You are only partially correct, Phish.

The cultivated "Coleus" (Solenostemon scutellarioides) IS in the Mint
family, Lamiaceae (Labiatae).

There is only one species involved but hundreds of selected cultivars (not
botanical varieties).

All plants will grow spindly without enough light. They will do much better
in a greenhouse.

The flowers of Solenostemon are not at all ugly. They may be rather small
and not showy by your standards but they are quite interesting and
intricate, especially when viewed with a hand lens. They are designed to
attract pollinators, not to impress you personally.

The plants are often used in high school botany experiments to demonstrate
photosynthesis and pigmentation.


Phisherman wrote in message
...
On Thu, 23 Oct 2003 03:30:41 GMT, Sam wrote:

Elizabeth wrote:
Coleus comes to mind.

As luck would have it, I was down at HomeDepot today (on other business)
and there was the sign "Assorted Varieties of Coleus ON SALE! $3.97) So
I picked one up! :-) Thanks for the info Elizabeth! Just one question:
Most info on this plant online indicates that it is an annual (i.e.
will die after one year), but the guy at HomeDepot (not their actual
assistants, this was another "customer" who happened to be a landscape
contractor) said that if this plant is kept in the shade, and in the
warmer climate of Los Angeles, it behaves as a perennial and won't die
at all. Now I am all confused and don't know what to think! Please
clarify!

Thanks as always!
Sam in Los Angeles

The guy at HD is correct. You can grow coleus as a house plant,
although it tends to get spindly without enough sunlight. If the
plants begin to look bad and send up numerous (ugly) flowers--you can
take cuttings and start over (I do this). There are hundreds of
varieties with different growing properties. Coleus are often used
in botany experiments and they are related to the mint family.