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Purple Coleus: 48 Spectacular Varieties for Your Garden

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Are you looking for gorgeous purple coleus plants to add to your garden and summer pots? Keep scrolling to check out 48 stunning purple coleus varieties. You can’t beat Coleus plants for their fast growth rate, ease of care, and uniquely colorful foliage.

purple-coleus-varieties

Some of the varieties here have predominantly purple foliage. Some are even near black. While others have purple or burgundy mixed in with other colors in their leaves. Some are short, some are tall, and some are even trailing.

I’m confident that you’ll find at least a few that will work for you! You can add them to mixed planters, give them their own dedicated pot, or mix them into your garden beds.

At the end of this post, I’ve included links to my blog posts that delve into how I take care of Coleus so they are the envy of all my garden visitors!

Table of Contents

PURPLE COLEUS VARIETIES

1. Alligator Alley

purple-coleus-alligator-alley

Height: 16 to 22 inches tall

Habit: Upright

Comments: Bright green edges with a rich mahogany center, Coleus Main Street ‘Alligator Alley’ is a bushy, compact plant that is perfect for pots or as a shorter border plant in your garden.

2. Amethyst

purple-coleus-amethyst

Height: 16 to 24 inches tall

Habit: Upright

Comments: Coleus ‘Amethyst’ has deep purple, ruffled leaves with hot pink mixed in throughout.

3. Apocalypse

purple-coleus-apocalypse

Height: 16 to 24 inches tall

Habit: Upright

Comments: Coleus ‘Apocalypse’ has scalloped leaves with deep purple centers and are edged in a beautiful, bright green.

4. Ashbury

purple-coleus-ashbury

Height: 20 to 26 inches tall

Habit: Upright

Comments: Coleus Main Street ‘Ashbury’ is a stunning variety that branches out well. Its foliage has some burgundy mixed into pink foliage with flecks of green.

5. Black Beauty

purple-coleus-black-beauty

Height: 16 to 22 inches tall

Habit: Upright

Comments: Coleus ‘Black Beauty’ has purple leaves mottled with reddish highlights. This is a gorgeous variety but make sure to give it enough light to bring out the rich coloration.

6. Black Coral

purple-coleus-black-coral

Height: 12 to 18 inches tall

Habit: Upright

Comments: Coleus Under The Sea ‘Black Coral’ is a short variety with very deep purple foliage that appears near-black!

7. Black Lace

purple-coleus-black-lace

Height: 14 to 20 inches tall

Habit: Upright

Comments: Coleus ‘Black Lace’ has lacy green leaves that are bright green and deep purple. The combination is striking.

8. Black Prince

purple-coleus-black-prince-proven-winners

Photo Credit: Proven Winners

Height: 24 to 30 inches tall

Habit: Upright

Comments: Coleus ‘Black Prince’ has deep purple, near-black foliage.

9. Blackberry Waffles

purple-coleus-blackberry-waffles

Height: 16 to 24 inches tall

Habit: Upright

Comments: Coleus ‘Blackberry Waffles’ gets its name from the uniquely quilted, dark purple/near-black foliage. It is a stunner!

10. Blair’s Witch

purple-coleus-blair's-witch

Height: 16 to 24 inches tall

Habit: Upright

Comments: Coleus ‘Blair’s Witch’ has striking foliage with purple centers surrounded by a kaleidoscope of green, yellow and red.

11. Burgundy Sun

purple-coleus-burgundy-sun

Height: 24 to 30 inches tall

Habit: Upright

Comments: Coleus ‘Burgundy Sun’ has gorgeous burgundy leaves. Some sun is necessary in order to bring out a richer color.

12. Burgundy Wedding Train

purple-coleus-burgundy-wedding-train

Height: 12 inches tall

Habit: Trailing

Comments: Coleus ‘Burgundy Wedding Train’ is a vigorously growing trailing coleus that has purplish/burgundy centers on the leaves, edged with a bright green. Perfect for spilling over your summer pots!

13. Cantigny Royale

purple-coleus-cantigny-royale

Height: 12 to 18 inches tall

Habit: Mounding

Comments: Coleus ‘Cantigny Royale’ has very small, rich purple foliage. Due to its short, mounting habit, it is perfect for edging your garden beds, or to gently spill over your pots when mixed with other plants.

14. Chocolate Mint

purple-coleus-chocolate-mint

Height: 14 to 36 inches tall

Habit: Upright

Comments: Coleus Talavera ‘Chocolate Mint’ is simply gorgeous. The dark purplish/burgundy foliage is edged with a bright green.

15. Chocolate Velveteen

purple-coleus-chocolate-velveteen

Height: 14 to 36 inches tall

Habit: Upright

Comments: Coleus Talavera ‘Chocolate Velveteen’ has deep burgundy leaves with purple undersides.

16. Darth Vader

purple-coleus-darth-vader

Height: 16 to 24 inches tall

Habit: Upright

Comments: Coleus ‘Darth Vader’ has gorgeous, narrow leaves with deep purple centers and chartreuse edges.

17. El Brighto

purple-coleus-el-brighto

Height: 16 to 24 inches tall

Habit: Upright

Comments: Coleus ‘El Brighto’ is simply gorgeous. The centers of the leaves are purple and surrounded by a pinkish-red area, with yellow, scalloped edges. Some sun is necessary for the most vivid colors.

18. Enchantress

purple-coleus-enchantress

Height: 12 to 18 inches tall

Habit: Upright

Comments: Coleus ‘Enchantress’ has deep purple ruffled edgers with a gorgeously contrasting magenta center. It is an upright, short variety.

19. Felix

purple-coleus-felix

Height: 16 to 24 inches tall

Habit: Upright

Comments: Coleus ‘Felix’ has eggplant-purple centers with beautifully contrasting yellow-green, scalloped edges on the leaves.

20. Flamingo

purple-coleus-flamingo

Height: 16 to 24 inches tall

Habit: Upright

Comments: Coleus ‘Flamingo’ has bright pink centers surrounded by a beautiful purple color. The deeply scalloped edges are delightful!

21. Florida Sun Rose

purple-coleus-florida-sun-rose

Height: 12 to 18 inches tall

Habit: Upright

Comments: Coleus ‘Florida Sun Rose’ has very deep purple centers on the leaves, surrounded by a beautiful pink with hints of green, yellow and red. It is an upright form, but it can also have slight mounding and trailing tendencies. Perfect for the edges of your mixed summer pots!

22. Giant Fantasy

purple-coleus-giant-fantasy

Height: 24 to 30 inches tall

Habit: Upright

Comments: Coleus ‘Giant Fantasy’ is a taller coleus with burgundy centers and bright green edges.

23. Gilda

purple-coleus-gilda

Height: 16 to 24 inches tall

Habit: Upright

Comments: Coleus ‘Gilda’ has ruffled foliage with dark purple centers surrounded by yellow, red and green.

24. Glinda

purple-coleus-glinda

Height: 24 to 36 inches tall

Habit: Upright

Comments: Coleus ‘Glinda’ is a tall coleus with striking purple and magenta foliage.

25. Hot Sauce

purple-coleus-hot-sauce

Height: 24 to 30 inches tall

Habit: Upright

Comments: Coleus ‘Hot Sauce’ has dark mahogany centers surrounded by reddish edges.

26. Inky Fingers

purple-coleus-inky-fingers

Height: 12 to 18 inches tall

Habit: Mounding

Comments: Coleus ‘Inky Fingers’ is a duckfoot variety with purple centers on the leaves and bright green edges. It has a bushy, short, mounding habit.

27. Inky Toes

purple-coleus-inky-toes

Height: 6 to 10 inches tall

Habit: Mounding

Comments: Coleus ‘Inky Toes’ is a dwarf coleus with garnet and purple centers on the leaves, surrounded by green scalloped edging. Perfect for mixing with other plants in pots!

28. Kiwi Fern

purple-coleus-kiwi-fern

Height: 12 to 18 inches tall

Habit: Mounding

Comments: Coleus ‘Kiwi Fern’ has unusual, narrow leaves with frilled edges. The leaves are a deep purple with yellow and red edges. This variety is perfect for hanging baskets, window boxes and in mixed pots.

29. Mexico Gem

purple-coleus-mexico-gem

Height: 18 to 34 inches tall

Habit: Upright

Comments: Coleus ‘Mexico Gem’ has gorgeous reddish-purple leaves with green edges.

30. Morgan Le Fay

purple-coleus-morgan-le-fay

Height: 18 to 24 inches tall

Habit: Upright

Comments: Coleus ‘Moragn Le Fay’ has stunning purple leaves accented with magenta.

31. Newly Noir

purple-coleus-newly-noir-proven-winners

Photo Credit: Proven Winners

Height: 18 to 24 inches tall

Habit: Upright

Comments: Coleus ColorBlaze ‘Newly Noir’ is a showstopper with deep purple, near-black leaves.

32. Niagara

purple-coleus-niagara

Height: 10 to 12 inches tall

Habit: Trailing

Comments: Coleus ‘Niagara’ is a trailing Coleus with small leaves. The centers are reddish-purple and the leaves have green, scalloped edges. Perfect for hanging baskets or to spill over pots!

33. Pink Tricolor

purple-coleus-pink-tricolor

Height: 14 to 36 inches tall

Habit: Upright

Comments: Coleus ‘Pink Tricolor’ is a stunning cultivar that has deep burgundy leaves with streaks of magenta and edged in lime green.

34. Purple Duckfoot

purple-coleus-purple-duckfoot

Height: 16 to 20 inches tall

Habit: Mounding

Comments: Coleus ‘Purple Duckfoot’ has stunning, small pastel purple foliage. It has a vigorous mounting habit, making it great for hanging baskets and for edges of pots while mixed with other plants.

35. Royalty

purple-coleus-royalty

Height: 14 to 20 inches tall

Habit: Upright

Comments: Coleus ‘Royalty’ has jagged purple edges with hot pink centers.

36. Ruby Laser

Height: 12 to 18 inches tall

Habit: Upright

Comments: Coleus ‘Ruby Laser’ almost seems fake with its bold, electric colors. Deep purple, ruffled edges with pink centers make this cultivar quite unique.

37. Saturn

purple-coleus-saturn

Height: 16 to 24 inches tall

Habit: Upright

Comments: Coleus ‘Saturn’ has deep maroon leaves with a lime green center.

38. Sea Weed

purple-coleus-seaweed

Height: 14 to 18 inches tall

Habit: Upright

Comments: Coleus Under The Sea ‘Seaweed’ have nearly black centers with lime green edges. This one is a vigorous grower!

39. Shiny Shoes

purple-coleus-shiny-shoes

Height: 12 to 14 inches tall

Habit: Upright

Comments: Coleus ‘Shiny Shoes’ is a super dark purple color that almost appears black. The leaves are shiny and has a very compact habit.

40. Solar Shadow

purple-coleus-solar-shadow

Height: 18 to 26 inches tall

Habit: Upright

Comments: Coleus ‘Solar Shadow’ has deep purple edges with lighter yellow and green center.

41. Tapestry

purple-coleus-tapestry

Height: 18 to 26 inches tall

Habit: Upright

Comments: Coleus ‘Tapestry’ has beautiful purple leaves with splashes of green and magenta.

42. Theatre Velvet

purple-coleus-theatre-velvet

Height: 18 to 26 inches tall

Habit: Upright

Comments: Coleus ‘Theatre Velvet’ has sumptuous, deep purple foliage which is also ruffled and textured.

43. Trailing Garnet Robe

purple-coleus-trailing-garnet-robe

Height: 12 inches tall

Habit: Trailing

Comments: Coleus ‘Trailing Garnet Robe’ is an heirloom Coleus with maroon and purple leaves with a green edge. This is a trailing Coleus (up to 30 inches long or so) which is great in mixed planters.

44. Trailing Plum Brocade

purple-coleus-trailing-plum-brocade

Height: 12 inches tall

Habit: Trailing

Comments: Coleus ‘Trailing Plum Brocade’ has plum colored foliage which is accented in pink. This trailing beauty is great for hanging baskets and can trail to about 30 inches long.

45. Trailing Rose

purple-coleus-trailing-rose

Height: 12 inches tall

Habit: Trailing

Comments: Coleus ‘Trailing Rose’ is a lovely cultivar that has violet-rose centers in the leaves. It will trail up to 30 inches long or so, and looks great mixed with other plants.

46. Velvet Lime

purple-coleus-velvet-lime

Height: 18 to 24 inches tall

Habit: Upright

Comments: Coleus ‘Velvet Lime’ has green and burgundy coloration. This heirloom beauty is a sturdy cultivar that is also sun tolerant.

47. Vino

purple-coleus-vino

Height: 18 to 30 inches tall

Habit: Upright

Comments: Coleus ‘Vino’ has deep, wine-colored purple leaves with a narrow edge of green. Full sun will cause the foliage to turn its darkest, but be sure to protect it from the harshest sun of the day.

48. Wildstreak

purple-coleus-wildstreak

Height: 14 to 18 inches tall

Habit: Mounding

Comments: Coleus ‘Wildstreak’ has gorgeous, deep purple leaves that are accented with yellow, red, orange and green. This one will surely attract a lot of attention! It has a mounding habit so it is great in a hanging basket.

COLEUS CARE RESOURCES

I hope you’ve enjoyed this post on purple Coleus. If you are a Coleus lover, be sure not to miss these two other blog posts that I’ve written:

17 Spectacular Coleus Varieties for Sun + Tips to Grow

Should You Deadhead Coleus? Why This Matters & What To Do

Jerry miner

Saturday 24th of February 2024

Good morning. Great website. My questions are that I am looking for 3 colors of purple for coleus.I’ve seen several pictures of ones that I like. Are te coleus shipped as a plant or in seed form? I’d be happy if they were shipped ready to plant. I own a b&b inn and this year I wish to do all purple as mentioned. Thank you so much. Jerry

Raffaele Di Lallo

Saturday 24th of February 2024

Glad you enjoyed the post Jerry! You can purchase both plants and seeds of Coleus.