Off-Grid Jungle Garden Journal: A Focus on Coleus! - GaiaYoga Gardens, Lower Puna, Far East Big Island, Hawai'i - March 31, 2023

Warm greetings fellow plant and garden lovers! 😁🙏💚✨🤙

Welcome to a another Off-Grid Jungle Garden Journal Update! Today I decided to focus on a plant with which I fell in love a few years ago out here in the jungle: Coleus - Coleus scutellarioides! In my first year here at GaiaYoga Gardens, I noticed that there were several different populations of Coleus scattered across the property, each being quite different from the others! Pretty soon I was collecting all the various varieties from accross the property into one place. Soon after that I I began collecting all sorts of news Coleus from other people and properties. With so many different varieties in one place, they began to hybridize with each other, giving rise to some truly gorgeous and astonishing variations!

I fell in love with Coleus not only because of their often surprising beauty, but also because, in all the years I have been growing them, I have never seen the end of their mind-boggling diversity of leaf color, shape, texture, and size, their growth habit, their vigor, and the like. Many very interesting and beautiful seedlings have originated here at GaiaYoga Gardens. Coleus seedlings pop up all over the place, in almost every part of the property, and they definitely naturalized in certain areas!

The one thing about which I'm a little sad is that I don't presently have any ideal areas to plant a good Coleus bed, like I had previously. Most of the Coleus varients in my collection are in pots, and they just don't do well in pots for that long, so I have lots of sad ones that really need to get into the ground, or to be transplanted. Because of that, many of the potted plants in these photos, while beautiful, pale in comparison to what they would look like if planted in the ground. This is also just a small taste of the crazy diversity of Coleus that I had even just recently.

Another very interesting and curious thing about Coleus is that they seem to have quite complex genetics, sometimes with multiple intriguing mutations arising on the same plant. Sometimes if there is a plant with multi-colored leaves, mutations will arise where the colors separate into distinct branches, and they seem to stay that way, not returning to their former mixed-color form. Quite odd indeed.

The weirdest mutation that I found was a seedling that originated here a couple years ago. All other Coleus, and all other members of the basil/mint family have two opposite leaves that alternate 90-degrees on each node, with four-sided stems. This odd seedling I found had six-sided stems and three leaves at a 45-degree angle at each node. I'd never seen anything like it. Even stranger was the fact that when I took cuttings of it, any new buds there would grow reverted back to the usual anatomy!

These photos were taken at various places on the property where more or less wild Coleus are doing their thing. I planted a few of them, but most seeded and take care of themselves. I ended in my nursery, to give you an idea of a few of the interesting variants that I have there.

That brings me to the end of this Off-Grid Jungle Garden Journal Entry! I hope that you enjoyed my little Coleus tour! I can't wait to get another good planting bed of Coleus, not only so they can grow to their full potential, but also so that I may get more interesting and beautiful seedling from cross-fertilization! I wish you all a truly excellent and abundant growing season! 😁 🙏 💚 ✨ 🤙

All photos were taken with my Motorola G Power Android Phone.

Thank you all so much who have helped me get to where I am today, and allowing me to share more of the beauty and magic from my life and my world with you, and for your continuous appreciation and support! I am truly deeply grateful! 😁🙏💚✨🤙

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