Over time, even fashions change in landscaping, but the good plants remain the same.
During the Victorian era (1837-1901) and even into the Edwardian period that followed, Alternanthera ficoidea reigned along with the British monarchs in the gardens of the day. There were elaborate parterre beds, knot gardens, edgings and floral clocks made up of thousands of these plants that we call today Joseph’s coat. This is a plant that responds well to clipping and close planting to create designs.
And in certain locations in England the style still endures. Today, we see a revival of this planting style in the three-dimensional figures at the Disney Parks, in some Canadian gardens and in theme and logo plantings.
As you recall from biblical writings, Joseph, the favorite son of Jacob, was given a legendary coat of many colors from his father. Other names given to the plant include parrot leaf and calico plant, but my grandmother called it Joseph’s coat, and I stick with that name. As a child, I grew the old form of my grandmother’s on her window sill. Its green leaves were blotched with yellow, orange, red, brown, copper or purple and colored best in the sunny window.
There are several cultivars and forms of this tropical perennial plant, and all hail from Mexico to Argentina. And all have exclusively colored foliage that develops when grown as summer annuals in sun.
At one time at the Tulsa Park Department, we grew a dozen or more different varieties to use in the Woodward Park rock garden, the pattern beds in the Sunken Garden and in the logos at Tracy Park. Today, Glasshouse Works in Stewart, Ohio (740-662-2142, glasshouseworks.com) offers the most varieties of Joseph’s coat plants.
The Joseph’s coat pictured in the fleur-de-lis design at Utica Square is called Golden Joseph’s coat, True Yellow, and Golden Calico Plant. All the plants that you see of this chartreuse variety growing in Tulsa’s gardens and landscapes are from two plants that I received from the Missouri Botanical Gardens in the early ’70s. It was a plant that caught on and was propagated by local nurseries.
In 1975, Jim Buckler, the director of horticulture at the Smithsonian Institute, was visiting and wanted cuttings, and we provided. He then propagated them and created the formal Victorian parterre design that exists just outside of the Castle at the Smithsonian.
Many years later, Disney World in Florida experienced a crop failure of its Golden Joseph’s coat and asked Buckler for cuttings. He didn’t want to be bothered and told Disney about ours at the Park Department. Disney called, and so we bagged up a large garbage bag full of fresh cuttings and sent them. So this little Victorian Golden Joseph’s coat has traveled in its exhibition experience ranging from the prestigious and august setting of the Smithsonian Museum to the contemporary and whimsical face of Mickey Mouse at Disney World. Quite a feat for a modest plant.
Grow Joseph’s coat in a sunny, moist, well-drained, warm soil. It responds well to fertilization after clipping and forms a more dense mat of foliage. Propagate by cuttings directly in the rooting media or in water when temperatures are warm in spring and summer. These plants are generally pest-free except for a small foliage eating worm that can defoliate plants overnight in the late summer. It is susceptible to frost.
Russell Studebaker is a professional horticulturist and garden writer in Tulsa and can be reached at russell.studebaker@cox.net.
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