After all, they’re usually gone by the end of October. Caring for coleus is just as easy. Coleus plant care and propagation is relatively easy compared to other plants. Watch this video to learn how to pinch annuals and tropical perennials. I’m letting it heavily flower this year (this is its 3rd bloom this year by the way) because of the hummingbirds, bees and butterflies. In colder zones, container plants are sometimes moved indoors to overwinter. Coleus seed can be sown at any time of the year if you are growing it as a house plant. Use solid-color coleus varieties, such as Redhead and Lime Delight Premium Sun (both bred for the sun), to make a bold statement in the garden. If you notice the colors of your coleus plant look washed-out and dull, that's a good indicator that it might be getting too much sun. Smaller, more traditional types of coleus root themselves very easily. Coleus are perennial plants, they grow year round. It’s easy: you just need to pinch them. Caring for Your Coleus Plant Watering. Introducing "One Thing": A New Video Series, The Spruce Gardening & Plant Care Review Board, The Spruce Renovations and Repair Review Board. Designing With Coleus. As a tropical plant, coleus loves warm weather. Pinching back growing tips regularly helps prevent this problem and promotes attractive, bushy growth by stimulating lots of branching. Therefore, they must either be dug up, potted, and brought indoors for overwintering or grown through cuttings to establish additional plants. Container plants also require more frequent watering than those grown in the garden. Warmer zones can grow coleus as garden perennials, where they can grow to resemble small shrubs with thick woody stems. If you prune and cut them back faithfully, your coleus should stay bushy and full. The plant is not only beautiful but also easy to maintain. An important note: some varieties of coleus root more easily than others. These plants should be taken care of by regularly maintaining their size and shape by trimming the tips. Remove lower leaves from the stem. Place the vases in a bright, warm area and allow the cuttings to root themselves—roots will generally appear within a few days, and over a period of a month or two will develop into a thick mass of roots. Shaped like a cut flower, the leaves have a twisting appearance. Care for Coleus Plant. Coleus can be added to beds and borders for interest or grown in containers. Put the seed compost in the tray, leaving a … To propagate your coleus, cut several sprigs from your favorite mature plant (each sprig should contain several good, healthy leaves). Symptoms of poisoning in pets include vomiting, diarrhea, bloody stool, lethargy, weakness, difficulty breathing, and loss of appetite. It can be grown underneath other taller container plants, such as a small tree in a container. When growing coleus, keep in mind that these beauties can grow rapidly. To help, place your pots somewhere where they'll receive filtered sunlight through windows, or provide them with supplemental lighting. Debra LaGattuta is a certified master gardener with decades of experience with perennial and flowering plants, container gardening, and raised bed vegetable gardening. Coleus Plant Care & Growing Guide 1. However, during cold winter months, coleus plants grown indoors may have trouble getting just enough light. To promote denser and more compact growth, pinch out flower spikes before they elongate. Coleus is normally used as an annual bedding plant or in outdoor container gardens and baskets. Where they are hardy, coleus can live for years, but even with regular pinching and pruning they may become unattr… Their spiked flowers usually appear in summer; however, these can be removed if desired.