Species

Coleus - Spring 2004

Flower Color, Plot Development Over Time, Data and Comments

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Vinca

Botany

Family:	Lamiaceae (mints).
Scientific names:	Solenostemon scutellarioides (L.) Codd (syn: Coleus hybridus hort. ex Voss) [The Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN)]. Coleus scutellarioides (L.) Benth. (syn: Coleus blumei Benth.; Plectranthus blumei (Benth.) Launert; Plectranthus scutellarioides (L.) R. Br.) [Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS)].
Common names:	Coleus, el-nene or painted-nettle (GRIN); common coleus (ITIS).
Native habitat:	Temperate Asia - in the Chinese provinces of Fujian, Guangdong and Guangxi; Taiwan. Tropical Asia - India; Cambodia; Laos; Myanmar; Thailand; Vietnam; Indonesia; Malaysia; Papua New Guinea and the Philippines. Australasia - Australia's Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia. Southwestern Pacific - Solomon Islands. (GRIN).
	View maps related to habitat and other topics from this link to the National Geographic MapMachine: .
Pests
Common plant arthropods (insects/other)/other:	Reported arthropod symptoms in literature: mealy bug, aphids and whitefies (Clemson Extension Home and Garden Information Center). Other pests include darkwinged fungus gnats, greenhouse thrips, and molecrickets (Featured Creatures, U. of Florida); root-knot nematodes (USDA - Agricultural Research Service).
	Arthropod symptoms observed in this trial: insect feeding (pest not seen) occurred in two plots in only early May, but ratings remained high.
Common plant diseases/other:	Reported disease symptoms in literature: Agrobacterium tumefaciens, crown gall; Cercosporasp. leaf spot; Nectriella pironii, stem gall; Pythium splendens, root rot; Rhizoctonia solani, damping-ff, root and stem rot; Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, cottony blight; Stemphyliuim sp., leaf spot. (Index of Plant Diseases in Florida, 1984 revision.).
	Diseases symptoms observed in this trial: foliage was free of disease, and no plant deaths occurred in the unsprayed field during the evaluation period; however, plants were affected by Fusarium crown rot, isolated by plant pathologists and identified as F. oxysporum.
Commercial control:	Greenhouse.	Feld/shade house.
Arthropod information:	Pests identified on crops. Search the Arthropod/Host Plant Database.		Florida pest facts and images. Featured Creatures
Disease information:	Plant Disease Facts (Pennsylvania State University) Ornamental Plant Disease Fact Sheets		The American Phytopathological Society Search Common Names of Plant Diseases
More Links and Information
Performance evaluations:	Trial reports and other publications.
More resources:	Additional information.

Honors:

Best-of-class (BC). We select the best performer in each class, based on the "overall performance rating". This rating may not be high, if the class does not perform well (indicating a possible need for improvement in the class). The rating may be significantly different from one or more members of the class. If two or more members of a class received the same highest overall performance rating, we used another rating (such as overall foliage/flower rating or flower average rating) to determine BC. If only one cultivar was entered in a class, it automatically becomes uncontested BC. BC is evaluated in future trials against the performance of new entries in the same class. Refer to a report in "Articles, Papers & Reports" for detailed information. In addition to BC, other "honors" received for these cultivars may be added to BC at a later date, time permitting. Seed companies may forward these honors (awards) to Rick Kelly.

Rating System:

The rating is a 1 to 7 scale: 7- all foliage and flowers free from defects; 4- average foliage and flower condition, minimal plant defects or pest damage to tissue, but still acceptable; 1- foliage and/or flowers with severe defects and/or severely infested with pests and damage unacceptable, making plant undesirable. Plant death due to soilborne pests may be factored into the overall performance rating, if it is a significant problem. Refer to a report in "Articles, Papers & Reports" for details. If listed, ratings with an "a" are the best in a class. If cultivars share the same letters, those ratings are considered to be similar to each other. If there are no letters, there is only one cultivar in a class or all the members of a class have similar ratings.

American Takii

Ball Seed

Bodger Seeds

Floranova Plant Breeders

Flower Fields - Goldsmith Seeds

The Flower Fields

Grimes Seeds & Plants

Kieft Seeds Holland

E. Benary Seed of America

Scroll down the page or click on the color of choice to view individual cultivars within a color class:

Color Description¹	Red/dark red/green				Rose/dark red/green (light)				Scarlet/dark red/green
				Special Note on Evaluation

Winter

Special Note
	Click on thumbnails above for larger views.
The Kong series - height differences in this trial.	'Kong Rose' (light green) in the flat, shown above in the upper right of each picture with the rest of the series .

This was a special evaluation between different color classes within the ‘Kong’ series to provide more useful information. The ‘Kong’ series of coleus, like all the other crops in this trial, produced very good quality plugs with strong, healthy root systems; however, one cultivar’s plugs (seen above) lagged behind the rest of the series in development and uniformity. In general, the ‘Kong’ series, with its very large leaves up to ~ 13 cm (5 inches) X 18 cm (7 inches), did well. Heavier shade would probably have produced more striking and truer colors for all the cultivars in this series. These coleus cultivars were evaluated as a foliage crop, but the days to the first opened flower were recorded and ranged from 112 to 116 days. Pests were very minor on the foliage.

Red/dark red/green class

Picture date:	7 May (week 13²)	24 May (week 16)	8 June (week 17)	23 June (week 19)
'Kong Red'	Sprayed Field Unsprayed Field	Plot A Plot C Sprayed Field Unsprayed Field	Plot B Plot C Sprayed Field Plot A Plot B Unsprayed Field	Plot C Sprayed Field Plot A Plot B Unsprayed Field
Cultivar No: 117
7 May
Trial entry: Ball Seed
Breeder: Sakata Seed America
Picture date:	4 June

Seed Sowing Date	Flower Diameter³	Days to First Flower⁴	Average Foliage Rating⁵	Overall Pest Rating⁶	Overall Performance Rating⁷
11 Feb.	No data.	114	5.2	7.0	6.1

Honors: Best-of-class, uncontested.

Comments: ‘Kong Red’ (red/dark red/green class), ‘Kong Rose’ [rose/dark red/green (light)] and ‘Kong Scarlet’ (scarlet/dark red/green class) were all new entries for spring 2004. All these cultivars are uncontested best-of-class for there color class. Adjusted overall performance was very good to outstanding for all cultivars, with ‘Kong Scarlet’ having the highest rating for the series. ‘Kong Rose’ was an attractive cultivar with bright colors; however, it did not fit the series in our evaluation period, because it was a shorter plant than the others in this series; also, development as a healthy plug was slower and less uniform. This resulted in lower ratings, since members of a series should exhibit a similar phenotype, but different foliage and/or flower colors. Color was not a factor in evaluating these three different classes; however it should be noted that ‘Kong Rose’ seemed to have the most stable color pattern (view website listed below). All the cultivars showed some lack of uniformity that may be the result of soilborne pathogens.

Details of performance for this cultivar will be posted on the web in "Articles, Papers & Reports" at the completion of this trial. These details will include ratings over the entire season and pest problems.

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Rose/dark red/green (light) class

Picture date:	7 May (week 13)	24 May (week 16)	8 June (week 17)	23 June (week 19)
'Kong Rose'	Sprayed Field Unsprayed Field	Plot B Plot C Sprayed Field Unsprayed Field	Plot A Plot C Sprayed Field Plot A Plot B Unsprayed Field	Plot C Sprayed Field Plot A Plot B Unsprayed Field
Cultivar No: 23
7 May
Trial entry: Ball Seed
Breeder: Sakata Seed America
Picture date:	4 June

Seed Sowing Date	Flower Diameter	Days to First Flower	Average Foliage Rating	Overall Pest Rating	Overall Performance Rating
11 Feb.	No data.	116	5.1	6.8	5.9

Honors: Best-of-class, uncontested.

Comments: New for spring 2004. See ‘Kong Red’ for comments on the series.

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Scarlet/dark red/green class

Picture date:	7 May (week 13)	24 May (week 16)	24 May (week 16)	23 June (week 19)
'Kong Scarlet'	Sprayed Field Unsprayed Field	Plot A Plot C Sprayed Field Unsprayed Field	Plot B Plot C Sprayed Field Plot A Plot C Unsprayed Field	Plot C Sprayed Field Plot A Plot B Unsprayed Field
Cultivar No: 118
7 May
Trial entry: Ball Seed
Breeder: Sakata Seed America
Picture date:	4 June

Seed Sowing Date	Flower Diameter	Days to First Flower	Average Foliage Rating	Overall Pest Rating	Overall Performance Rating
11 Feb.	No data.	112	5.6	6.9	6.3

Honors: Best-of-class, uncontested; also, best-of-class when all three cultivars are compared as a series, ignoring color classes.

Comments: New for spring 2004. See ‘Kong Red’ for comments on the series.

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ROK

1. This color has been described as a dark red. In our shade trials, the color is more red-brown.

2. The number of weeks from seed sowing to the date the plant was photographed. Photographs were taken in a field sprayed on demand as needed, after scouting for pests, and a field that is not sprayed at all.

3. Measured in centimeters and inches [cm (inches)].

4. Average number of days from sowing to unfurling of the first flower in the plots. Flowering for alyssum was completed in the flat prior to planting in the field. Values with an "a" are considered significantly greater than those with a "b", "c", etc., and those without a letter are not considered to be significantly different.

5. The average of the combined foliage data in the sprayed field as an expression of cultivar quality. Values with an "a" are considered significantly greater than those with a "b", "c", etc., and those without a letter are not considered to be significantly different. This crop is considered a foliage plant; days to flower data was taken, if flowering is a concern.

6. The average of the combined foliage data in the unsprayed field as an expression of arthropod and disease symptoms. Values with an "a" are considered significantly greater than those with a "b", "c", etc., and those without a letter are not considered to be significantly different. Pest ratings data for flowers not taken.

7.The average of the combined overall foliage rating and overall pest rating. If plant death from a soilborne pathogen resulted, this was factored into the rating. Values with an "a" are considered significantly greater than those with a "b", "c", etc., and those without a letter are not considered to be significantly different. See Articles, Papers & Reports for further explanation in the reports. Flower data was not taken for this foliage crop.

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