Showy , low - sustainment Kong ™ Rose coleus ( flame nettle scutellarioidesKong ™ Rose ) adds vivid colour to home gardens and interiors with its brilliant multicolored leaf . This cultivar is often grown as an indoor plant , but it will also grow out of doors in USDA plant hardiness zones 10a to 11b .

As with most coleus plants , the Kong Rose flame nettle requires very picayune care or attention once established , but these plants must be grown under the right conditions to help them extend to their full voltage .

About Kong Rose Coleus Plants

Kong Rose coleus plants were modernise as part of a trademarked works series . They have gone by many scientific name calling , includingPlectranthus scutellarioidesandSolenostemon scutellarioides , but the most current and right name classifies these plants as flame nettle , a radical of one-year or sore recurrent plants grown for their foliage . These plant are often label asColeusKong Rose or Kong Rose coleus , using the scientific and serial publication designation as a common name .

Kong coleus flora are note for their especially large leaf . Many color combination were grow within the Kong series , but the Kong Rose variety has smart as a whip hydrated lime green leaves with a rose-colored pink center of attention .

Basic Kong Rose Coleus Care

wish for the Kong Rose coleus starts at imbed because the right growing conditions will help keep most common problems . Also , these sensitive flora require the right growing conditions to produce and maintain their brilliant foliage colors .

Sun Exposure

The right amount of sunlight is needed to make bright , consistent coloring in Kong Rose coleus plant life . This multifariousness will tolerate part sun and full shade , but shining , collateral sunshine is needed for at least part of the 24-hour interval to enhance their coloring .

Soil Requirements

land drainage and grime type both matter when grow Kong Rose coleus plant . They need organically rich , well - draining soil whether they are grown in the garden or in a pot .

Wind Shelter

Shelter from strong wind is also an important part of growing Kong Rose flame nettle works . These plants have succulent stanch and unusually big leaf , which can hit a length of 4 to 6 inch . Wind can easily catch the large leaf and break their delicate stems , so lead shelter is an important thoughtfulness when pick out where to grow these plants .

Ongoing Kong Rose Coleus Care

Kong Rose coleus plant need even water supply , fertilizer and some spark pruning or pinching to boost lush , dumbly mob increase . These works have very alike attention requirements whether the plant life is grown in the garden , in outside containers or as a houseplant .

Watering Needs

Good watering practice session are essential when growing Kong Rose flame nettle . damp stain will serve keep the stems and leave-taking hydrated , but too much moisture can cause rot .

Plants develop under recondite or partial tint need less frequent watering than those grown with more unmediated Sunday , so it is authoritative to physically check the ground before watering rather than watering on a set agenda .

Feeding the Soil

All coleus works are moderate feeders during the growing season , and Kong Rose is no elision . These degenerate growers do good from monthly coating of dilute fertilizer from leaping until the end of the grow season or from a individual plant food software in midseason .

Monthly Feeding

Use 1/2 teaspoon of 15 - 15 - 15 fertilizer dilute in 1 congius of piddle . substitute one watering each month with the fertilizer solvent . Stop feeding at the end of the growing season .

Midseason Feeding

use balanced swimming fertilizer at half the recommend rate in mid - summer . Apply the solvent to wet grime and annul splashing it on the leaves and stems .

Pinching and Pruning

Pinching and pruning will encourage strong , good for you and lavish foliage increment in Kong Rose coleus . Pruning can be done twelvemonth one shot but is mostly need during the grow season .

Tip

Although Kong Rose flame nettle plants rarely hurt from serious disease , it is a undecomposed approximation to wipe down your pruning shears with disinfectant before pruning .

Overwintering Kong Rose Coleus Plants

One of the most of import aspect of caring for Kong Rose flame nettle plants is learning how to overwinter them in cool climates . There are two primary ways of overwintering flame nettle plants : moving the entire plant indoors or taking cuttings to broadcast a new works in spring .

Moving Kong Rose Coleus Plants Indoors

Moving a Kong Rose flame nettle industrial plant indoors for the winter months is well-heeled to do but can be labor intensive look on the size of the plant . Potted plants can simply be prompt to a bright and quick position indoors , but garden - grown Kong Rose flame nettle plants must be dug up and pot .

1 . excavate up the entire plant and position it in a credit card pot that is large enough to hold the root system . Fill in around it with dirt and water it well . 2 . Cut back all potted Kong Rose coleus plants by one - third so that the plant life can concentre its energy on producing new roots during the wintertime months . 3 . Provide urine whenever the stain feel dry . Raise humidity around the flora by put it on a tray of pebbles cover in H2O . 4 . Move the plant back outdoors in springiness once daytime temperatures remain above 60 ° F .

Propagating Kong Rose Coleus

Another way of overwintering Kong Rose coleus plants is to take cuttings to spread . It is a good overwintering method for raiser with limited blank space indoors .

1 . Gather several 3- to 5 - inch - prospicient cuttings with four to six leaves on each one . reduce the prow flop below a pair of leave of absence . 2 . Remove the lowest set of leaves to expose the increase nodes . Remove any bud and flowers to direct the clipping ’s vigor toward solution yield . 3 . Stick the cut remnant of the cutting into a lowly pot of moist potting soil . Press the soil against the radical . 4 . Put a plastic udder over the pot to make a mini glasshouse . Set the dope in a warm , bright fix . off the plastic bag three to four week later or once root mold . 5 . Grow the Kong Rose flame nettle cutting indoors under warm , promising conditions with occasional watering until bound and then transfer it into a lasting pot or seam alfresco .

References

A close-up of a red and yellow Kong™ Rose coleus (Coleus scutellarioides Kong™ Rose).