Evaluation of ornamental coleus for landscaping of shady areas

Abstract

There is a strong desire amongst people to have colour in the shady areas of their landscapes. But shade-loving plants generally are not richly or brightly coloured. Ornamental coleus is an inconspicuous flower bearing ornamental plants which can act as a colorful option for shady landscape. Ornamental coleus is a promising ornamental foliage plant which provides a bold texture and a thick density for shady landscape. With this background, collection, conservation and evaluation of different ornamental coleus types / varieties carried out at ICAR-Central Coastal Agricultural Research Institute, Goa. Twenty four different types / varieties of ornamental coleus have been collected, maintained and evaluated for their suitability for landscape use. Significant differences were observed among different coleus types / varieties for various morphological and quality parameters. Plant height , number of leaves, number of branches, Stem girth, Length of leaf with petiole, Petiole length, leaf width, Length of leaf without petiole varied from 42.00 cm (Juicy Lucy) -89.67 cm (Eruption), 24.89 (Gay Delight) -72.00 (Trailing Queen), 3.00 (Mahogany Giant) -8.67 (Eruption), 0.563 cm (Blusher) - 0.817 cm (Eruption), 11.03 cm (Tilt a Whirl) - 18.83cm (Grape expectations), 2.07 cm (Pistachio Nightmare) - 6.00 cm (Eruption), 5.50 cm(Trailing Queen)-10.83 cm(Grape expectations), 8.33cm(Tilt a Whirl) - 14.78 cm (Grape expectations) respectively. Different ornamental coleus used in the present study exhibited an incredible range of diversity for various traits and it could be recommended to function for various purposes in landscaping like beds, borders, hedges, planters, hanging baskets, vertical gardens or containers.