When growing plants in your home, provide the following growing conditions to promote strong, healthy plants. When grown indoors coleus prefers bright, indirect light. Some direct sun is okay, except intense summer sun which will scorch the leaves or cause the bright colors to fade.
Too little light dulls leaf colors and may cause leaves to drop. You may need to supplement available light with artificial lights during the winter. Watch the plant closely. If the leaves fade and lose color, the plant is probably getting too much sunlight. However, if the plant is lackluster and drops its leaves, try giving it a little more light.
Tropical houseplants do well indoors because they prefer the same temperature range as we humans do. Coleus prefer environments with medium to high humidity levels. For most homeowners, low indoor humidity makes coleus plant care indoors a little more challenging than outdoor care. If your plants begin to show brown tips or crispy edges, signs your air is too dry, you can increase the humidity level by grouping plants together, or setting your plant in a tray containing pebbles and water.
Read this article for my best tips for increasing humidity for your houseplants. Coleus plants prefer a soil that drains quickly and provides good aeration to the roots. Avoid anything specifically formulated for a given plant type such as acid-loving plants or succulents. Avoid using straight coconut coir or sphagnum peat moss in your containers; they retain too much water.
To improve the drainage rate of the potting soil you can add extra perlite. Read my complete guide to choosing soil for your houseplants. This covers everything you need to ensure your plants are always in the best soil to help them thrive. During the active growing season in the spring and summer keep the potting soil slightly moist, although not soggy, at all times. During the winter when growth is slower, scale back slightly on watering.
Water with tepid water and avoid getting water on the velvety leaves. Hard water will leave water spots that are nearly impossible to remove. If you live in an urban or suburban area with treated water it is best the water is allowed to sit for a couple of days before using it to allow the chlorine to dissipate. This helps to lower the risk of chlorine toxicity in your plants. Read my article about how to water your houseplants to prevent over- and under-watering.
Fertilize every 1 to 2 weeks during the active growing season at about half the strength recommended on the fertilizer label. To promote good foliage growth and minimize flowering you will want to purchase a quality fertilizer that is higher in nitrogen and lower in phosphorus. Avoid a balanced fertilizer that has an equal ratio of N-P-K such as a common formulation. Look for a water-soluble or liquid all-purpose plant food and mix it at half the strength of the recommended dosage on the label or even slightly more diluted.
Coleus will flower in the summer with racemes of tiny white or bluish flowers if given the correct care, but unfortunately, you should prevent flowering if you want to keep your plants around. If your plants do flower make sure to pinch the flower buds off immediately. Flowering triggers your plant into thinking it needs to go to seed.
Once it goes to seed, it dies. So, keep pinching off the flower buds as they form to extend the life of your plant.
Pinch back the stems of your coleus to keep the plant from getting too leggy. This triggers growth from growing points at the nodes on the stem, creating a fuller, bushier plant. When you pinch them, make sure to cut the stem cleanly immediately after a leaf node using either your fingernails or a sharp pair of clean scissors.
In spring or early summer remove a 3 to 4-inch long stem tip cutting that has at least 3 leaves attached to the end piece. Cut just below a leaf node where a leaf is attached to the stem. You can then place the cutting in a jar or glass with clean water until roots form or immediately put it in a small container with moist potting soil.
Over time your coleus may outgrow the container you have it growing in, and need to be moved to a bigger one. A plant that is root-bound in a container will have slower growth or the growth may be completely halted. When repotting gently tease the roots with your fingers to loosen them up and then add fresh potting mix. Springtime is the best time to repot plants as they begin actively growing after the cooler winter months, and can bounce back from the shock of repotting quicker.
For a long time, this was a highly recommended practice, taught to new gardeners. Available in a wide variety of colors and patterns, you can easily bring any dull corner of your home to life with a potted coleus plant. It is good practice to check the seedlings and reject any green ones.
This is because coleus is grown mainly for its colors and green seedlings will not grow up to have colorful foliage. A good indicator of over-watering a plant is when the leaves turn yellow.
Alternatively, if you have under-watered a plant, the leaves will start to droop. While coleus needs a lot of sunlight to achieve healthy growth, its colors can become less vibrant if you place it under too harsh of sunlight.
Keep it in a spot that gets hours of indirect light. An often overlooked aspect of coleus care is the humidity. Coleus love warm, humid environments, so make sure that they retain moisture. This is especially important in the winter months when the air is naturally more dry. Roses, a perennial plant, are adored by many of us.
Roses are often seen as a sign of love, and are often seen on valentines day or on…. Microgreens are a nutritious and delicious addition to any garden that many people are beginning to grow.
Gardening is a fun and rewarding hobby to begin, but comes with some important things to keep in mind. There are a lot of potential pitfalls…. Related Posts. Growing Roses Indoors Roses, a perennial plant, are adored by many of us. Roses are often seen as a sign of love, and are often seen on valentines day or on… Read More. Beginners Guide To Growing Microgreens Microgreens are a nutritious and delicious addition to any garden that many people are beginning to grow.
There are a lot of potential pitfalls… Read More. Related Products. Bonsai Starter Kit. Herb Garden Starter Kit. LED Herb Garden. Stackable Planter. First Name. Last Name. Download Our E-Book! Recent Posts Growing Beets Indoors. Otherwise, if they are in pots, you can simply move them into a shed or garage that stays above freezing during the short cold spells. Good luck!
What should I have done differently? It sounds like your coleus died from transplant shock. This is a common problem for plants that have been overwintered indoors. They need to be hardened in order to get used to living back outside again before you plant them into the garden. Next time, slowly transition them so they can get used to living outside again. Once all chance of frost is gone in the spring, and the temps are consistency above 50F, move the pot to a shady, protected location outdoors.
Then slowly move them to their normal spot over the next several days. Woohoo, how fun! No, do not fertilize your coleus plant during the winter.
They go into a state of dormancy, and fertilizing them during that time can cause weak and leggy growth. Pinching off the coleus flowers will help to keep the plant bushier and fuller looking. However, if you are trying to overwinter the cuttings, then definitely cut off the flowers.
Otherwise, they may not root. Hi Amy, I was given two Coleus plants as a present this summer and planted them in my front garden that is south east facing. They have grown into beautiful eye catching beautiful plants.
I was delighted to read your advise on how to care form them of the winter and will follow your recommendations to the letter. Amy, are coleus safe to have around house cats? Just wondering if I need to keep the plants away from curious cats in case the plants are poisonous.
I love the variety of coleus colors and textures, and overwintering would cut down on purchasing new plants every year. Could you just pull up the whole plant and replant in a pot to take indoors? I have a few in my yard right now that I would love to try and save through the Winter.
Yes, you certainly could try digging up your coleus plant and potting it up to bring indoors for winter. But the plant will definitely go into shock from being transplanted and then brought indoors. It will probably droop for a few days, but should pop back once it gets used to its new environment.
Thanks, I will try it and see how it goes. Awesome, thanks for sharing your experience with growing your coleus. They can be a bit finicky sometimes for sure. Hi, Stasher — I had the same problem with coleus I was propagating from cuttings. They were rooted in water and the potted-up. The roots seem to rot but also the stem right at ground level rotted as well. I determined that it was a fungal rot call Rhizoctonia.
I work in a research facility so we are treating them with 3 different fungicidal treatments. Hey Amy! Many of the bulbs and tubers you sent me from that contest I won a couple years ago did fabulous this year.
Love this post- taking cuttings and rooting them is an essential gardening task for those of us way up north. It adds color to our houses since for 4 months of the year everything is so WHITE, and it saves trouble in the early spring with seed starting. I know for me, the more space I can save on the seedling heat mats which I use a lot!
Coleus is one awesome plant to take cuttings from and save. Hypoestes and impatiens always come inside as cuttings here. I also like to grab up cuttings of peppers, and cherry tomatoes as I have good luck getting them to continue fruiting over the winter. This year I tried growing sweet potatoes, and I decided to try cutting up the vines and rooting those- which are working really well! I have lots of bulbs for forcing this winter.
Thanks again Amy! Sounds like you are one busy lady when it comes to overwintering plants! Your email address will not be published.
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