicoletta Plectranthus
Plectranthus coleoidesNicoletta has large, fuzzy, silvery-gray leaves and purplish stems.
This semi-trailing plant grows 8 to 10 inches tall and spreads up to 36 inches wide.
UseCuban oreganoinstead of oregano or sage in poultry and meat dishes.
Credit: Dean Schoeppner
The plant grows rapidly, creating a lush display in a container garden.
Ochre Flame Cuban Oregano
Plectranthus amboinicusOchre Flame is a highly ornamental form of Cuban oregano.
Each avocado-green leaf is splashed with an irregular central patch of pale lime.
Credit: Dean Schoeppner
The leaves are both scalloped and wavy at their margins.
In winter, the plant bears lavender-pink blooms.
It grows 12 inches tall and wide.
Credit: Peter Krumhardt
Fuzzy Wuzzy Plectranthus
Plectranthus neochilusFuzzy Wuzzy forms a ground-hugging mat of gray-green foliage with white leaf margins.
It grows less than a foot tall and spreads up to 2 feet wide.
Mona Lavender Plectranthus
PlectranthusMona Lavender shows off rich purple leaves topped by spikes of lavender-purple flowers.
Credit: Marty Baldwin
It grows 28 inches tall and wide.
It makes a lovely houseplant.
Silver Crest
Also known as silver plectranthus or silver spur flower,Plectranthus argentatusis native to Australia.
It displays hairy, silvery leaves and is easy to grow indoors or out.
It grows 3 feet tall and wide.
It bears pale blue to white flowers in summer.
Troys Gold Plectranthus
Plectranthus ciliatusTroys Gold offers golden foliage variegated with purple and green.
It grows 12 inches tall and 24 inches wide.
Indoors, it thrives in a sunny window.
Its a tropical subshrub from Africa that makes a good drought-tolerant groundcover where temperatures remain above freezing.
Its leaves are green on the upper surface and purplish underneath with stiff white hairs.
This growth habit makes it an excellent choice for hanging baskets or as a groundcover.
Its sometimes called prostrate coleus, silver Swedish ivy, or candle plant.
It sends up spikes of white or pale lavender blooms in fall and spring.
Grow it as a houseplant or in annual flower combinations outdoors.
Variegated Plectranthus
Plectranthus forsteriMarginatus offers large hairy leaves edged in white.
It grows 18 inches tall and 36 inches wide.
It can be grown as a houseplant.
Green on Green Plectranthus
Plectranthus forsteriGreen on Green has oversized medium-green leaves with lime-green or yellow-green edges.
It grows up to 24 inches tall and wide and rarely blooms.
Vicks Plant
Plectranthus tomentosais also called mentholatum plant because of the aroma it gives off when brushed.
It has fuzzy gray-green leaves and bears lavender-purple flowers.
Plectranthus Companion Plants
Petunia
Petuniasare failproof favorites for gardeners everywhere.
Theyre vigorous growers and prolificbloomers from midspringthrough late fall.
Color choices are nearly limitless, with some sporting beautiful veining and intriguing hues.
Manypetunia varietiesare sweetly fragrant (sniff blooms in the garden center to be sure).
Some also tout themselves as weatherproof, meaning the flowers dont close up when water splashes them.
Wave petunias have made this plant even more popular.
Reaching 4 feet long, its excellent as a groundcover or when cascading from window boxes and pots.
The mottled colors often change in intensity depending on the amount of sunlight and heat.
When frost threatens, pot them up and enjoy them as houseplants in a sunny window until spring.
Then, plant them outdoors once again.
Indoors, the plants typically remain somewhat shorter.
Most species of these plants are non-toxic.
Yes, the fragrant scent ofPlectranthus coleoideswill repel mosquitos and other insects.
That is why it is sometimes calledmosquito bush.
