Not that I've been as good as I should have been but a reminder is always helpful, I hope.
Reminder to keep coleus pinched
More that need my attention.
How about the Trailing Varieties.
How far back do you pinch the medium uprights?
How far to pinch Trailers?
Pinch weak growth off and pinch back until you hit leaves growing the way you like them to look. Many right now are looking a bit tired and my pinching goes back about three nodes.
I don't have many trailers, Jo Ann, but I'd do the same with them.
I will try and find some that need pinching, where I can get good photos, before and after, and post them tomorrow.
Yes befores and afters are great
Yes please. I am going to be a coleus grower next year.
Is there a reason you don't grow them now, DN? I love your posts.
Pirl coleus don't do well in the ground here even in full sun with our cold nights so I stopped trying them. They do well in containers against the house but I didn't have a good set up before. I will have a brand new big container box against my house next summer so I'm going to try them in that.
Nice to have another addict among us
^_^
Welcome Dnut!
Dnut is so much fun, so filled with life and so optimistic that it's a pleasure to have her on the coleus forum. She's prettiful, too!
I know, I know :-) Its so nice to have such a cool new addict.
She even throws parades in the dahlia forum!
Ha! Maybe we'll be marching soon:-)
And she throws parties in December. Who could ask for more?
I've encountered a difficult situation. DH died about two months ago, and I'm having to move to a much smaller place with NO space for gardening. I might be able to have a container or two outside my door, but the coleus are having to come inside because the exposure is southern. I've always had shade or dappled shade before. SO...I've taken clippings of some of my faves from this summer and put them on my plant stand which will go in my bedroom. Pinching is mandatory here! I'll pot them up and try to keep them going forever. When I was growing up my mother had a corner sink in the kitchen with windows and a planter built into the counter space behind the sink. She had it loaded with coleus. She never had them outside, and they did fabulously well. I don't see why I can't do that too.
Here's a photo of the plant stand. I think I'd get rid of the Christmas cactus and maybe one of the two hoy and load it up with more coleus.
go for it
That's a beautious plant stand! It will look luvly with coleus!
Sorry about your loss, rev. That is a gorgeous plant stand as dear DN said in her own beautiful words. She always puts a smile on my face.
Pirl, I really need your before and after photos regarding pinching. Why am I pinching? What am I trying to achieve?
Very full bushy plants instead of long and skinny ones.
Revclaus: I am sorry for your loss. Losing both a husband and your garden in so short a time is truly a cause for sadness. I wish you the best.
Karen
Revclaus, I am so sorry for your loss of your DH. That is so sad and then to have to move away from your angels in your garden is not good either. Go out in the garden, talk to your angels and tell them you all are moving. Then talk to them all the way to your new place so they do not get lost. I have a friend in Denver that the most outstanding African Violet I have ever seen. God bless you. My angels are on their way to help you with your move....
My grandmother always grew coleus in the kitchen window and they never were outside. Go for it!
Just did my weekly watering
Thanks for the reminder pirl! I pinched this morning:-)
Just found a great portion on Goggle on pinching so i think I am OK.
Thank you all for your very warm and welcome wishes. It's a good thing it's the usual time of year I get sick and tired of tending to my garden. By spring I'll probably check out RD for new indoor plants :-) As soon as I move next week (well, maybe the week after) I plan to pot up all the coleus and give them all a good haircut. Even with pinching they get leggy.
See these little black dots...
Long ago I saw those little dots from basil cuttings so I investigated and look at what I found. He/she is nestled on a coleus leaf within the X marks.
Here's a close-up before he went to the compost bin.
Just a friendly warning to watch the cuttings. Every cutting was soaked in Insecticidal Soap so I'm puzzled at how he arrived on the scene.
Oh, Pirl - how good that you discovered him!
Thanks, Alice. I would like to solve the mystery about where he was before the coleus adventure.
Maybe he was hiding in the soil when you sprayed pirl?
That little thing made all that black dot poop?
egaaad
That is the only way I can find those little monsters is to follow the black poop. They get in my tomatoes and they are very devious. They just hold still and the majority of the time you have to stand there for 2 to 3 minutes so your eyes can reset and then all of a sudden, there they are. Pirl, you are lucky. With all that droppings, he had been there for some time.
My cutting are either growing like a weed or damping off. Some are just stronger than others. The ones I seem to be having problems are from my cuttings. I am going to transplant some today into larger pots. Thanks for showing examples Pirl.
Good news, they found the man that killed the four policemen in Washington. Surprise, they shot him dead.
Have a great day.
Collecting food today for the food bank from my neighbors.
That little monster! I've also had to do the staring thing with tomatoes and now that you mentioned it I did bring in some cherry tomatoes still on the vine and for whatever reason I put the stem in a cup of water. I bet that rascal preferred the coleus!
Some coleus are much stronger than others and some have such sturdy stems that it's hard to get them to root.
kill him