My first Coleus ‘Kong® Red’ from Pleasant Acres Nursery of Leland, Mississippi on 5-31-12, #95-5.
Coleus ‘Kong® Red’
Coleus scutellarioides
KO-lee-us skew-tell-ar-ee-OH-ih-deez
SYN.
Plectranthus scutellarioides
SYN.
Solenostemon scutellarioides
Coleus scutellarioides (L.) Benth. is the accepted scientific name for this species of Coleus. It was named and described as such by George Bentham in Plantae Asiaticae Rariores in 1830. It was first named and described as Ocimum scutellarioides by Carl von Linnaeus in the second volume of the first edition of Species Plantarum in 1753.
To read the research document published on Phytokeys, “Nomenclatural changes in Coleus and Plectranthus (Lamiaceae): a tale of more than two genera” by Alan J. Patton and others”, click HERE. I think this is the document presented to make the name changes.
The two most common synonyms that plants are still sold under are Plectranthus scutellarioides and Solenostemon scutellarioides.
Now a synonym, Plectranthus scutellarioides (L.) R.Br. was described as such by Robert Brown in Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae in 1810.
Now a synonym, Solenostemon scutellarioides (L.) Codd was described by Leslie Edward Wastell Codd in Bothalia in 1975.
The genus, Coleus Lour., was named and described as such by João de Loureiro in Flora Cochinchinensis in 1790.
As of 12-19-23 when this page was last updated, Plants of the World Online lists 301 species in the Coleus genus. It is a member of the plant family Lamiaceae with 232 genera. Those numbers could change as updates are made on POWO.
THERE ARE A FEW LINKS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE FOR FURTHER READING.
Coleus ‘Kong® Red’ on 6-11-12, #99-27.
Coleus ‘Kong® Red’ was my second of the Kong® series. I purchased this plant from Pleasant Acres Nursery in the spring of 2012. I always like big, exotic-looking plants, so this one was right up my alley from the start.
Kong® is a registered trademark of the Ball Horticultural Company. Coleus ‘Kong® Red’ was bred by the Sakata Seed Corporation and patented under the name ‘Kakegawa CE12’ (US PVP200500015).
Coleus ‘Kong® Red’ on 7-3-12, #107-47.
Pruning is not necessary as the Kong series have very short internodes. They will branch out on their own. They have an upright, mounding growth habit reaching 18-20 inches tall and 15-18 inches wide.
Coleus ‘Kong® Red’ on 7-3-12, #107-48.
The rest of the photos of my Coleus ‘Kong® Red’ in Mississippi were taken with a friend’s camera. The settings weren’t set correctly and I didn’t realize it for a while.
Coleus ‘Kong® Red’ cutting in the west sunroom at the mansion in Mississippi on 11-27-12, #134-5.
I took several cuttings of my Coleus to overwinter for 2013, but I sold the mansion and moved back to the farm in mid-Missouri. I could not take my Coleus cuttings so I gave them to a good friend of mine. Along with hundreds of other pots I left behind.
<<<<2015>>>>
Coleus ‘Kong® Red’ on 5-21-15, #260-10.
Luckily in 2015, Wagler’s Greenhouse had a few Coleus ‘Kong® Red’ available so I bought one.
Coleus ‘Kong® Red’ on 6-14-15, #268-20.
I transplanted it in the bed on the north side of the house where it gets some morning and late afternoon sun and shade the rest of the time.
Coleus ‘Kong® Red’ on 6-27-15, #270-17.
The Kong series Coleus need to be in part to full shade. The intense sun can burn their leaves.
Coleus ‘Kong® Red’ on 7-12-15, #271-55.
The Coleus ‘Kong® Red’ performed very well all summer long despite a few times being pretty hot and dry.
Coleus ‘Kong® Red’ on 10-3-17, #272-12.
Even toward the end of the season, Coleus ‘Kong® Red’ was still strutting. I give this Coleus a five gold star rating for color, performance, heat tolerance, strong growth, low maintenance, etc. This is one AWESOME plant!
Hopefully, we will meet again and I can bring another one home. Regretfully, at this time, I don’t have a suitable location in the house to overwinter Coleus cuttings. You never know from year to year what will be available locally so if you are able, it is a good idea to learn how to overwinter cuttings.
You can read my Coleus scutellarioides page by clicking HERE for more information and a list of all the Coleus I have grown.
I hope you enjoyed this page and maybe found it useful. If you have any comments, questions or suggestions, I would like to hear from you. Please click on “like” if you visited this page. It helps us bloggers stay motivated. 🙂 You can check out the links below for further reading. The links take you directly to the genus and species of this plant. If you notice I made an error, please let me know. Of course, you can always send me an email at thebelmontrooster@yahoo.com.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
PLANTS OF THE WORLD ONLINE (GENUS/SPECIES)
WIKIPEDIA (GENUS/SPECIES)
PHYTOKEYS
NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY
MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN
GARDENING KNOW HOW
The Belmont Rooster 