Product Overview
Coleus Blumei – Painted Nettles.
These wonderfully vibrant little plants are traditionally planted outside as annuals, so you can enjoy their vivid colours through Summer and Autumn, before the cold weather kills them off.
They can however make really great houseplants, as long as they can be kept in good bright light, and you can give them a bit of care as to pinching them out to keep them bushy.
They are one of the few plants that can rival the colours and patterns of the Calathea (Prayer plant family)
Read on to enjoy these little gems.
In the home keep in a very bright place to maintain growth and leaf colouration, just avoid direct sun during the hottest parts of the year.
In this position the plant will receive constant warmth from the sun so will need to be kept moist at all times. Water well, then allow the top of the compost to become just touch dry before watering again, twice a week would be average.
Too little light will reduce the frequency and amount of water needed, just be careful not to keep it too wet in this case.
Coleus aren`t fussy plants when it comes to extra humidity, if you`re not a mister this is fine.
Coleus are fast growing, and can become leggy, so regular pinching back will encourage a bushier plant. Fertilise sparingly to avoid excess growth, a diluted houseplant feed 3 or 4 times during Spring and Summer is plenty.
If your Coleus looks like it is flowering pinch the flower stem off, flowering tends to take all of the plants energy, and more often than not the plant will wither and die after flowering.
Minimum Temp: 10c
In Winter, when temperatures are cooler and growth is slow, reduce watering and do need feed.
Keep in as bright a spot as possible.
Repot early Spring, before new growth, making sure only to use a slightly larger pot and very good free draining compost. Prune well at this time to keep bushy.
Coleus are one of the easiest plants to propagate and share by stem cuttings. Basically cut a stem and place in to fresh compost, keep it moist and warm until the new roots have developed and there`s signs of new leaves forming.
Warnings: Not known to be toxic.
