Have you planted your coleus outside yet? I live in NJ and I havn't put mine out yet. Rosy Dawn says don't plant until night temps stay above 60 degrees! Sheesh, that might be the middle of the summer.
It's always a job getting all the coleus used to the outside, bringing them in each night, etc.
When to Plant the Coleus
Hi , I got my order from RD March 19 th . I live in Florida east of lake O, zone 10A. I put them in 4 inch pots and in dabbled shade and they started to grow. Then in April the temps dipped to about 55 for a few days. You really could see the change in the plants. Only salvation was that it was not going to stay that way..... sorta the last blast of winter for us. 60 s is defiantly the lower limit for small plants. If we have a ( normal) winter and the plants are huge I can overwinter them outside. But I take cutting of the ones I love just to be safe. Say hi the the Fuschia, peonies and forsythia for me :)
I nursed several through the winter, only to lose them to one really cool night. Nights are in the upper 40s and low 50s and they seem to be ok. Last week I brought home Peter's Wonder and Dipt in Wine, and they are doing fine outdoors. I'm sure you would be entertained watching me run around, putting plants in the car for the evening for protection. The caladiums in boxes get heavy when watered!
This weekend promises to be warm, and I expect to put a lot more out and hope for the best.
Marcia
I think my first batch of acclimatized ones can now stay outside overnight for the first time.
Now tomorrow I can start batch 2. Each batch is about 12 trays, which is all I can bring back in forth in one day. It looks like nighttime temps are at least CLOSE to 60 deg for the next 10 days, according to the forcast, so maybe it's safe.
Interesting. I live in Michigan and just a bit north of Rosy Dawn. For semi-established or established Coleus they've never been bothered by a night or three that hit's the low 50's provided they get adequate daytime heating. This likely keeps the top soil layer warmer as well, but not that much.
It's when daytime temps drop consistently below 70F, or a night or two in the mid 40's that they really start to suffer.
I think the operable word is established. Even here in zone 10 land we get cold weather ( light frost ) in the winter. And my cuttings are simply not happy in my house. Yes they are alive and hanging is there , but look nothing like they do when the weather is warm. Given the right condition some of the varieties " glow" and are perky. It is all about the temperature with these things.