The coleus is a houseplant that is almost self sufficient, in that it takes little or no care.
Let There Be Beauty, Without A Flower
For those of us, who have had the pleasure of caring for one, with their variegated colorful leaves, they are worth every minute spent to keep them alive. Sure, they must be kept watered regularly, as with any other houseplant, but they more than show their lingering splendor for the amount of care. If one is left to grow uncontrollably, it will reach over 18 inches in height and sometimes reach the same width. A botanical enthusiasts can sometime manage several Coleus in different areas of their home to show off their beauty. One must keep in mind that a person only needs to start with a single plant to achieve this indoor garden.
Be Fruitful, Patient… And Multiply
When the Coleus sprouts 3 or more sets of leaves, the top 2 sets of leaves can be snipped at the main juncture and simply placed in a small, but sturdy glass of tap water filled to an inch of its brim. If you are fortunate enough to possess more than one plant, all the better. It just means you can reach an ambitious goal of half a dozen or more, if this is what you want to do. My wife and I would propagate them in our small apartment and after they were placed in small baskets, would sell them at local flower shops for a small profit. We sometimes placed several in one potted wicker basket several inches across. We used a Coleus hybridus(painted nettle) and found that this particular hybrid had extremely well defined and variegated leaves presenting bright white to bright red and green colors. We found all other Coleus hybrids didn’t have the wide color range and leaf size we were looking for. We decided in the beginning of our little experiment to start the plants from seed. They were also started indoors, under medium light levels and were usually hung from the living room from the dropped ceiling in 3 wire baskets because we had no room to place them on tables.
In order for this plant to develop the greatest variations in color spectrum, along with bright and vivid colors, there are specific methods of growing the Coleus and specifically this hybrid, painted nettle. The plant can be started outdoors from seed, but must be moved to a place of low ambient light and no direct sunlight. If they are grown outdoors from the beginning, they will reach maturity possessing very dark violet leaves with various striations of varying and dull colors. This plant prefers to be started indoors and grown to maturity in the same type of lighting environment. A word of caution when growing the Coleus. Be careful the plants do not reach excessive heights, or they will go to seed, producing a small string of minute pale blue flowers. Just cut back the flowers and go on from there.
