The day is dreary. A perfect moment in time to do a little indoor gardening in preparation for the growing season. The coleus cuttings I took from my outdoor plants in the Autumn have thrived. Now, it is time to take cuttings from these indoor plants, continuing the cycle of growing coleus indoors and out each year.
I took several cuttings of the longest plant branches. An important next step is the removal of leaves that will be below the water line.
My recycled jelly jars are the perfect size for rooting coleus cuttings. Direct sunlight is not a good idea with clear jars, but green glass is supposed to be good for rooting in direct sunlight. I placed my cuttings under a grow light, but any soft, indirect lighting will work. Within four weeks I should have dozens of roots growing from the stem. At that point I will place the coleus in potting soil and grow on in the house for a few more weeks, until the danger for frost is completely gone. Coleus will not survive a heavy frost.
MINDING MY P'S WITH Q 
I don’t plant coleus here. Even with pet hair around them, the bunnies eat them up 😛 I’ll be happy to admire yours 🙂
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Thanks, usually the bunnies leave my coleus alone…but they sure chomp other things…pansy flowers, even the top of a lily once, and I thought lilies were toxic. Guess not to bunnies. They run around in bad rabbit gangs here…they are cute, but oh so destructive.
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Ooh, I’d forgotten about pansies. Thank you for that. I may well put the pansies in pots this year in an attempt to avoid that. Lilies? Really? Daredevil gang of bunnies you must have!
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One rabbit kept nibbling on the lily leaves. The poor thing became quite stunted, the lily that is…
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Thank you for sharing your mini-tutorial on how I can encourage my coleus to survive (and thrive) indoors. I made the mistake of planting mine in a pot outdoors. I live in south Texas, and thought I had made it well past the last frost date, but it turns out I was about two weeks too early. Sadly, the frost wiped out my coleus, but I’m eager to try again. Love their mottled color patterns, and sturdy stems. They are usually pretty easy to grow, even for someone like me, who definitely does not have a green thumb. I tend to under-water, or over-water, or make other mistakes that cause my poor plants to wither away. But I’m determined to keep a small garden spot going in pots on my back patio. So far, my bougainvillea (?) and my six golden marigolds are holding up. Also have a small crepe myrtle tree that has made it through three seasons (in a large pot). Slowly but surely, I’m making progress. Now I’m eager to try with the coleus again. 🙂
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I love bougainvillea. I have some, but it is not as warm in NJ so they don’t do as well as they would in Texas. Marigold are a must for me every season. I love the small yellow ones the best. I even take the petals apart and press them individually. In the very center you can find some very starry looking flower petals. Give the coleus a try. I usually have to water them quite a lot. The leaves are so thin they wilt really quickly.
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I think Coleus needs a lot of water too, especially in summer climes.
My marigolds are not doing so well, during the spring rains or is it because they can smell summer round the corner ?
Susie
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Hi Susie, They will probably perk back up…they are very resilient. Kathy
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I hope so, Kathy, I seem to have at least a 50 in various pots, not to speak of the 30 on the ground. My poor babies !
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Oh Susie, it must be a beautiful sight!
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I love Coleus. I am confused about what you did with your cuttings in the autumn. Did you immediately begin rooting them?
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Yes, I rooted cuttings late Summer/Autumn from the outdoor coleus when I knew the temperatures were nearing a frost. By doing this I keep the same plants going year round. I also collect seeds from my coleus, but because our summer was slow in coming and never became very warm last year, my plants did not produce a lot of seeds. In this instance I am so very glad I saved some cuttings and will keep the same coleus growing this year. Hopefully, I will be able to take not only cuttings in the Autumn of 2016, but also will have opportunity to harvest more seeds.
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I am going to try this!
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Coleus root so easily…one of my very favorite plants.
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