I love Coleus!

This post was inspired by my sweet neighbor, Doris, and 80 year old widow and avid gardener! She is the epitome of "green thumb." She works outside every nice day of the year, and knows her horticulture from the best teacher--experience.

I was over visiting her the other day and noticed a huge coleus growing in her kitchen! I have never seen coleus grown indoors, so I was very impressed. Later I learned that it can be overwintered indoors and used for cuttings in the spring. In fact, one of the canes on Doris' plant had fallen over and she cut if off and put it in water. She offered me her cutting and I was honored to accept. I am excited to plant it in my yard when warmer weather arrives!

Coleus are one of the easiest plants to propagate. Roots form on the stem if you just keep it in water.
Once the roots are a couple of inches long, it can be transplanted into soil. Normally cuttings would be shorter than this, and you should only keep 2 to 3 leaves on top, but I didn't have the heart to strip Doris' pretty plant. It already had lots of roots developing, so I think it should re-locate easily!


When I worked at the Noni gardens we used tons of coleus in the summer display. In fact, in my 2005 Annual Culture Guide I detailed 14 different varieties that we tried. I love how they are all so rich and colorful, and so different! Coleus is really one of my favorite annual plants because it is so versatile.

Scientific name: Solestemon scutellarioides
A few varieties as follows...

'Dappled Apple'

'Rustic Orange'

'Dipt in Wine'

'Velvet Lime'

'Religious Radish'

'Juliet Quartermain'

'Amora'

'Splash'

'Gay's Delight'

'Wizzard'

'Old Lace'

I hope I have succeeded in displaying the charms of coleus!