COLEUS... The garden clown
The mention of coleus brings to mind a kaleidescope of
colorful foliage that is like a gaudily dressed clown... clashing loudly for attention and
performing well in the spotlight. For years we have seen the standard burgundy, or
green/pink blends, but these days we are finding more and more unusual color blends.
And these new varieties can be propagated through stem cuttings only, which are making
them the "Beanie Babies" of the plant world, enticing people to start their own
collections to trade or give away. I placed coleus in this section with indoor
plants because they flourish in a bright window, and provide a festive look during the
bleakest days of winter. They also look wonderful in the shade garden outdoors and
can get bushy and large.
CULTURE
Plants do best outdoors after the soil has warmed, in a
moist location that gets a few hours of morning sun. Watch the variety, some need
more sun than others, but for most varieties, a certain amount of sunshine is necessary to
bring out foliage color. Take cuttings to bring in before frost.
Indoors, plant size can be controlled by cutting back
and thinning branches. However, these will eventually become root-bound.
Plants can then be transplanted into larger containers, or root prune, cut tops
back, and replace in the original container in fresh potting soil. This practice
will temporarily limit the size of the plant until they can be brought outside.
PROPAGATION
Most coleus are best propagated from cuttings.
Save the pruned tops to root in water or plant directly in potting soil, removing the
bottom set of leaves and leaving about 1 1/2 inches of bare stem to insert in the
soil. Then water in well, keeping soil moist, but not soggy. Do not allow soil
to dry out between waterings. Plants shouldn't be allowed to flower, since the
flower spikes are insignificant and hinder the foliage growth of the plant. Pinching
back tops also encourages the plant to branch and fill out.
Light up your windowsill with the bright colors of
coleus... send in the clowns!
Any suggestions or questions?
Send them to Fran:
homegardener(at)yahoo.com
(replace
(at) with @)