The pic didn't come along with the edit I made...

and it was more successful than I planned!

==>> with a little base knowledge.. its not really all that hard.. i often say.. FEAR YOUR SUCCESS... lol

frankly ... i would question digging in the pot in july .. IMHO ...

how about you start learning about pruning for shape and form .. lets experiment that way.. rather than struggle with messing up a very thriving root mass ...

think hair cut ... not the bowl over the head just clipping around the rim of the pot..

but rather.. tracing individual stalks of the coleus.. back into the pot.. looking for latent or dormant buds.. way back in there.. and removing 25 to 33% of them.. and in a week or two .. when those start getting to the edge of the pot.. cutting back another quarter.. to third.. etc ..

perhaps.. a form of rejuvenation pruning on a annual.. rather than a shrub ...

or ... if you have two pots.. try one each way ... your way.. and my way ...

i dont do a lot of pots.. and i surely aint in z9 .. but i never like fooling with roots in july/august ... unless you are in a very temperate area ...

in other words.. you are in a box of digging in the pot.. i say.. look outside the box .. and if pruning doesnt work .. by late august.. THEN you can start digging around in the pot ... fall is much more lenient of such.. in MI anyway ....

ken

Thanks, Ken, I think you're right. We've had a lot of cool, rainy weather recently, totally unheard of here in July, and very welcome, but it's coming to an end and it's getting hot and steamy again. This isn't a good time to be transplanting. I'll prune that coleus, and root the cuttings and put them in a basket and see how they trail. It really looks like it needs a haircut, doesn't it?

It really looks like it needs a haircut, doesn't it?

==>> not really.. thats your preconceived notion .. i think it looks fine ..

but whether it will in a few weeks.. who knows ...

but then.. its your pot to play with ...

ken

I took a few coleus stems off on the left side, to the fluffy little artemesia can be seen.

That's a VERY pretty coleus! Assuming that you know that there are scads of trailing Coleus, you might try to line up a different nursery for next spring. Or, find a good internet site listing the names of some of these trailers (with pictures) and print off some pages to take into the nursery.

Most privately owned garden centers will be happy to have some new ideas. The big box stores can't accommodate special requests.

Rhizo, thanks! I've made cuttings to put into a hanging basket. It was in a 4" pot when I got it and of course, didn't look very spectacular at all. (I was at a locally owned nursery, and would never ask a question like that at one of the big box stores. I was in HD the other day, and they have Begonia Gryffon labeled as Begonia Dragon Wings!)

I found a huge online store that has lots of coleus (rareplants.com). I was about to order several, but went to look at another local nursery, and they have 2 of the 3 that I'd wanted, and they were half-price! So, I got them locally instead. I'll be going back there next year when I know I'll want some more.

Good for you! And don't hesitate to ask that garden center to get some especially appealing varieties for you. Do your dreaming on line then take your list to the garden center this fall.

Totally agree! The lady who owns the (one) garden store here was more than happy to order Persian shield for me. I asked her to order differently colored Coleus next year (not just reds and yellows) and she agreed that was a good idea. The owners of these small stores would love to help serve you better if you give them a chance.

Eahamel, your pot IS very pretty! Totally agree with Ken's advice. You may want to save some cuttings over winter in case the exact same Coleus aren't at the store next year. There are about 2,000 named Coleus.

Purple, thanks so much! I'm becoming more and more fascinated with coleus every year. I really want to support local stores, especially the mom and pop stores, rather than the big chains. The nursery I went to seems to be carrying a bunch of the same ones that Rare Plants has, and they're tall, well grown plants, so that's where I'll go next year when I want some more. I discovered one at RP that I had years ago that came from this same nursery, but couldn't keep it alive over the winter even though I brought it indoors. I've looked every year for it. I was going to order it from RP, but went to this nursery and there it was! (It's Sedona, btw.) I've made cuttings from most of mine and am going to plant several full pots and put some in the ground in a bed that's getting an extreme makeover.

It's good that the owner of the garden store will special order things. A lot of them can just get what's on a list their supplier gives them.