Among plants with decorative leaves, coleus occupies a special place. Its heart-shaped leaves have a multicolor coloring, with which, in addition to green, there are yellow, burgundy, red and purple colors.
With the light hand of flower growers, the coleus was once called the "croton of the poor" for the similarity of its color with the color of croton and the relative cheapness and unpretentiousness in care.
However, in less than two hundred years, coleus breeding has reached such levels that croton, in comparison with some varieties of coleus, looks like a very ordinary plant. Coleus is a perennial plant native to the tropics of Asia or Africa. In our climate, coleus, as a perennial plant, can only be grown at home.
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plant description
The name "coleus" comes from the Greek word for "case", and it was obtained due to the special arrangement of the flower. In it, the filaments grow together, visually forming a kind of case. Currently, there is some confusion about the correct name of the plant and its classification.
Coleus of different varieties
Until now, in the literature you can find different names for the same plants, but belonging to different genera. There is even a whole table of synonyms, created so that flower growers are not mistaken when calling the same species by different names. So, for example, one of the species - Coleus Forskolia "officially" is now called the bearded spur flower.
Traditionally, almost all decorative coleus in floriculture are called coleus, but sometimes some meticulous author will definitely mention their new, “botanical” name. Coleus is a bushy plant with a dozen stems, woody at the base.. The height of home plant forms rarely exceeds one meter. The stems of the coleus are strong, with a clear ribbed structure.
Rasterium stem with leaves and inflorescence
Coleus flowers are of no interest to flower lovers - they are small, most often blue or blue, collected in spike-like inflorescences.
Coleus flowers close up
The main decoration of the plant is the leaves. They are paired, 6 to 15 cm long, most often heart-shaped, but there are also oval shapes. Most species have pointed leaves; they also have a subtle pubescence. Outwardly, the leaves are similar to nettles, so the coleus has another household nickname - "nettle".
The variety of colors of coleus leaves is amazing
The plant's root system is fibrous but not overly extensive, although its soft roots can penetrate deep enough.
In fact, it is a perennial and, under natural conditions, can grow in one place for several decades, since it is absolutely unpretentious to external conditions. In our climate, even in the southern regions, it cannot winter outdoors.Even when the temperature drops below + 8 ° C, irreversible processes begin in the plant, it first loses foliage, and then dies completely.
Feels relatively good at home and greenhouse conditions. However, the combined effect of light, air and heat in greenhouse conditions is a bit lacking. The plant will grow relatively well and even bear fruit, however, it will not succeed in repeating, for example, the size of its counterparts growing in the tropics.
Coleus in the form of a stem
It is believed that this does not play a special role, since the coleus is used in decoration, as a plant of the lower and middle tiers. Some generally refer it in design almost to cover plants. But this is a little different. Coleus perfectly perceive pruning of stems and foliage, and standard cultivation is applicable to them. Therefore, many flower growers do not leave efforts to breed coleuses that at home reach the size of species growing in the wild.
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Lighting
Most coleus are photophilous plants. Moreover, variegated coloring appears only in the presence of a sufficient level of illumination. The less green on the leaves, the more sunlight it needs. There is a fairly simple explanation for this - the amount of chlorophyll in the variegated areas is significantly less than in the green ones, therefore, these areas have a greater need for solar energy.
And vice versa - plants with predominantly green leaf color or completely green varieties are best planted in partial shade, they do not need a lot of sunlight. Thus, it is desirable to place variegated varieties of coleus on the windowsills of the southern windows, with a predominant green tint on the eastern and western windows, and completely green varieties on the northern windows.
At the same time, do not forget about the length of daylight hours. Whatever the intensity of lighting, its duration should not be less than 12 hours. All coleus varieties need additional “illumination” with artificial lighting. As such, you can choose fluorescent lamps or special phytolamps.
Coleus on the windowsill
There are only a few varieties of coleus that can tolerate direct sunlight normally. In most, they cause burns, in the form of yellow spots appearing on the leaves, and then brown spots. If you encounter similar manifestations, it is better to use some means to darken the plant. It can be special translucent screens, nets or a veil. Green plants, already located in partial shade, do not need to be additionally shaded.
There is also the possibility of receiving excess solar energy, but without the appearance of burns. If the plant began to take on a faded and dim appearance, then most likely it receives too much light. In this case, it is necessary to move it to a less lit place and refuse artificial lighting. The former shade of the leaves after this procedure will be restored in about 1-2 weeks. After that, the plant is again placed in the old place and additional shading measures are applied to it.
Temperature
The life cycle of a plant has a mildly pronounced seasonality. - the dormant period of the coleus falls on winter time, but does not have a clear time frame. Usually, the rest period lasts 2-3.5 months. Temperatures during these periods, of course, should be different.
In summer, the optimal temperature for coleus is the range from + 20 ° С to + 28 ° С
In winter, a slight decrease in temperature is permissible: from + 14 ° С to + 18 ° С.
Temperatures above + 30 ° C are undesirable for the plant, since it can shed all the leaves and go into hibernation, from which it will only emerge at the beginning of the next season. A variant is possible, although unlikely (about 1 to 10), that it will not work at all.
Lowering the temperature below +10°C also leads to the shedding of leaves and the transition to a state of reversible hibernation. However, if the temperature drops below + 8 ° C, then the plant is guaranteed to die.
Another unpleasant feature of the temperature conditions of the plant is the average daily temperature fluctuations. If within a few hours the temperature changes (in any direction - up or down) by more than 7 ° C, the plant will also shed its leaves and “fall asleep”.
It is believed that this is especially dangerous in winter. This is true from the point of view of biology, however, in winter there are practically no circumstances that can lead to this state of affairs. After all, heating systems in winter work around the clock. The temperatures in residential premises during the winter are maintained at approximately the same level with fluctuations of no more than 5 ° C per day.
Three plant varieties in one pot
But in summer the probability of this event is much higher. After all, it is in summer that coleus pots are placed on a balcony or in a garden, and temperature fluctuations at night can reach 10-12 ° C per day. To avoid such unpleasant phenomena, it is recommended to cover the plants at night with any protective agent available, and, of course, follow the weather forecast. In case of obvious danger, it is advisable to move the plant back into the room.
Dislikes coleus and drafts. In winter, it is necessary to take measures to protect it from cold air flows in the room. The best option would be to put it somewhere away from ventilated or poorly closed windows.
It is also desirable to put a pot with a plant for the winter on a layer of heat-insulating material, or even wrap the entire pot with thermal insulation around the perimeter. When airing the room, it is advisable to remove the pot from the window that will open.
Air humidity
Normal plant growth is possible with a relative humidity of at least 70%. The plant must be sprayed with water at room temperature twice a day. It is best to do this in the morning and evening.
Coleus needs high humidity air
You can use a pot tray for this purpose, into which you need to pour water to a level approximately equal to half the height of the drainage (about 2-3 cm). Periodically it is necessary to add liquid, making sure that its level does not rise above the level of drainage. After watering, excess liquid is drained from the pan.
You can do even easier - install a pot with a plant in the kitchen. In this room, as a rule, there is constantly high humidity.
Soil and container
The soil for growing coleus at home can be anything. Two basic conditions must be met: it must be neutral or slightly acidic (pH 6 to 7), and contain as much nitrogen as possible. The greater the concentration of nitrogen in the soil, the brighter and more saturated the color of the foliage will be.
The composition of the growing substrate is recommended to be prepared from the following components:
- sod land - 4 parts;
- leaf ground - 4 parts;
- humus or compost - 2 parts;
- peat - 1 part;
- sand or perlite - 1 part.
Coleus resists fungal infections well, so heat treatment of the substrate is not needed. It is enough to treat the substrate with 0.2% potassium permanganate solution.
Coleus pots with pallets
The pot for the plant is selected depending on the number of stems and the size of the root system. If there are few stems (from 1 to 5), you can limit yourself to a pot with a diameter of 10-12 cm. More stems require a pot of about 15 cm in diameter. As the root system of the plant grows, with each subsequent transplant, it is desirable to increase the diameter of the pot by 2 cm.
The material from which the pot is made does not matter.; it can be both plastic and ceramics. In any case, about a third of the height of the pot should be occupied by drainage from expanded clay or broken bricks.
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coleus care
Plant care is simple and includes simple watering, fertilizing and regular pruning operations.. Once every 2-3 years, depending on the age of the plant, it is required to transplant it.
coleus home
In addition, as flowers appear in the plant, they must be removed by completely cutting off the flower stalks so that the formation of flowers and fruits does not interfere with the normal growth of leaves. Naturally, if it is necessary to obtain seeds for further propagation of the plant, this should not be done.
Watering
Given the seasonality of the plant's life cycle, it needs different watering methods in winter and summer. Watering from mid-March to mid-October is carried out regularly as the top layer of the substrate dries. It should be plentiful, but waterlogging the soil is not recommended. At the end of watering, it is necessary to drain excess liquid from the pan.
Watering is carried out with soft water at room temperature. In order for the water to become soft and chlorine compounds completely evaporate from it, it must be defended for three days. You can use boiled water. The use of water without boiling or settling is undesirable, since the salts contained in it lead to leaching of the soil. And since coleus watering is frequent and plentiful, this can happen quite quickly.
Watering a young plant.
In winter, watering is significantly reduced. In this case, it is necessary to focus on the value of the temperature in the room. At a temperature of +18-20°C, it is recommended to water once a week. If the temperature is less than + 18 ° C, then once every 10-12 days.
Also, the leaves of the plant themselves can act as an indicator of the need for watering. If they become lethargic and flabby, then the plant needs watering.
top dressing
The plant needs top dressing during the second half of spring and all summer. At this time, their frequency should be one week.
The first month it is recommended to apply nitrogenous fertilizers for flowers in doses recommended by the manufacturer.
Further top dressing is carried out at the same frequency, but at the same time complex fertilizer for flowers is used with a dose half that of the recommended one.
In winter, the plant should not be fertilized at all, but, to ensure normal nutrition, you can make 1 top dressing with complex fertilizer per month with a dose equal to a quarter of the recommended one.
plant pruning
During the dormant period, most plants lose their decorative effect.. It is possible that most of the leaves will wither, wrinkle, and subsequently fall off. In order for old or dead shoots not to interfere with the growth of young shoots in the spring, it is necessary to prune them.
In addition, the image of the plant also performs decorative functions. Coleus bushes can grow quite large, sometimes making them look unattractive. Cosmetic pruning will allow you to form the crown of the plant in the form that is required for a particular design decision.
Pruning when forming a cutting
Pruning is not only off-season, but also periodic. Usually, it is done either once a month or once a week, at the same time as fertilizing. At the same time, it is necessary not only to monitor the decorativeness of the plant, but also to cut off the emerging buds in a timely manner so that the plant does not waste energy on the formation of flowers.
Plant transplant
It is carried out in the first 1-3 years every year, in subsequent years - as needed. Transplant time is the end of March. In this case, it is necessary to choose a pot of a larger diameter and completely change the soil mixture. To avoid injuries to the root system, it is necessary to moisten the old substrate very abundantly, almost completely washing it out with water.
Transplanting and examining the roots
When transplanting, the root system is inspected, and dry or too weak roots are removed, as well as parts of the root system that are damaged. Before planting in a new pot, it is necessary to treat the roots with a 0.1% solution of potassium permanganate.
When transplanting, the root system of the plant should not be placed directly on the drain. It is necessary to pour a layer of soil 2-3 cm high on top of the drainage. It is also not worth it to deepen the plant excessively into the soil. The level of immersion in the ground should be the same as in the previous pot. In addition, the soil level should not reach 1-1.5 cm to the maximum height of the pot.
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The plant has no problems with reproduction
At home, both vegetative (mainly by cuttings) and generative (seed) methods of coleus propagation are used.Let's consider them in more detail:
Reproduction by cuttings
The optimal time for grafting a plant is April. With spring prophylactic or decorative pruning of the coleus, there are always many fragments of leaves or stems that are perfect for cuttings. Usually, either the top of a too long stem with a growth cone, or the central part of the stem, containing 2-4 fairly large leaves, is used as a cutting. The optimal cutting length is 8-12 cm.
It is necessary to remove leaves and lateral processes from the cutting, so that the length of the stem from below is at least 6 cm. After that, it must be stuck into the ground (the same as that of the mother plant) or a mixture of peat and sand in a ratio of 1 to 1.
Rooting coleus cuttings
After that, the stalk must be watered abundantly and create conditions for it. greenhouses. To do this, it is covered with a plastic bag or bottle and taken to a dark room with a temperature of about + 18-20 ° C.
After about 1-1.5 weeks, the cuttings have roots and are ready to be transplanted into their first pot.. Planting rules are similar to those for transplanting a plant.
seed propagation
The procedure for seed propagation of coleus, both when grown at home and when planted in open ground, is absolutely the same. The only thing to remember is that it is best to plant seeds during the active phase of the plant's life. You can, of course, get seedlings in the winter, but it is better to wait until spring in order to bring the cultivation of the plant as close as possible to its natural appearance.
Coleus seeds Blume
Plant seeds can be purchased at any flower shop, or you can grow them yourself by letting the plant fade. Seed germination persists for several years.
First seedlings
Seeds are planted in a neutral or slightly acidic substrate of any composition.. It can be used as a substrate for adult plants, and any peat-containing mixture for seedlings. The depth and density of planting seeds do not play a special role.
Flowering coleus in the open ground
As the seeds germinate and the first two leaves appear, they dive, after which they begin to water abundantly and fertilize with nitrogenous fertilizers for seedlings. When the time comes for the second pick (with 5-6 leaves), the seedlings are transplanted into a pot for an adult plant. It continues to be fertilized with nitrogenous fertilizers until flowering begins. As soon as the first flowers appear, they are cut off, nitrogen fertilizers are stopped, and the plant is taken care of as usual.
Coleus variety Blume with elongated leaves
Usually the plant itself, obtained by seed propagation, is not grown for more than a year. Most often, at the beginning of the next season, it is completely “taken apart” into cuttings. And it is from these cuttings that decorative crops are obtained.
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Varieties
A plant with such an attractive appearance could not fail to attract the attention of breeders and breeders. According to the "old" classification, there were about one and a half hundred species of coleus.
Large selection of plant species
The current state of the issue allows us to talk about about three and a half hundred species and about two hundred varieties.
Consider the most popular coleus varieties used in home floriculture:
Coleus Blume
Blume (Coleus Blumei)
The most popular and widespread type of coleus. Actually, in the vast majority of cases, when they say "coleus" they mean this particular species.
It is a semi-shrub plant, 80-90 cm high with straight strong stems. A distinctive feature of the stems is rigid ribs located almost at right angles. Tetrahedral strong stems are a support for a dense crown of leaves of a wide variety of shades.
The leaves of the plant are egg-shaped, they are slightly pointed at the ends. The coloring is the most diverse, depending on the variety. In addition, various conditions of detention can change it. For example, by changing the illumination, it is possible to achieve not only a different color contrast, but also a change in the position of the pattern on the leaves.
Heat-loving and light-loving plant. Variegated species tolerate even long exposure to direct sunlight. Frequent watering is necessary, however, drainage must be very good. In the summer, it is advisable to take the plant to the balcony or garden. Sometimes it is even recommended to plant it from May to August in open ground, after transplanting it back into a pot or flowerpot. This practice makes sense when combined with plant transplantation.
Propagated mainly by cuttings, seed propagation at home, although possible, in the vast majority gives unpredictable results.. As a result of seed propagation, a plant may be obtained that does not at all correspond to the varietal description. In principle, it is this method that is used for breeding, however, very few plants with a good exterior with this method of reproduction are obtained - about 1 out of 20 cases.
Therefore, if there is a desire to preserve varietal characteristics, for example, growth, degree of branching or coloring, it is necessary to use cuttings. Like most coleus, this species is best propagated by cuttings in March or April.
The plant is used in medicine, in addition, it is believed that its juice has a hallucinogenic effect. Experiments conducted about 30 years ago confirmed that about half of the people who tasted the juice from this type of coleus experienced a change in mental state.
coleus fragrant
Fragrant coleus (coleus lour)
It is grown mainly for medicinal purposes, or as a spice, however, it can also be used in home flower beds. In the wild, it grows up to 150-170 cm. At home, the figures are about half as low - no more than 80 cm.
The leaves of the fragrant coleus are about 7 cm long and 2 to 5 cm wide, their shape is most often triangular. The flowers are small, about 4 mm in size. Budding time is the end of April. Flowering time is in May.
It has a strong aroma and a noticeable density of pubescence. He likes frequent watering, but he has a negative attitude towards spraying foliage. A little more cold-resistant than the classic coleus - it can withstand temperature drops up to +2°C.
Coleus hybrid
Hybrid (Coleus x hybrida)
One of the popular varieties derived from the coleus blume. It has green, burgundy or purple leaves. Plant height can reach up to 1 meter.
The main feature of the plant is the change of color depending on the lighting conditions.. In the shade, the leaves are mostly green, after moving it to a sunny area, the color changes to burgundy or purple within 1-2 weeks.Sometimes there is a partial change in color, and very interesting color solutions are obtained.
Coleus Renelta
Renelta (Coleus rehneltianus)
It is considered one of the classic coleus, bred a very long time ago.. The homeland of the plant is southern India or Sri Lanka. Traditionally grown as an ampelous plant, it has not too strong, but flexible and well creeping shoots. The length of the shoots reaches half a meter.
The leaves and their petioles are long, with different colors. But the veins are always raspberry or purple-red, and along the perimeter of the leaf its color is green. By autumn, the color of the plant may change, and sometimes several times.
Variety Wizard
Wizard Rose
Decorative colorful plant. Height does not exceed 25 cm. Because of what it is used in flower beds and other compositions, as a plant of the lower tier or integumentary. Has a high growth rate.
In one season, even grown from seeds fills almost the entire container, so in the first 3-4 years it needs a constant transplant. Sometimes sits in narrow and long pots, and the whole structure can be used as an impromptu border.
How to grow coleus
Coleus: description, types and varieties, growing from seeds, planting and care at home and in the open field (80+ Photos & Videos) + Reviews
Unfortunately, I don’t have Coleus, but this flower deserves special attention, because its colorful sheets attract attention, despite the fact that this flower blooms is not very attractive. A very useful article, where I learned a lot of useful information about this type of indoor flower. I wanted to have such a handsome man on my windowsill when I realized that he is unpretentious and does not need excessive care, but everything is worth some nuances. I think such a flower in the summer will be able to decorate my flower bed on the street.
I brought a stalk of this flower from Alanya, I just broke off a stalk from a bush that grew on the street. The stalk literally in a couple of days begins to give roots, they grow very quickly and abundantly. He loves light, loves watering, grows very fast, so often you have to cut long branches, and since it’s a pity to throw it away, I planted a coleus on my balcony, put a pot in the stairwell, gave it to friends .... It looks very beautiful, the leaves are bright, but it grows too quickly)))