Coleus Giant Exhibition Magma

Boasting a distinctively original color combination for this member of the splendid Giant Exhibition Coleus varieties, Magma is a plant to fall in love with. And if we think these leaves are exciting now, just imagine how they looked to our Victorian forebears when they were first introduced! Magma is a delightful little plant, with a perfectly rounded habit and neat rosettes of pink to burgundy leaves outlined in white as if snipped with pinking shears! It looks tailor-made for a pot or basket, but also jazzes up the garden in beds, borders, and even as edging! It grows in a snap from seed (wait till you see the tiny scalloped leaves on new seedlings!) and lasts and lasts!

Magma is one of the Giant Exhibition Series, a group of heirloom Coleus re-selected for better vigor, more uniform colors, and neater habit. These Coleus were at the heart of the "Coleus craze" that swept England around the turn of the last century -- they were grown and adored by all, their brilliantly-colored leaves offering unheard-of winter color indoors. Well, things haven't changed much -- these gorgeously-sculpted 6- to 7-inch-long, 4-inch-wide leaves still make hearts flutter and gardens glow!

If you like Magma, you must try Marble, its tricolored counterpart. Or you might just want to break down and get the entire mix of 11 varieties. Plants this good are hard to come by, and since you can start the seeds indoors any time of year, the more the merrier!

In the partly to fully shaded garden, Magma is a zinger of a color beside the airy plumes of Astilbe and the frost-dusted Impatiens Shady Lady Blushing Beauties. In part shade, it complements the mahogany foliage of perennial Heuchera.

Coleus germinates readily and grows eagerly. For bushier, fuller plants, keep the growing tips pinched. To extend the lush color into fall, remove any stray flower spikes that emerge -- they take energy away from maintaining the gorgeous foliage, and the flowers are insignificant. If growing in the garden, sow about 12 inches apart. If growing indoors for houseplants, sow at any time, placing the young plants in a well-lit window. Pkt is 20 seeds.