Moondust Coleus In Patio Corner Bed - Summer Update - August 2026

Over the past few growing seasons, I've become a coleus-as-bedding-plant believer.  I 'praised' it in Fall of 2024.  And, called growing three Inferno Coleus at the corner of our patio a 'garden win' at the end of the growing season (October) last year.  This year, I didn't plant any Inferno Coleus, which...in retrospect was a mistake.  I've been unhappy with the coleus up front, but I can't say the same about the coleus I planted in our backyard - in the same spot as Inferno last year. 

This year, I planted three Talevera Moondust Coleus in that spot.  I found them at Wannemaker's and they jumped off the nursery table with their speckles of paint on the foliage.  

If you go back to the planting post, you'll see that they're described this way by the grower:

Sun-tolerant varieties maintain color and foliage patterns in both sun and shade conditions. These late-flowering selections are tidy, non-bolting plants in the garden.

The plant tag also listed them as 14 to 36 inches tall.  

So, how are we doing, boys?  

Moondust Coleus in Full Sun as Bedding Plant

Ask me how the Moondust Coleus are doing and I'd say:

Looking at them in that photo (and in person) and you can see: They're thriving.  And putting on a lovely show.  Just like the Inferno coleus did last year in this spot. 

One of them (the one planted closest to the patio) is the smallest, but it is doing fine.  The other two are big and stunning.    So much so that I (now) think I should be planting even more of this stuff.  Could be Inferno (my first love) or something like these Stardust coleus.  

In order to do that, I need to expand the bed here.  

The corner has a trio of Karl Foerster Grasses (I posted a video of these three grasses and how they 'move' in the wind back in July) and some Silver Shield annuals.  But, right now is not symmetrical - meaning these Moondust Coleus are not repeated on the other side of the grasses.  That seems like an easy fix - but requires a bed extension.

My 2026 to-do list included as #12: "Fall project: Expand beds. Using the lazy method. Here we are, in Spring, and I still haven’t done this. Do it in Fall, Jake."

I'm thinking that I have my first realistic candidate for that Fall Project.  Expanding the other side of this bed.  And, maybe expanding the whole thing.  Time to start collecting cardboard and biosolids.