These coleus plant care tips will give you plenty of stunning foliage to enjoy in both sun or shade.
Coleus is aperennialin its native range, but its often grown as an annual.
Here’s our guide on how to grow coleus, along with some of our favorite varieties.
Credit: Dean Schoeppner
Larger varieties with multicolored foliage are excellent for thethriller role in patio planters.
How and When to Plant Coleus
Coleus are not tolerant of frost at all.
They prefer warm temperatures and wont grow until the weather is mild.
Credit: Marty Baldwin
Plant coleus in containers by filling the pot with a good-quality potting mix.
Remove the coleus and set it in the pot, filling around the root ball with the potting medium.
Plant it at the same depth as it was in the original pot.
Credit: David Nevala
Dig holes as deep and twice as wide as the rootball and set the plant in the hole.
Light
Coleus used to be primarily for shade.
Not all varieties are suitable forfull sun, but many new ones are.
Credit: Justin Hancock
Check the nursery tag and choose a planting location accordingly.
The texture of thesoil should be loose and freely draining.
Water coleus about an inch per week, using your finger to test the soil moisture.
Credit: Karlis Grants
Temperature and Humidity
Coleus is cold-sensitive and does not tolerate any freezing temperatures.
Coleuses are humidity-loving plants.
Pruning
Pinching the growing tips is the only pruning a coleus needs.
Removing a growing tip forces the plant to branch out.
Repeated pinching can yield a bushier, more foliage-covered plant.
Store the repotted coleus in a cool, frost-free location and keep them fairly dry, but not bone-dry.
Alternatively, take cuttings from the mother plant six to eight weeks before planting.
Pests and Problems
You should keep your eye out for pests and other issues.
In shade, plants may become leggy, especially after flowering.
Deadhead the blooms as soon as they begin to show to keep the foliage at its best.
If some varieties of coleus get too much sun, plant foliage may wilt.
Water them regularly during the heat of summer.
How to Propagate Coleus
Seed:Coleus can be grown from seed but is a slow grower.
Start it about eight to ten weeks before your last frost date.
Dont cover them up.
Provide humidity and bright light.
Its ideal for sun or shade.
It grows to 24 inches tall and 32 inches wide.
Beale Street
ColeusBeale Street is the first coleus to be named an All-America Selections winner.
This beautiful plant grows to 36 inches tall and wide.
Even in late summer, this plant holds on to its rich red color.
All That Jazz
ColeusAll That Jazz is a recent addition to the coleus options.
It sports deeply toothed, narrow leaves with green margins, burgundy strips, and red centers.
It doesnt look like a typical coleus, which is intriguing, and grows only 12 inches tall.
Lime Time
ColeusLime Time is bright green, almost chartreuse.
Its also a stunner in a large planter on the deck.
On top of all that, it is deer-resistant.
Coleus Companion Plants
Coleus are often planted alongside othershady garden favorites.
Their blooms are spectacular and will appear all summer if you pinch back the tips of the stems regularly.
Astilbe
Astilbeis a fern-like, bronze-and-green foliage plant with feathery plumed blossoms.
In spring, new foliage often emerges bright green with blushes of bronze.
Some varieties hold that color year-round and others offer deep chocolate/burgundy foliage.
These finely textured mounds of foliage stay compact with no training needed.
Theplant may even become leggy.
Coleus, Cannas and Caladiums: Home.
New York Botanical Garden.
The coleus craze continues.Greenhouse Management.
Plectranthus scutellarioides.Missouri Botanical Garden.
Coleus: Holes in leaves or leaves chewed off.University of Minnesota Extension.
