I was planning on sowing coleus seeds inside. I think they might be one of those annuals that would take too long to mature if they were winter sown.

Anyone else?

I'm planing to sow them inside half the seeds, and the other half winter-sow them later maybe in April, since they are tender annuals.

Interesting... I'm being cautious and growing them from cuttings. 20 plants so far, from 3 different varieties I collected in September. But definitely interested in this because they are starting to take up a LOT of space! :-)))

(however, like pp's have said, I suspect they may be too "wussy" to do much of anything before the weather warms up)

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:540878}}

I guess to ensure there is something to plant I had better do a bit of each. Oh the things we do for our kids:) Will be interesting to do a comparison and see what works best!

Thanks for your input!

Just picked up on this thread and am wondering if anyone has checked into what kind of selection process there is to produce hardier plants ie; is someone breeding for cold tolerance?
I am also wondering what people have found to be the most colorful strain.
I have just taken cuttings from some plants we had left over from last year and they have rooted very well and are starting to grow new shoots. Space is a problem no doubt!

Also wondering if anyone got some of the new selections from the University of Saskatchewan? Maybe they are not available yet.

Clayton

I have sown some coleus inside and they now have developed their second leaves and i have them under lights. I would like to move some to pots and just put them in a sunny window because my space is limited. At what point should I do this?

As far as seed strains are concerned, I have found that there are a few of the Wizard Mix colors that are lovely. Some of the seed companies do offer individual colors. I like 'Wizard Sunset', Chocolate Mint, 'Splashdown' and 'Wizard Golden'. These can be purchased from Park Seed, Swallowtail Garden Seeds, and/or Plants of Distinction. Those three companies are all on the net and I would say that Swallowtail has very reasonable prices and shipping fees.

I started them in early February and found they grew quite quickly. I am not convinced that they would do well with wintersowing unless they are sown in April which might be too late for a good show.

Regarding Clayton's question, Coleus is a tropical plant and unless the genetic makeup of this plant is drastically changed, I doubt that the plant would be cold or frost tolerant.

I've had a look at some of the different strains offered by the U of SK and I do think there are some lovely varieties (like the Lobster types). I suppose that at some point, a marketing company like Proven Winners will pick up on them. At this point, I'm not aware of any company offering them for sale.

Marilena

Coleus is way too tender to WS. They are very easy to start indoors by seed or from cuttings.

Sharon