That is really a pretty one Dave,

I love coleus and caladiums. They give you so much bang for your buck all summer. I use them on my porch every summer.

Those of us out west have been hot and dry! Your Coleus looks happy in that spot. Every year I pot up a few varieties and they grow on my designated coleus stand on the shadier side of the deck.

Every year after I do my initial weeding I put coleus in any spots that look empty. Just the little twelve packs of assorted colors, easy to stick in an empty spot. They fill in areas really well and as long as I keep the water flowing even the full sun ones look fabulous. As far as I am concerned this is some of the easiest summer color there is.

I haven't had coleus in years but one of our nurseries is giving away whatever annuals they had left, and I had a large, empty planter that was wanting some attention. I got some really cute, colorful coleus and other hot-colored plants that are new to me, and I'm excited to try something new that I otherwise would not have.

I couldn't possibly stroll out of the nursery with a pile of plants and not pay anything, so I insisted they take at least some money for them. I always find mid-summer annuals to be a huge treat! Now I'm looking forward to getting re-acquainted with colorful coleus.

Marquest, what is the name of that stunning white caladium? It's fabulous with the Aphelandra!

rhizo it is..........

Caladium 'Allure'.
Easy white plant for the garden. Grows best in shade.

It is one that really likes shade any sun at all it burns. It was perfect on on the covered porch where I have dark shade,

Arlene so pretty. I have never been able to grow seeds. I tried once but I cannot grow anything from seed unless I do winter sow.

Just got back from a trip to the Houston area, where I saw numerous commercial plantings of "sun coleus" doing well despite constant high heat and humidity. My planting of "Campfire" is thriving in part sun.

How about perilla? I got this one impulsively this spring not knowing anything about perilla. It didn't come with a cultivar name. I put it in a small ceramic pot and it has grown into a colorful shrub. I have red & purple fuchsias in a hanging basket directly opposite on the other side of the sidewalk and the colors make a nice harmony.

these beauties deserve another pic

FlameThrower 'Spiced Curry' ... I'll be saving this plant over ! Another that I had really liked when seeing it at the greenhouse was FlameThrower 'Habanero'.

Beautiful Twros-not our grandma's coleus anymore.

Ooo, almost poinsettia-esque.

I bought some coleus on sale and it really did a great job of filling in the bare spots with fun color. Did better in the sun than in the shade....hmmm...

I'm going to try and over winter several cuttings. Did fine with one in water last year although it looked leggy. Might try in small pots.

Hello, I have been lurking this forum for a while now and I decided to join the community and get some wisdom and share when I can. I am a French plant enthousiast and I have a few coleus now. I heard some coleus need to be next to a window and others do better in the shade. I heard it depends on the strain or the color. I will post pictures in the next post.

Here are the pictures

twros: how do you winter over coleus and then re introduce them outdoors? I finally kept a geranium alive over the winter but it has not trived outdoors in a pot

Kamiland, you have yourself a nice little coleus collection!

Marie, I'll soon take cuttings and set them to grow in the south window for the winter and again take fresh cuttings in March and begin to harden the new plants off in May.

At my local greenhouse, a large planter sat with an amazing coleus that looked like a very big chunk of live coral reef, I had inquired about the plant and the lady had searched though couldn't find the label, but said the variety would be available next spring. I don't have an Smartphone, so no pic to show.

tHow will you root the cuttings? Soil? Soiless mix?

Will probably just stick them in water, they generally root very quickly.

Just thought I would add mine. I love the variety of this plant and everyones photos are just beautiful! I also find this a very easy plant to grow here, but I live in the tropics.

Magnificient specimen above :)
But how do you determine which coleus is a sun loving/tolerent and which one like to sit in shade?

Best to all.

Thank you Kamiland land for the compliment! Living in the tropics, I usually just start them in pots. They can be moved around. Once they get going I propagate them to the garden. Its just trial and error for me which area they like. I always keep the original plant in the pot, to propagate more if need be.

coleus can be done from the tiniest cuttings.

The potted one was taken ten days ago-only about an inch long. It rooted in just a few days. The crucial part, I think, is how you pot it.

Put the pot in a water filled second container and fill the pot with potting soil, insert the rooted cutting into the mud and leave overnight. Take pot out of second container and water every day for a couple of days, then treat as you would any other plant.

With a lot of plants the transition from water to soil can be traumatic and this method helps.

I want to try your technique it seems rather interesting. My English is ok I reckon, but I don't understand what you mean by mud? You mean a little of potting soil with a lot of water. Or it's like in the picture we just have to let the potted in soil and cutting container sit in a glass of water?

"Henna" I was given a couple of cuttings when visiting a friend in the fall of 2015, rooted them in water over the winter on the kitchen windowsill, they produced this lovely plant the next year.

I took a couple of cuttings last fall, rooted them the same way.

A closeup with hitchhiker, such a pretty variety depending on how much light it is given the underside of the leaves can be a florescent purple.

I have yet to see this variety over here on the island so will try cuttings again.

Annette

glad I took cuttings last week, last nights 34* really collapsed the dark leafed coleus.

This year when summer ended it really ended. Back into the 80's next week-yay!!!!!!

Henna was my favorite a few years ago. Impossible to find now. "Redhead" is gorgeous although the foliage is not much variegated.

It is a long time between rooting in water now or in a couple of weeks and planting outside next spring. I've certainly rooted coleus in water, but what happens next? Do you pot up when it has a good clump of roots? It is challenging to keep a bunch of pots going from Nov-late May. I don't have a greenhouse or dedicated space (right now) I also found coleus indoors attracts white flies very quickly.

I take cuttings of my Henna as late as I can, moving my container to a more protected location if there's is a threat of frost. Cuttings are put in water and left on the kitchen windowsill until well rooted (or longer), they then go into 4 packs and left on the windowsill. As soon as they're tall enough I take more cuttings from them. I have a large kitchen window 4'x6' the counter top has more than it's fair share of pots waiting to go out when weather permits :). So far this has worked for me, not had a problem with white fly on them, fingers crossed. The nice thing about this variety it has never flowered since I've been growing it.

Annette

Coleus , gomphrena,pentas and sweet Potato give us Texans our color fix during that dead part of summer where most plants just close up shop in the 100ºF heat. This is all contingent on an un ending supply of water.

I grew lots of coleus when living in Hawaii. Just stick it in the ground and it will grow. It was wet on the windward side. I grew tired of them. They were everywhere and considered common. I am just now getting a few. The watering is an issue with me . I am on a fixed ration of water. They sit right by my many seedlings being raised in 4" pots.

God knows how I got that nasturtium to survive the summer. It was looking really sad but now it has rehabilitated itself with the slight cooling down.

wantonamera, lovely tapestry of foliage you have there.

Their colors do not fit with the muted colors of high summer in the landscape, but. they seem like middle finger to the heat and dryness.

Just thought I would add this one, I only just bought it today. I simply could not walk past it! So home it came!

My coleus cuttings are indoors in water now, a hard frost Friday night ended the summer "annuals". It's hard for me to call coleus an annual 'cuz I've had the same one for five or six years.

Tall and scrawny:

That's a lovely color, Rouge. It has plenty of side branching. I'd trim it back to make it bushier and root the cuttings: win, win.

Hi 'cecily', I have never had a coleus which has grown in this way. I think it is (in part) due to the too small container it was planted in.