Coleus scutellarioides
Coleus
Common names: Painted nettle, Flame nettle
At a glance
- Light
- Partial shade
- Pot size
- from 5 l
- Lifespan
- Annual
- Flowering
- Jul–Oct
- Hardiness
- Cold damage below 8 °C
- Water need
- High
Photo: CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source
This description was machine-translated.
Description
Coleus scutellarioides comes from the tropics of Southeast Asia and is grown for its leaves rather than its flowers. Depending on the variety, the leaves shine in green, yellow, orange, red, pink, or deep blackish violet, and they are often edged, spotted, or flamed. The nettle-like toothed, velvety leaves give the plant its name. It grows upright and bushy, reaching 30 to 60 cm in height, and has the square stems typical of the mint family. From July, pale blue flower spikes appear, but they are inconspicuous next to the foliage. It is not frost-hardy in temperate regions, so it is usually grown as an annual or overwintered indoors in a bright place from cuttings.
Care instructions
Plant the coleus outdoors only after the Ice Saints, from mid-May (calendar week 20), because the leaves tolerate nights below 8 degrees Celsius poorly. It does best in bright conditions without harsh midday sun, such as partial shade or morning and evening sun. Dark red and violet varieties tolerate more sun, while light green and yellow varieties scorch more quickly. Use loose, humus-rich soil and water regularly so the soil stays evenly moist. In dry conditions the plant droops, but it usually recovers quickly after watering. Fertilize every one to two weeks from May to August. Pinch back young shoot tips and remove flower spikes early to keep the plant bushy and the foliage attractive for longer.
The care notes were machine-translated from German.
Garden year
SowingFeb–Apr
FloweringJul–Oct
Germination
- Soil temperature
- from 18 °C, ideally 24 °C
- Days to sprout
- 10 to 21 days
- Light
- Needs light to sprout
- Sowing depth
- Press in, don't cover
- How to start
- Start indoors, then plant out
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
humus-rich, nutrient-rich, well-drained
Coleus grows in loose, humus-rich, nutrient-rich soil that water soaks into easily and that still stays evenly moist. In a container, ordinary balcony plant compost or container plant compost is suitable. The pH is best in the slightly acidic to neutral range. It does not tolerate waterlogging, so drainage holes are a must. Loosen heavy, compacted soil with compost and a little sand.
Feeding
Heavy feeder
Months
May–Aug
Coleus grows fast and produces a lot of foliage, so it needs regular feeding. From May to August, give it a liquid fertiliser for balcony plants in the water every one to two weeks. In a bed, work in mature compost in spring and now and then give diluted nettle feed in summer. Too little fertiliser makes the leaves small and pale. Do not feed in autumn and winter.
Overwintering
Coleus is not hardy. Even nights below 8 degrees stall its growth, and frost kills it. Most people simply replace it with new plants the following year. If you want to keep a favourite variety, take cuttings in early to mid-September, root them in a glass of water and put them in a bright spot by the window at 15 to 20 degrees. You can also pot up the mother plant and keep it bright, but in winter it often becomes leggy and bare. Seed you collect yourself will not give the same plants and is no good for keeping a variety going.
Propagation
Methods
- From seed
- Cuttings
The most reliable way to propagate coleus is from tip cuttings, which also preserves special varieties. From May to September, cut shoot tips 8 to 10 cm long without flowers, remove the lower leaves and stand them in a glass of water or insert them in seed compost. Roots form after one to two weeks, and then you pot them up. For sowing, scatter the fine seeds on moist seed compost from February to April and only press them down, because they need light to germinate. At 20 to 22 degrees they germinate after about two to four weeks. Seed produces plants with mixed leaf patterns, so you propagate varieties only from cuttings.
Companion planting
Good neighbors
nightshade family (Solanaceae)
particularly well establishedYou will find that basil next to tomato and pepper improves taste and keeps whiteflies and aphids away.
For example PotatoTomatoSweet pepperCocktail tomatoEggplantCape gooseberry and 14 more species in the catalogue
Source: classic companion planting (DACH-Gartenpraxis)
cabbage family (Brassicaceae)
You will notice that the intense scent of basil, thyme, and others confuses the cabbage whitefly and keeps it away from the cabbage family.
For example White cabbageKohlrabiRadishKalebroccolicauliflower and 41 more species in the catalogue
Source: bio-gardening intercropping practice
Companion planting is partly traditional gardening lore. Where the reason is known, it is given.
Some of these explanations were machine-translated.
For your garden
Grow Coleus yourself
Gartenkern tells you when frost is coming, when to sow and when to harvest, for your location.
Free, no time limit
Notes from real gardens
What other gardeners have written down about this variety, anonymous and voluntary.
No notes shared yet. Will you be the first to write one down?