Any tips on growing coleus?

Marc Iverson 6/7/2015, 1:33 am

Hi everyone.

I got some coleus a few days back. I kept it outdoors and noticed it getting quite pale, and moved it inside. Then I read that keeping it out of the sun helps preserve its color. I don't want it to be out of the sun all the time, though, right?

I also read that it likes moist soil and that you need a really big pot for it. Uh oh. I've put it in smallish pots and was planning on keeping it that way on a small shelf in the house.

Anyone successful with it in smaller pots? Any pro tips?

**sanderson** 6/7/2015, 2:43 am

Marc, I have coleus almost every summer for 18 years, but it's in a partially shaded area. Morning sun, protection from noon to sundown. It dies comes winter. Then I replant the next year.

Marc Iverson 6/7/2015, 2:06 pm

Thanks sanderson.

Unfortunately, I have it in a west-facing window. I guess that means I will need to not let it stay there full-time.

**walshevak** 6/8/2015, 2:10 pm

sanderson wrote:Marc, I have coleus almost every summer for 18 years, but it's in a partially shaded area. Morning sun, protection from noon to sundown. It dies comes winter. Then I replant the next year.

Mine reseeded this year. House faces north so coleus, begonias and impatiens are my go to for summer color around my azaleas and astilbie. Can't wait to get a bed built here at new place for the perennials. I've got some coleus and begonias in pots for now.

Kay

**walshevak** 6/8/2015, 2:12 pm

Marc Iverson wrote:Thanks sanderson.

Unfortunately, I have it in a west-facing window. I guess that means I will need to not let it stay there full-time.

Just pull it back a bit. It does fine as long as the sun is not beating down on it. The plants can get pretty big. Keep it pinched back to prevent leggy.

Kay

Marc Iverson 6/8/2015, 4:05 pm

walshevak, I've read and you are confirming that they can get pretty big, but ... if you have them in small pots, do they suffer for it? I'm thinking of marigolds, a plant which can grow bigger or smaller to fit its pot but seems perfectly happy in even a tiny pot ... and hoping coleus is like that.

Do you just pinch off the tops at your preferred height to keep it from getting leggy?

**walshevak** 6/8/2015, 6:05 pm

It just seems to do better if kept pinched off. BTW, the trimmed stems can be rooted in water for more plants.

Kay

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Any tips on growing coleus?

Any tips on growing coleus?

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