The closest I can come up with is Duranta, and it would certainly never be confused with coleus. Maybe you could describe the plant that was in your container?

Hi,
A plant that looks like coleus is Perilla. I can't think of plant the show was talking about. Hopefully someone will.
Remy

goblugal - I may be wrong and you may be right. They had the plants listed and maybe they were wrong. What does this Duranta look like? The one I am thinking of is a darker green, lighter green, cream and it grows like ivy and is so pretty in a container. It is very hard to propagate, as I brought the plant in to winter-over. I tried several things and it would not root in water. I did get it to root (I think) by filling another pot with soil and pinning a branch to the soil to root. I finally cut it free from the mother plant and it is doing okay now. I am not familiar with the other one called Perilla. Thank you both for taking the time to answer my question. I would appreciate any additional comments you may have. - Barb

Barb - a simple google search will get you scads of onfo on both Duranta and Perilla. Perilla is very easy to propagate, so I doubt if it is that.

The hard to take root is throwing me off track. I'm thinking variegated plectranthus, but it is easy to root. Who knows maybe you were just having odd technical difficulties,lol.
Remy

Here is a link that might be useful: variegated plectranthus pics

Remy - that looks like the plant except I thought my leaves were more sharply etched. The stem is more like the stems of a shrub--not the coleus type. Possibly I am trying to root it the wrong way. First, I tried water, and I did try rootone and potting soil. The way I finally got it to root (I think) is by pinning it down to soil while still attached to the mother plant and then cutting it free after it rooted. Do you think this could be it? Where can I obtain any seeds, or are they too small? Thanks so much for taking the time to help - Barb

Barb,
It sounds like the plant had woody stems like a shrub. So it wouldn't be plectranthus. I'm not sure what you had, lol. I'm not too up on tropicals. I can tell you that next time you have a plant with woody stems you can get it too root easier by scraping just the outer surface off above where you made the cut. Not too much scraping like no more than an inch up and you don't need to remove every bit of outer layer. Some people use rooting hormones to help the cuttings take, but you can still be successful by sticking it in a pot and keeping it moist until it starts to root.
As far as buying plectranthus, you should be able to find it in the spring in small pots at your local garden centers.
Remy

I have a plectranthus that very much has woody stems. It is about 3 years old. But i agree, they are very easy to root, in just water.