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Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Coleus Again



These are the current collection of Coleus I have in my garden. All of them are facing high time of pruning and re-propagating. (all waiting for the gardener to take action)

(Please note that all the names of the coleus plants are basically indicative for my identification and not the actual names)

Top picture: "Streaked Curtains"
This one seemed to doing OK so far. I may have to do the replanting soon before this plant dies.

Picture below is my "Bleeding Rubies" (Shade)
This one is from the shaded area. Notice all the ruby coloured ones are replaced with cream colour. They get that pigment colour when in full sun.


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Below: Bleeding Rubies (Full Sun)
Same plant as above but look at the difference.
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This one is my "Wet Feet". (Shade)
I find that it look very interesting when in shade rather than the one is full sun.
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Wet Feet (Full Sun)
Notice all the green are gone replaced with red & pink centre.
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This is a new species in my garden. (Purple Coleus) (Shade)
I had found it an abandon area where someone had left it to rot. It was badly damaged by grasshoppers. I had placed in the shade first to see how it coloured.
Somehow it still showed a little green at the tips. Its quite hardy and doing well for these few months. I have not manage to propagate it yet. Its now, just one plant.
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Purple Coleus (Full Sun)
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Red Hearts (Shade)
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Somehow I still admire this one, they look very beautiful in both conditions (shade or sun)
Very hardy and easy to manage.
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This one is my most hardest, challenging coleus hybrid. They don't do so well even after propagating (cuttings). This plant is slowly dying. They are not the growing type (seemed to be very much like the dwarf species)
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Regardless, This "Army Pants" still look so beautiful. Wished I had like the others. I guess, its time to say good-bye to this species. It had been with me for few months.
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More tips on Coleus:
How do you know whether the coleus you have are the hardy type?
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1) Cuttings : For one - you would know that if its hardy, the coleus will root in water.
If they don't (rotting instead of rooting) then they are the sensitive type.
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2) Branches: The hardy ones will branch out to many stalks. Here you can take more cuttings and propagate them.
The sensitive ones just stay put and slowly die.
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Other tips from my earlier post (repeat)
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1) The flower buds must be pinched off as soon as they develop to prevent the plant from producing seeds. Once its started doing that, its life objective is completed and it will usually die.
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2) Trimming may also be necessary to prevent leggy growth. Anytime the tip growth is removed, the plant's growth will be diverted to the lateral side growth, creating a much bushier plant.
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3) Care is necessary as it needs daily watering.
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4) Sunlight is necessary, placing the plant in shady area will cause the plant to have more green than the colour.
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5) The plant requires to be replanted at most (3 - 5 months) once, or the whole plant will start to wilt in stages & die. Replanting & trimming helps to keep the plant to regenerate and live longer.
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Also click on the Colours of Rainbow for more details (past post)
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8 comments:

Noelle Johnson said...

Hello James,

I do love Coleus and their bright colors, so please feel free to keep posting about your beautiful ones :-)

Penny McCrea said...

Most of my coleus succumbed to our cold spell. I had ordered a packet of seeds (mixed varieties) from Thompson and Morgan, and I'm glad I hadn't gotten around to starting them. I didn't realize there's a difference in hardiness, so I'm grateful for the info.

Victoria said...

Wow..these are super lovely James! I love coleus..I especially love your purple coleus..stunning!A beautiful and enchanting post with gorgeous photos! Always a pleasure to stop by and visit,your posts are wonderful!
Kiki~

Wendy said...

coleus are so wonderful. Such a prolific easy plant that is so colorful too! I plan to add some to planters just as soon as it warms here!

Stephanie said...

I just propagated some coleus in my garden this morning as they have grown tall and out of shape. Your collection is admirable! I like the one with pink in the middle. Yes, its pink is nicer when undershade. The rest of the colours are as beautiful. I think your garden is looking great with all these amazing colours here and there. Happy gardening!

J.C. said...

I love those colourful coleus you have in your garden. Didn't know that the sun helps to make the leaves colour turn reddish. That's one good lesson I learn here. I always thought coleus prefers to be under shade! What a misunderstanding I had there! Thanks for your sharing!

Autumn Belle said...

What nice names you have given your pretty coleus plants. When I see your beautiful ones, I am now thinking of starting some coleus too. I used to grow them, but they have died back.

James David said...

Noelle & Kiki - Thanks for your lovely thoughts & comment.

Penny & JC - Actually there are a lot more matters of plants to be discovered, about their characteristics in different enviornment.
This is just one of the things I have discovered.

I had never tried planting from seeds as I often find that they somehow been eaten by snails & if they do survive, somehow they get burned or drowned by my underwatering or overwatering. Prefer cuttings as I find that very successful (for me at least)

Stephanie - Glad to know that you have managed to replant your coleus. Look forward to see them.

Belle & Wendy - Im sure you will enjoy them this time around & please do get the hardy types as they naturally live longer and may put a lot of shoots for replanting.

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My Malaysian Tropical Garden mainly focused on unique and colorful plants ranging from rare to common plants all around the tropical belt across the world. Ideal for inspiration for challenging areas in the garden space - indoor gardening, balcony gardening and small green spaces especially for ariods, bromeliads, begonias, edibles, cascading & vertical garden plants, succulents & cacti, orchids, together with both shade and sun loving plants.

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