coleus cuttings?

I am thinking about keeping some coleus cuttings over the winter this year. The plants are still beautiful and they seem to be enjoying the last bit of warm weather. Should I take cuttings now? Or should I wait a bit longer?

Very nice. I would take them now. I would also be interested in a trade of some type. Please send me a dmail.

donnerville--

I took cuttings from all my Coleus last year. This would be a good time to do it--as the colder nights
are starting to damage them.
Strip most of the leaves off and leave only the tip ones. Cut the stems to about 2"+ ans put in fresh potting mix.

I use my unused seed growing set-up for the Coleus cuttings. Why not?
Last year they grew so well, that I had to pinch then back 2 more times.

This Spring--I never spent a penny on any of these Sun Coleus that usually run $3 each.

These ar from February of this year--the original cuttings growing away.

And--here they are in March of this year...

They are now too big to let grow until planting time--so I had to re-pinch and root the new cuttings all over again--keeping the original ones...
I tell you--I was up to my ears in Coleus!
Came in handy for the plant Swap.

I have just taken cuttings from all my Coleus and potted them in 3" pots. Hope they make it!

Gita

Here they are growing beautifully in many of my beds.
This was taken in July of this year. My fave. picture!

Gita

Agreed, take the asap. I've been slow but I remember how pretty those little coleus were under my grow lights all winter. Oh goody, a pic

Ladies, ladies!!! Your pics make me want to give up gardening all together LOL!

I have no grow lights at all. I will just take some cuttings and put them in water. Do you think they will make it through the winter? If not, I will beg for rooted cuttings from you next year :-)

donner--
Most of us use shop lights (the Cool Whites) as out grow lights.
You could set yourself up with a shelf unit and hang the shop lights under the shelves...

Mine is only a 3' shelf set-up. I don't have room for the 4' ones--which are immensely cheaper.
hang your light fixture on a chain with "S" hooks so you can lower or raise the light as needed.

The one I have is small--but you may get the idea. Got the shelf at Target for $25.
This is in my Bedroom by a S-facing window. This time of year--I use it for rooting cuttings.
WHY NOT???

Gita

Gita, how many hours a day do you keep the lights on? It is a south facing window and you still use lights? I guess putting plants in a bright bathroom is not good enough then.

No to the bathroom without lights. A good unshaded East to Southwest window will support them nicely without lights. If they want to get a little leggy pinch them. They will branch and make nicer plants being pinched anyway. Last winter I had four inch pots shoulder to shoulder until the day I moved them out this past spring. I gave them a week of shade and then planted them...about two dozen. That was about $120.00 worth of coleus wintered over from cuttings.

donner---

I believe most of the Coleus I am pinching and rooting and growing are the Sun Coleus...
SO! They, probably, like a bit more light than the regular- 6-pack--shade coleus.
I would never go through all this effort for the average, shade coleus--that you can buy
for $2 a market pack.
One good thing about the cheaper Coleus is that they do not grow almost 3' tall!!
The Sun Coleus do! But, OH! They are spectacular!!!!

I turn the lights on in the AM-- as soon as I get up---and turn them off when i go to bed....
I believe the average time frame is about 14 hours ON--or so.

Doc is a VERY wise gardener---ALWAYS listen to him--even though few of us can attain the level of Organic Gardening that he practices....He is a "magician" !!!!

Gita


Gita

Most by their repeated actions simply do not care to make any serious effort to stop being dependant upon poison chemicals. There is no magic period. The way to go is pure and simple....one percent pure. More than fifty years ago I ask myself a simple question. That was....."why am I using this man made stuff when it absolutely harms and kills the very biological community we need to grow better plants". Build your soil without chemicals and the rest of the magic you seek will fall in place. If that's magic I am not the magician. I simply follow Mother's way and use almost zero man made chemicals. The first thing that happens is your native biology will start to repair your soil, the worms will return and multiply. Within three years you will be growing better without the poisons in your soil and food or flowers you produce. The how to is all over this web site. I repeat my simple statement. "No backyard gardener needs to continue using man made fertilizers and to a large degree man made cides".

Right now we all should be thinking and applying mulch or planting cover crops. Next spring sell or give away your rake. Apply more mulch and turn under the cover crop. When plants begin to grow next early spring apply more mulch. Principle....never let your soil see the sun or light of day. Do this and keep doing it you will soon be helping Mother. She rewards those who believe and make an effort to help.

OK, doc! Question-----

Is the "mulch" you talk about the kind one buys in bags or is it more like composted
leaves and grass clippings--anything Organic?
You said the soil should never see the light of day. What would you use for mulch during summer?
Not much is available???

I rake my leaves and suck them up with my Shredder/Vac. Bag them in black plastic trash bags
and add a handful of some kind of Nitrogen fertilizer. A bit of water--and then tie them shut
and throw the bags under my old evergreens. In 2 years--I have great--almost composted--leaves.
Nice mulch???? Yes? GREAT soil amendment? YES!
I try to dig it in here and there in the spring as a soil amendment, but you know by now
the beds in my back yard are matted with Maple roots--and digging is a HUMONGOUS effort.
I don't know how I have'nt gotten a hernia yet pulling them out just to plant one new plant....

Looking back over the years.....

The "newbies" and "successes" from this year in my "YUK" bed are:

--Croccosmias--(Montbracia).
--Alaska daisies--grown from seed. Did not bloom this years yet.
--A Fall Aster (New England--the 3' tall version). It was in a 2 gal. pot. Blooms are blue.
--One new hellebore....thriving! How do they do that????

On the negative side---(still in my "YUK" bed)....but suffering greatly....

--Never saw my Purple Cone Flower come back (Planted last years from seed)
--Planted some seedling Yarrow 2 years ago--it is just now making it's presence known.
NOT sure I want to keep it????? It was a seed-mix of many colors....
--My pink Evening Primrose hardly ever bloomed. It has now been there for 3 years.
--My Day Lilies did not bloom well either. I think they are getting root-bound....HEAT???
AGGGHHH! More digging to do in this bed????? More bulbs for Plant Swap.
--Any annuals I try to plant there along the front border just die! A S-L-O-W death.....
I guess not enough good soil and water to live on. The tree sucks up everything!

The plants that make it no matter what are:

--The Straw-Flowers and Lantana. Annuals I plant every year here....
--The Shasta Daisies--needing dividing SOOO badly!
--The Heliopsis--doing great!
--Hart's Clustered Blue Bellflowers--spreading a bit by now...NOT doing as well in the heat we had.
--The day lilies--Two kinds--but now in need of separating....
--The Hellebore --I have three.
--The "Stella d'Oro Dayliles"--NOT doing as lushly as they should...Of course not! DAH!
--All the seedling "Northern Sea Oats" that are EVERYWHERE!!!! From the 4 that are
growing next to this bed...AGGGHHH! Invasive?????????? YUP!!!!
Cut off all the seed heads this fall....Hope that helps....Tired of digging up these things!!!
--The "Chrysanthemum Pacificum"---and the bulbs that ended up directly below it...
a most amazingly, fragrant, clustered mini-daffodil of some sort....have it here in several places.
--My getting-bigger-by the year--Rosemary . So nice to have fresh Rosemary year-round..
--My 2 Butterfly Bushes (at either corner of this bed) seem to always get Spider Mites and succumb
in a matter of days before I get to spray them. The blooms are never more than a poor simile....

"WHEN will I Ever Learn...When will I Ever Learn"....Hum along here...again....

SORRY about my digression on this THREAD! There are people on DG that want to hang me for this habit....
OH, WELL! I tend to live "OUTSIDE THE BOX" now and then---the grass seems greener--sometimes......
IF you water it more.....:o)

Gita

I tried keeping a few cuttings over winter last year. I started out good with some rooting in a glass of water on the window sill. I dropped the ball though when I didn't pot them up when the roots started growing and they never did make it though the whole winter. Not sure if I will try to take cuttings this year guess I will see what the plants look like when we get home.

Holly--

Trim your Coleus cuttings and pot the right up in small pots (or roomy cell-packs)in fresh mix.
They all rooted for me!
IF you can put these under your grow-lights (unused seed set-up) that will help as lot....

Gita

OOPS

This message was edited Oct 9, 2010 9:38 AM

I have well rooted cuttings and fresh cuttings of my 30+ named varieties to share if any of you would like to try over wintering them. Send me a D- mail with your address and I'll try to send some out this week. !3 are from my Rosy Dawn order!

coleup,

I sent you a dmail if you still have starts available.

donner,

I would love a start from the one you have in the pic too if you still have them.

THX!
Crit .... a.k.a Patti

One can not garden well in a tree rooted matted top soil. Mulch not available???? Paper and cardboard are mulch. Shredded paper is great if over three inches deep. You could use a lot of paper and a little leaf or half finished compost. Call your area township or town to find out where they deposit the fall collected leaves. Manna!

Gita, if you contact your county gov, you may find out where the solid waste station is and get shredded mulch from there. That kind of mulch is coarse and potentially has bugs (or God knows what else). I think it is ok to use it to mulch shrubs and trees away from the house. I normally use finer mulch from garden centers for beds near the house.

When I lived in Fairfax VA, I went to the Rt 66 Solid Waste Station to get truck loads of leaf compost each spring. It was fully decomposed leaves collected by the county in the previous fall. The quality was wonderful!!! Maryland (or Montgomery County where I live now) doesn't seem to do leaf compost for free for residents. The state (the county?) sells the leaves to some private company and the company sells the compost back to us :-(.

I am obsessed with soil conditioning because I have nothing but clay and rocks in my garden :-(. I am still looking for a place where I can get free leaf compost.

donnerville....

I live in Perry Hall (now known as Nottingham--I don't like that!). Been here 41 years.
As all the development came and went---this IS thew greatest place to live--honestly!
WHY? Because everything one would ever need or want is 5-10 minutes away.

-I have 6 grocery stores to choose from--less than 2 miles away. 3 of them--one mile.
-White Marsh Mall (the Best one) is 5 minutes from my house
--So is IKEA--just outside the Mall. How many people have IKEA at their doorstep?
--Great restaurants all around the mall.
--Two other major shopping "Avenues" in this area....both loaded with stores and restaurants....
--I-95 only 5 minutes away--Exit 67B. Great access.....Easy directions for out-of-towners.
--Two Home Depots within 15 minutes--I work in one of them. The one 4 miles from my house.
--One Lowes--2 miles away....

You name the BIG Stores--and I bet there is one right here....

NOW! you may drool......

The N.E. Baltimore County Landfill and Solid Waste Management on Rt. #40 (Pulaski Hwy)
is about 5-6 miles from my house.
YES! They offer free compost for the taking and hauling....You have to be a
Baltimore Co. resident, though. At least the driver of the vehicle has to be......

I have never partaken of this availability--as I have a small car--and I cannot haul and lift containers full
of composted stuff. I am also leary--as this compost is made up of everything they p/u here on
Recycling day.....could be weeds..Poison Ivy...diseased plant parts....dead tree branches...etc....

Where do YOU live? How far are you from my neck of the woods?
(Exit 67B off of I-95). Three miles up from the #695 (Baltimore Beltway) exchange.
Come with your truck--I will drive your truck to the "Dump"....show my ID--and we will both qualify!

Gita ...........;o)

donner,

your area sounds like mine....... clay and rocks!

I have used permanent mulch for over thirty five years at the present property. My choice is double ground wood with no color added. The tree surgeons have the best quality product here. I keep it about three inches deep and refresh the surfaces of my beds every two years with about an inch and a half of new material.

This message was edited Oct 13, 2010 8:17 PM

We bought a bunch of cedar mulch that was an end of the year sale. I planned to use it in my beds. Is it good to use for that?

I have access to a lot of shredded paper on a daily basis. What about putting down the paper then putting the cedar mulch on top of that? If so, how much paper to how much mulch?

Thanks for any input!!!!

I think cedar mulch is meant to *not* decompose quickly, which may be a better thing under your foundation shrubs than in your garden. But it won't hurt anything.

Re. coleus... I root cuttings and then tuck them into whatever hanging baskets and pots I am bringing inside for the winter. Cuttings in water may not last all winter, but cuttings tucked into pots do just fine near a sunny window. In late winter, start taking cuttings from these plants to stick into cell packs... coleus plants will branch where they are pinched/cut back, so first you may only be able to take 3 cuttings, but soon you'll have 6 more tips to cut, then 12... works very well!

I am interested in getting some coleus starts. Does anyone have any extra starts they would want to do a trade for ... or I can send you postage.... or ....????? I can use both shade and sun.

Thanks!
Patti

Patti, I'm sending you a box full tomorrow. Have fun!

Anyone else? Send me your address via Dmail asap.

GREAT coleup. Do you want me to send you a money order for the postage or stamps?

I certainly appreciate it. Can't wait to get them! :-)

Patti

I don't think I'm going to bring in coleus this year. Most of it went to seed while we were away and the stems are pretty thick and woody no nice soft tips to collect. I get hundreds of little plugs in the spring thru my GH Assoc but there were a few out in the garden that were so pretty and different I thought I would do some cuttings as well. I did take cuttings from the Persian Shield we will see how that goes. I seem to have trouble finding Persian Shield and when I do it is usually really $$. I will be digging up my Ornamental Sweet Potatoes soon for any of you that grew them this is the time of year to dig the potatoes and save them for next year. They are very easy to save and use to start new plants in the spring.

I HAVE OFTEN WONDERED...........does anyont eat the small ornamental sweet potato roots sliced and diced then whatever?

I have heard that you can eat them and some of them taste good. I haven't tried it myself. They are bred for the attractive foliage not taste or size of the potato and most of the potatoes I get are pretty small.

Ya but............those little finger ones diced could be used a number of ways.

doc--

i LOVE the large, red potatoes the lime green Ornamental Sweet Potato Vine makes!!!
They are so tasty! A cross in texture between a sweet potato and the color of Yukon Gold.
Some of these "potatoes" are deep down--some near the surface--but you gave to dig them up.

When I see these HUGE planters of these vines in a shopping center--I SO wish I could be there
when they dig them all up because the season is over...I would take them all!

Of course--these "potatoes" can be cut up to grow new ones--as can just cuttings of the vines themselves.

I do not know if the purple SPV also grows these?

I just scrub them and microwave them and eat them with some butter....
Like any baked potato. YUMMMMM!

Gita

I never realized they were "actually" a potatoe!!!!!!! Or is it potato? LOL

I bought one plant this spring and now I have them EVERYWHERE ....... just from rooting the vines I pinched or got broken off. Same way with my purple Wandering Jew.

Say ..... it anyone wants some PWJ, I have a bunch of it in 2 whiskey barrells (I use it in front of other plants to trail over the rim) that is going to freeze this winter. I bring a bunch of it in, but there is more than I want to mess with. I can send 7 or 8 branches in a manilla envelope for around $2.74. I've send some out already.

Soooooooooooo, if you want some just let me know. You can send me your addy by dmail. I mail out on Monday-Wednesday so they make it before the weekend.

Crit