Folia Sunset Coleus brings the drama of a setting sun directly to your garden with its deeply saturated blend of crimson and mahogany tones. This tender perennial thrives in warm climates (zones 10-11) and adapts beautifully to containers, window boxes, beds, and borders, making it a show-stopping choice for adding architectural color to any space. Seeds germinate quickly in 10 to 20 days when started indoors in early spring, and plants reach their compact, tidy form within weeks. With consistent warmth between 70 and 95 degrees Fahrenheit and high water availability, Folia Sunset colors intensify as the season progresses, rewarding gardeners with increasingly vivid foliage throughout summer and into fall.
Full Sun
High
10-11
?in H x ?in W
—
Moderate
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The color palette alone sets Folia Sunset apart: this isn't a single tone but a layered blend of crimson deepening into mahogany, creating the impression of an actual sunset frozen on each leaf. Unlike some coleus varieties that need constant pruning to stay compact, these plants grow naturally tidy and contained, reaching the spacing of just 6 inches. They thrive equally in full sun or partial shade depending on your climate, tolerating full sun in cooler regions while preferring filtered light in hot-summer areas, which makes them genuinely adaptable to different garden situations.
Folia Sunset Coleus is grown purely for its ornamental foliage, prized as a container specimen, a focal point in mixed beds, and as edging along borders. The dramatic coloring makes it especially valuable in window box displays where close viewing highlights the sunset gradations in the leaves.
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Start seeds indoors in early spring, sowing at a shallow depth of 1/8 inch and covering lightly with soil. Keep the seed tray very warm, maintaining temperatures between 70 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit for germination. Expect sprouts in 10 to 20 days. Transplant seedlings to containers once they've developed their first true leaves.
Transplant seedlings outdoors after the last frost date when soil has warmed reliably to at least 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Space plants 6 to 8 inches apart to allow room for their compact, naturally tidy growth. Harden off seedlings by gradually exposing them to outdoor conditions over a week before final planting.
Pinch the growing tips regularly to encourage branching and create a fuller, bushier plant rather than a single tall stem. This simple technique will enhance the visual impact of the sunset-toned foliage throughout the season.
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