your mistake: trying to save the old sucker ...

root some babes.. should take less than a week ...

cell pack them for another week or so.. to grow some good roots ...

plant them outdoors in a month after hardening off ... [of course.. in your zone.. you might be able to already do this outside .. though not in the ground]

and then.. time for throwing grandma from the train ...

there is simply no reason to struggle with an aged old plant.. start some vigorous babes.. and they will out-perform grandma in no time ...

in the mean time.. put grandma outdoors in on the north side of a structure.. bright but no sun .. her aged skin wont be able to handle much ...

and next year.. start this all a month ago ..

also.. had you been cycling thru this.. perhaps you could have rooted a few of the ones you lost.. before you lost them ...

the only trick is to 'cycle' the plants ... continuously throwing them out.. before they force you out of your house ... root 6 ... grow them until they start getting ugly .. root 6 more ... throw out the first 6 and momma.. etc ...

taking young vigorous plants outside in spring is the goal.. not saving grandma .. [though you actually did save here.. since the cuttings are actually her]

its counter-intuitive to throw away good stock .. but most of us dont live in an unlimited greenhouse.. though we might wish such..

ken

This conversation has a deja vu quality.

Coleus is not an annual, it's a tropical shrub. They get better with age and size, and there is no reason to get rid of one simply because of its' age.

Here's a stump I couldn't discard after I saw how nice it was. I was cleaning up after frost, pulling stumps, and brought this one in, there was no foliage on it at the time.

View of the tops.

yes purp.. we have had this conversation ...

and there are alternatives to your way ...

and mine are more in tune with torturing an outdoor plant.. in winter.. in MI ... with forced air furnace.. lack of humidity.. and sunlight thru windows that are 20 degrees in winter ... trust me.. i can grow some really ugly plants in winter.. lol ...

and i provide this person with an alternative.. i realize both of your are way out of my zone ...

but if its ugly as sin.. renew it.. and do it better next winter..

ken

Ken, we can keep things like this overwinter, but most people usually don't. I've decided to do it so I won't have to wait until the nurseries have them in, and won't have to spend the money on them again this year. A friend of mine has been doing it successfully for several years. Yes, most don't look very good right now, but with pruning and fertilizer and planting the pruned pieces, they will look great by the time the nurseries have those tiny starts. They're outdoors most of the time, so it isn't really torture for them, not as much as it is for you.

Eahamel, I wouldn't mind buying beloved Coleus again, and often do just get more of some I already have, but if you do love it, there's no certainty you'll find the same one again. Not that it isn't great to have over 2,000 different Coleus out there, but it does make it impossible for the selection to be reliable, and that's not even something I'd want since most stores only have a very narrow selection of cultivars. I want them to be mostly different every year. After reviewing this, realize I never answered your question with words so it would be good to ask, did the pic show you what you wanted to know? Besides that, the more vigorously it is growing when pruned, the more quickly it should grow back.

Ken, not trying to debate right or wrong, or one way to do things vs. another, but that there's a whole spectrum of possibilities, and a myriad of extraneous factors to consider. What was asked was merely how short a Coleus can be cut without killing it, so obviously it's still alive. When your advice comes from relevant experience, (and doesn't start with "your mistake,") it's awesome and priceless, and usually even including bonus material like a joke or silly link. Good stuff, I look forward to reading your responses.

I wholeheartedly disagree with the general assumption and repeated admonishments that Coleus plants get old and tired, and that they can't be better when kept, without any consideration to people's location, abilities, or conditions. It would be like saying Lilacs, Peonies, Hydrangeas, Azaleas, or any extremely long-lived shrubs get old and tired simply by virtue of chronological age.

Coleus get damaged by cold. If one waits until a long string of too-cold-for-comfort and even almost frosty nights have passed to try to rescue their Coleus, the results may be disappointing, especially with getting cuttings to take root. Especially in places where the day temps don't rebound back to the 70's and 80's. A plant that is not killed by almost frosty temps could still be generally quite compromised and weakened, especially at the growth tips. At that point, the crown may be the only vigorous part left that doesn't need to recover from injury. If it never goes through this stuff, it's not a damaged, struggling plant.

Even if it's ugly, if it's still alive, it should POP when put back outside if conditions are acceptable, which I would assume is why there's some ugly plants in anyone's house, you know that. Aren't the little 6-pack sprouts usually pretty sad looking and weak when bought?

Anyway,they all look ragged and I guess they need a haircut. How far back can I cut them?

==>> yes that was the question..

and my response.. was meant to say .... DONT THROW AWAY THE CUTTINGS.. multiply them ...

as noted.. vigorous debate ... no hard feelings anywhere .. on my part anyway ... no need to justify debate .. eh??

the beauty of a good discussion is the width of opinion as to alternative solutions ...

ken

Excellent points. With a plant as forgiving, anxious and versatile as Coleus, there is a lot to discuss. If only the people could be as patient as the plants about waiting for spring. Kudos, friend!!

Thanks for the info, y'all! Yes I'm going to plant the cuttings, and purp, your pics showed what I need to know. I love some of the ones I bought last year, and some may not be in the nurseries again this year.

That's cool. That's how I feel about it. I have some unknown number of cuttings in water, well over 100, but can't wait to buy more Coleus, every new one I don't have that I like, and even more of some of these I bought late last fall if available. Not much mass to them yet. Already, and have seeds saved from my plants last fall, just can't get enough!

We quit closing the curtain in here. Unless you stand up, you can't be seen through this foliage. The pic is from 1/17 so I can clearly see that everything's about 3" taller now.

do the amber beer bottles protect the roots from direct sun..

you are killing me here.. lol ..

ken

Ha! I don't know, but don't think I'll use clear plastic anymore, the real thin, crinkly water bottles. Some roots attach (chemically?) to it and am noticing "all things icky" happen much more often in plastic than glass bottles.