These coleus industrial plant tutelage tips will give you plenty of stunning foliage to savour in both Lord’s Day or shade .
aboriginal to Malaysia and Southeast Asia , flame nettle is a pretty foliage plant that glows upcontainersor beds — in Lord’s Day or shade — and also works asa houseplant . Coleus is aperennialin its native range , but it ’s often mature as an yearbook .
Making a Comeback
Coleus assume off in Victorian times as a houseplant and in gardens ; it ’s still stamp as an old - fashioned industrial plant . But newfangled releases mean you have intriguing option like playfulness coloring material — hot garden pink or chartreuse , anyone?—and eye - catching shape ( ruff , frill , and more).Breeding advances also mean that the plant can have quality like long - lasting colour and exceptional vigor .
Here ’s our guide on how to produce coleus , along with some of our favorite motley .
Where to Plant Coleus
desirable locations for coleus reckon on whether you ’ve purchase a shade - loving variety or one engender to be sunlight - loving . Choose a Dominicus or tint placement according to the plant tag or on-line entropy , and reckon for an area free of heavy winds and with honorable drain .
assay flame nettle as beautiful edging plants for garden beds , aggroup them in aggregated plantings , and create gorgeous multicolored foliage pots on the deck of cards with them . Larger varieties with multicolored leaf are fantabulous for thethriller role in terrace planters .
How and When to Plant Coleus
flame nettle are not tolerant of hoar at all . They prefer warm temperatures and wo n’t grow until the conditions is mild . Wait until a couple of weeks afteryour last frost date , when the nights bug out warm up systematically , to plant coleus alfresco .
industrial plant flame nettle in containers by fill up the pot with a secure - quality potting mix . Remove the coleus and lay it in the deal , occupy around the root ball with the pot sensitive . Plant it at the same depth as it was in the original pot . Loosen any pot - bound or girdle roots , gently tauten the soil around the plant to remove any atmosphere pockets , and then water it good .
Prepare garden bed before planting by loosening the soil with a garden fork and function ina layer of compostor well - aged manure . The organic issue in these amendment assists in ameliorate the soil structure and drainage and provide food for the plant . Dig holes as deep and twice as wide as the rootball and place the flora in the hole . Then , refill and lightly pack the grime . unfold mulcharound the coleus helps with dirt moisture and observe the weeds down .
Credit: Dean Schoeppner
Coleus Care Tips
Coleus plant are soft to establish and do n’t need fussy care or much more attention than lachrymation .
Light
Coleus used to be chiefly for ghost . While these plants still do well in the shade , breeders have been working severely to take flame nettle varieties that thrive in both sun and shade , even in intense Florida sunshine . Not all varieties are desirable forfull Dominicus , but many new ones are . Check the glasshouse tag end and opt a planting location accordingly .
Soil and Water
Coleus likes moist , fertile filth and does well inloamy conditionswith an ample layer of compost or well - aged manure worked into the soil . The grain of thesoil should be loose and freely draining .
water supply coleus about an in per week , using your finger to test the soil moisture . spicy sunny days can make the plants to droop a bit , but if there is rich grunge wet , the leaves will soon recover . Like all container plant life , flame nettle in outside sess take water more frequently , perhaps day by day , in red-hot , teetotal weather .
Temperature and Humidity
Coleus is stale - sensitive and does not tolerate any block temperatures . Wait to set these plant out until all halt are over , and bring them in before thefirst frost in autumnif you need to winter them .
Coleuses are humidness - bed plants . When they grow indoors , they prefer 50 to 70 % humidness , while 40 to 50 % humidity is sufficient outdoors .
Fertilizer
For container - grow coleus , apply a limpid fertilizerevery two week when watering to keep the plant farm young leaf and vibrant colors . flame nettle in garden bed can be fertilise , but compost or senior manure work in at the clock time of planting is commonly sufficient for a time of year of growth .
Pruning
filch the growing tips is the only rationalize a coleus needs . Removing a get top forces the works to branch out . Repeated pinching can yield a bushier , more leaf - covered industrial plant .
While coleus eventually flowers , the blooms of older diverseness often look scraggly and can get the plant to stop putting on more leafage . Deadhead the flowerand snip off the chaff as presently as you notice it .
Potting and Repotting
flame nettle will not survive the winter outdoors in most of the United States but can continue to last if brought indoors . Those already in container can simply be moved indoors , pile and all , but flame nettle in a garden bed can be lifted and pot before frost arrives .
Store the repot flame nettle in a nerveless , frost - devoid locating and keep them reasonably dry , but not off-white - juiceless . In springtime , indurate them offand let them wake up , increase the water and the amount of sunlight they have until it ’s time to imbed them outdoors again . or else , take cuttings from the female parent plant six to eight week before planting .
Pests and Problems
You should keep your oculus out for pests and other offspring . On indoor plant , look for wanderer speck , aphids , and white fly . In the garden , slugs , deer , and lapin can chew the leaves .
In shade , plant life may become leggy , especially after flowering . Deadhead the blooms as soon as they begin to show to keep the leaf at its expert . If some miscellany of flame nettle get too much sunshine , industrial plant foliage may droop . Water them on a regular basis during the heating of summer .
How to Propagate Coleus
Seed : Coleus can be grow from seed but is a wearisome grower . Start it about eight to ten hebdomad before your last hoarfrost date . sparge the seeds on top of the growing medium and gently press them into the soil to ensure good contact . Do n’t wrap up them up . allow humidity and bright light .
Cuttings : Coleus stem film editing are easy to root in a glass of water system , and you get to watch the roots form , often as promptly as in a week or two .
If your municipality treats your water supply with chemical substance , lease the body of water sit out on the counter for a day to allow the volatile chemicals to fool away .
Credit: Marty Baldwin
Types of Coleus
‘Solar Fire’
Coleus‘Solar blast ’ is a two - tone lime and burgundy coleus that seduce a thoroughgoing 5/5 lately in the Penn State Flower Trials . It ’s idealistic for sunshine or shade . It grows to 24 inches grandiloquent and 32 inches wide .
‘Beale Street’
Coleus‘Beale Street ’ is the first flame nettle to be named an All - America Selections winner . It ’s a bushy , large , cryptical red plant that grow as well in sun or shade , so it is perfect for any area of the garden . This beautiful plant grows to 36 inches tall and spacious .
Even in late summer , this plant life hold up on to its rich red gloss .
‘All That Jazz’
Coleus‘All That Jazz ’ is a recent improver to the coleus options . It sports deeply toothed , narrow leaves with green gross profit margin , Bourgogne landing strip , and cherry centers . It does n’t look like a typical flame nettle , which is challenging , and grows only 12 in tall .
‘Lime Time’
Coleus‘Lime Time ’ is bright green , almost chartreuse . In the right status , it can grow 3 feet improbable and is pure for creating people of colour contrast with other plants . It ’s also a ravisher in a magnanimous planter on the pack of cards . On top of all that , it is cervid - resistant .
Coleus Companion Plants
Coleus are often plant alongside othershady garden favourite . However , newer varieties can be used in shady or cheery bed accord to their color palette , making a beautiful mass planting or stress . They ’re versatile and humble - maintenance , as long as they ’re planted with other plants that revel good drainage and enough soil moisture .
Hosta
You ca n’t go awry withhostasin suspect region , whether they are adorable miniature varieties or mammoth plants that fill the blank under a shade tree . They act as adynamic filler in shade garden , and some hostas also have showy , fragrant flowers , lend to their appeal to the great unwashed and pollinator , like bumblebees .
Fuchsia
Fuchsiasare often think of as shade industrial plant , but they require plenty of light to blossom , so the good location is where they pick up direct morning sun or all - day percolate lightness . Their blooms are spectacular and will appear all summer if you pinch back the bakshis of the stems on a regular basis .
Astilbe
Astilbeis a fern - like , bronze - and - unripe leaf flora with feathery preen blossom . In spring , new foliage often emerges shining green with flush of bronze . Some varieties hold that colour year - bout and others offer up deep coffee / burgundy foliage . These delicately textured cumulation of foliation stay stocky with no training want . do summertime , they ’re top out with fantastic feathery spikes of lilliputian blossom in nuance of pinkish , crimson , purple , and blank .
Frequently Asked Questions
The flowers of many older flame nettle form are underwhelming , and leaving them on the plant life takes push it could apply to bestow additional leaf growth . Theplant may even become long-shanked . However , some new flame nettle varieties do n’t need to have their blooms move out ; they can be left for the bees , butterfly , and hummingbirds that are drawn to the blooms without weakening the plant .
Coleus industrial plant love humidity , so you ca n’t go incorrect misting them or supply extra wet with a smallplant humidifier .
“ Coleus , Cannas and Caladiums : Home . ” New York Botanical Garden .
Credit: David Nevala
Dwyer , Mark . “ The flame nettle craze continues . ”Greenhouse direction .
“ Plectranthus scutellarioides . ”Missouri Botanical Garden .
“ flame nettle : hole in leave-taking or leaves jaw off . ”University of Minnesota Extension .
Credit: Justin Hancock
“ AAS Winners . ” All - America Selections .
Credit: Karlis Grants
