Now I LOVE it and really do not want to lose it. Do any of you save your coleus inside for the winter? I know I can take cuttings, but what I really want is to save it large like it is now and bring it out next spring and have it look just as big and more beautiful. Is that too much to ask? In other words, can I just pull this guy inside and keep it all winter or do I need to take cuttings and start all over? Except for two Christmas cactus that were gifts, I have no house plants (believe it or not!). I really don't have much sunlight to grow them and I don't want to be bothered with them during the winter. But now and then (like now) I get the crazy notion to try to save a plant over the winter (the odds are good that next year I will not be able to find this one any place in my town). Usually I last about one month before the mess of dying leaves, etc. is just more than I can stand and I pitch the plant. Will coleus make a big mess during the winter?
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Just lovely Zoey. Your Mom
ReplyDeleteI planted a coleus indoors once and it grew just fine... Maybe you should try both just to be on the safe side, though!
ReplyDeleteGood idea, Victoria--and welcome.
ReplyDeleteHi Mom--fancy meeting you here!
Hey, Mom, Looks like you got in just before I enabled the no comments from anonymous posters. Really, Mom, I did NOT do that just to keep you out! I would never do such a thing to my own mother!
ReplyDeleteYou know I was wondering the same thing. I would take cuttings, root them in water and plant them in little pots for next year. I know my friend in Washington State never has to buy new geraniums, but she also has a little greenhouse. I don't really have a good place to start plants here as my bay window is loaded with African violets.
ReplyDeleteThere's a little restaurant around the corner from my mom's house and the owner has huge pots of about 5 or more kinds of coleus. I was wondering if he'd snip some off for me. Maybe if I flirt with him alittle. ; )
I used to grow coleus indoors, before I knew that people planted it as an annual outdoors. It gets VERY leggy inside. You can try pruning it to keep it bushy, but I got a little carried away and cut mine to pieces.
ReplyDeletePerhaps you should install a grow light in an out-of-the-way place like a closet or basement to save the plant for next year. I'm considering doing this for my fuschias and jasmine.
I have had coleus get leggy indoors, too. Ideally you would start with a rooted cutting about 8 weeks before your last frost, and grow it outside on nice days and indoors on the chilly days, pinching it often to bush it out, so that by the time the outdoors was ready for it, it would be a gorgeous plant. I have often read of people who winter over one plant, and take cutting from it in late winter, so that they can have several plants to put out for the summer. It's a
ReplyDeleteKasmira and Kathy, I was afraid it would get leggy. I am planning to take the cuttings in the spring so that I can have a lot of this plant next year. I guess I will just take it inside and give it a try.
ReplyDeleteDianne, I bet your restauranteer would be happy to let you take a few cuttings.
That's certainly a stunning Coleus, and one well worth attempting to propogate. I know they get a bit leggy, without pruning, when grown indoors, but I think heating and light would be more concern. I have to admit that I can grow anything outside but I'm hopeless with indoor plants.
ReplyDeleteyeah, a grow light. You can replace a bulb in one of your light fixtures and grow the coleus near that. I think it will still get leggy, but not nearly as leggy.
ReplyDeletethanks for the reminder!! Its time to root some cuttings of my pinapople coleus and my black coleus. :)
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