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purpleinopp

A forum for Coleus

What would you think about that? Would you use it?

Coleus is...
a perennial
tropical
shrub
used for its' foliage
usually in the shade
usually as an annual, often in containers
sometimes kept as a house plant
often grown from seed
notoriously easy to propagate
and discussions about one of the most versatile and prolific plants on the planet can be found in all of these forums, and many others.

There are well over 2,000 named varieties of Coleus, and more are bred every year.

If you would be in support of a Coleus forum at GW, please say so! TIA.

Comments (28)

  • shear_stupidity
    11 years ago

    I absolutely would use a Coleus forum!

  • eahamel
    11 years ago

    I'd like that, too, but would it be well-used? There are some for individual types of plants, such as impatiens, that are pretty lonely.

    And many varieties grow in full sun, like all of mine, so it's a very versatile plant.

  • rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
    11 years ago

    Nope, put me on the "there are already too many forums " list. I believe that all of the many forum divisions tend weaken the gene pool, so to speak.

  • eahamel
    11 years ago

    I tend to agree with you, rhizo. There are so many forums that don't get used, and I think some of them could go away, since they're more widely discussed in the broader categories such as house plants, annuals, such.

  • lucillle
    11 years ago

    I *LOVE* the 'Less isn't more' thread!!! I'm not sure I would have seen it if it was off in a coleus forum. So by it being here, it brightened my day on more than one day.

  • shear_stupidity
    11 years ago

    Thanks, Lucille.
    Stay tuned, I'm full of that stuff!
    LOL!

  • mandolls
    11 years ago

    I agree that it wouldn't get used enough. It seems that people go to the specific plant forums to ask questions about problems they are having, but they often dont get much in the way of answers, and its really rare for a long thread to develop with several people discussing an issue. In my opinion, those are the threads that are most interesting and informative to browse through.

    On the other hand there is a Dahlia forum on another site that I read regularly that has about a half dozen dedicated professionals on it everyday - its very informative - but it takes that core group of truly knowledgeable people to make it work.

  • roselady35
    11 years ago

    Yes, I definitely would use and enjoy a coleus forum.

  • Gerris2 (Joseph Delaware Zone 7a)
    11 years ago

    I'd like to see a Coleus forum, however, the Annuals forum might get somewhat quiet as a result. How many votes do you need to justify its establishment?

  • rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
    11 years ago

    It's not a vote thing; the directors of GardenWeb listen, but make their own judgements. There would need to be a pressing reason for yet one more new forum to be formed. There just isn't in this case.
    So many new forums have been added over the years that it has had a weakening effect, rather than a strengthening one.

  • 715rose
    11 years ago

    I can see how Annuals might become quiet. I've seen different states get their own forum only to become a ghost town.My state Iowa has it's own & it has died. It could have easily stayed with Midwest forum & maybe been frequented.
    sNs

  • nightnurse21
    10 years ago

    I would love a coleus forum,just check the threads they are always active and fun

  • eahamel
    10 years ago

    How about removing some of the forums that have died? Same questions can be asked at more general forums that get a lot of traffic. Ferns is just about dead. I just sent two people with impatiens questions to the annuals forums, their questions were several days old and unanswered.

  • Fleur
    10 years ago

    I'm in favor. Please, please, please.

  • bugbite
    10 years ago

    A related forum that might be interesting, but would not get enough interest, is a forum of "color without flowers". Like coleus, Polk-a-dot plants, a great plant (see link), caladiums and hopefully many others that I am not fimiliar with.
    Even peppers, mustard plants, kale, etc.
    Like anything, you have to get a broad audience to keep a forum going and a person would have to seek it out. Of course almost no one would search, "color without flowers" :-)
    But people will seek "annuals".

    Here is a link that might be useful: Polk a dot plants

    This post was edited by bugbite on Sun, May 12, 13 at 13:50

  • rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
    10 years ago

    Bugbite....without meaning to, you've made the exact point as to why we don't need to keep adding forums! There already IS a forum totally dedicated to colorful foliage....it's called Foliage Plant forum. It is a pretty inactive forum. I think that people will keep returning to the busiest categories.

    Purple is a great GardenWeb supporter...she makes every effort to frequent a number of forums with lively questions and comments. But many are not like that.

  • Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I'm refraining from further comment on the issue to let this thread go its' own way, whatever that may be.

    Thanks for each of the comments!

  • rooftopbklyn (zone 7a)
    10 years ago

    I think a Coleus forum would be great. However, I do see that there are plenty of low traffic (ahem, mostly useless) forums already.

    As an experiment, how about all the Coleus fans here in this thread start to actively use the Foliage Forum for Coleus discussions and make it the preferred place to discuss Coleus on gardenweb? Should the normal Foliage crowd (if there is one) feel it's just too much Coleus, that could be a good reason for a new forum to be created.

    As you all know, Coleus isn't an annual, though it's grown as a one season plant by many people.

    Daniel

  • michael1846
    10 years ago

    I agree we need one

  • docmom_gw
    10 years ago

    Has anyone been searching for information on coleus and not been able to find it? I love coleus, but they aren't very complex plants with special needs or anything. I know there was recently a big push for a milkweed forum, which succeeded, but there hasn't been much activity there. And I do my best to check in there frequently. It may pick up when spring rolls around. Guess we'll wait and see. I can't see that another forum is needed. Especially since so many people are spending more time on Facebook and other social media sites. The forums we have are less and less busy.

    Martha

  • michael1846
    10 years ago

    I actully think we need a seasonal plant fourm. You know for like mini roses(valentines day)pointsettia(christmas)azalia (valentines day)norfork island pine ( christmas)shamrock oxalis (saint patrics day) mums (thanksgiving)easter lily(easter)christmas cactus (christmas) and any others you can think of but thats just me

  • docmom_gw
    10 years ago

    Michael's idea of a seasonal plant forum makes sense, since it would always be active with whatever plant was in season. Christmas cacti is another example. It could also be used for seasonal gardening activities or concerns like frost protection or spring mud or summer drought, etc. I think that sort of format would stay active and attract a diversity of gardeners.

    Martha

  • rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
    10 years ago

    I hereby nominate Daniel to monitor all of the forums for coleus questions and direct those folks to the Foliage Forum. :-)

  • dogg1967
    9 years ago

    I'd love to see a dedicated Coleus forum!

  • littlebugger12
    8 years ago

    Huge Coleus supporter here. Have a website as well for these awesomely versatile plants, and a HUGE collection. I think this is a great idea!!!!! :-)

  • 715rose
    8 years ago

    Too late we have 2 or 3 wonderful coleus groups on Facebook.

  • cornsnakes
    6 years ago

    I hope someone can help. I've kept and loved Coleus for decades, but this is the first time I've seen this? Why is this petaled flower here?

  • zen_man
    6 years ago

    Dave's Garden has a Coleus forum.