Other Names:  Swedish Ivy, Candleplant, Spur Flower

Description:

An attractive variety, presenting velvety-pubescent, gray-green, rounded foliage with creamy white irregular margins; mounded form should be occasionally trimmed to maintain shape; a lovely addition to the garden or containers; heat tolerant

Ornamental Features

Aureus Variegatus Plectranthus' attractive serrated heart-shaped leaves emerge buttery yellow in spring, turning grayish green in color with distinctive creamy white edges the rest of the year on a plant with a mounded habit of growth.

Landscape Attributes

Aureus Variegatus Plectranthus is an herbaceous annual with a mounded form. Its medium texture blends into the garden, but can always be balanced by a couple of finer or coarser plants for an effective composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and can be pruned at anytime. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Aureus Variegatus Plectranthus is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• General Garden Use
• Groundcover
• Container Planting
• Hanging Baskets

Planting & Growing

Aureus Variegatus Plectranthus will grow to be about 3 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 5 feet. When grown in masses or used as a bedding plant, individual plants should be spaced approximately 4 feet apart. Its foliage tends to remain dense right to the ground, not requiring facer plants in front. Although it's not a true annual, this plant can be expected to behave as an annual in our climate if left outdoors over the winter, usually needing replacement the following year. As such, gardeners should take into consideration that it will perform differently than it would in its native habitat.

This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. It is very adaptable to both dry and moist growing conditions, but will not tolerate any standing water. This plant should not require much in the way of fertilizing once established, although it may appreciate a shot of general-purpose fertilizer from time to time early in the growing season. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.

Aureus Variegatus Plectranthus is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor containers and hanging baskets. Because of its height, it is often used as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.