Scientific Name
Coleus neochilus 'Mike's Fuzzy Wuzzy'
Common Name(s)
Lobster Flower
Synonym(s)
Coleus neochilus f. variegatus, Plectranthus neochilus f. variegatus, Plectranthus neochilus 'Mike's Fuzzy Wuzzy'
Scientific Classification
Family: Lamiaceae
Subfamily: Nepetoideae
Tribe: Ocimeae
Subtribe: Plectranthinae
Genus: Coleus
Description
Coleus neochilus 'Mike's Fuzzy Wuzzy', formerly known as Plectranthus neochilus 'Mike's Fuzzy Wuzzy', is a bushy succulent plant with decumbent to erect stems that bear fleshy, grey-green leaves broadly edged in cream. It can grow up to 1 foot (30 cm) tall and make a beautiful ground cover. The leaves are obovate to elliptic, with few-toothed margins, and measure up to 2 inches (5 cm) in length and 1.4 inches (3.5 cm) in width. They are finely hairy, often slightly sticky, and unpleasantly scented.
The plant is spectacular when flowering from spring through late fall. The charming mauve-purple flowers appear in terminal spike-like racemes that can reach 6 inches (15 cm) in length.
Origin
Plectranthus neochilus 'Mike's Fuzzy Wuzzy' is a variegated cultivar of Plectranthus neochilus named and distributed by San Marcos Growers, a wholesale plant nursery located in the eastern Goleta Valley in Santa Barbara, California, United States. It was discovered at Michael Kartuz's nursery (Kartuz Greenhouses) by Mike Tully of Terra Sol Garden Center in Santa Barbara and named to honor both men.
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones 9b to 11b: from 25 °F (−3.9 °C) to 50 °F (+10 °C).
How to Grow and Care
Plectranthus species are easily cultivated and require little extra attention or special treatment. They enjoy well-composted soil and, as a rule, thrive in semi-shade or cool positions on south-facing aspects. Thus, these plants are ideally suited to grow under the shade of trees. They are generally shallow-rooted and enjoy adequate water, but Plectranthus store water in their stems and resist prolonged periods of drought.
These plants are often grown for their attractive foliage, flowers, or both and vary in their growth forms from dense prostrate ground covers to sub-shrubs and large shrubs.
Although they are frost tender, Plectranthus are usually grown in shady, protected places and, as such, are afforded some protection from frost. Because they all flower at the end of the growing season, frost does not affect flowering. If the plants are affected by frost, they can be cut back at the end of winter and will grow out rapidly. Once the plants have been established for a year or more, they become woodier at the base and are more resistant to frost damage.
See more at How to Grow and Care for Plectranthus.
Links
- Back to genus Coleus
- Succupedia: Browse succulents by Scientific Name, Common Name, Genus, Family, USDA Hardiness Zone, Origin, or cacti by Genus
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