They are still very small, as they will continue to be until there are logner days and more light for them.

I'm new to coleus but thought they would look nice in my small backyard/patio. I get afternoon light on one part and direct sunlight at about 3-6. This will change once spring is here. There is a big tree that will soon be lush with leaves shading more of my patio.

As I searched the forum I soon became confused about coleus seeds and the plant in general. Some people said that growing from seed will produce small and less colorful plants. Some said that their seed experience produced rahter large plants. Some people used fertilizer while the plants were still seedlings and found growth spurts within a couple of days.

So heres my question....What should I do? Fertilize them a little (delute even more than normal) and put under a lamp for more light (24/7)? I plan on having them as houseplants until I am able to move them out to different containers.

Our temps in TX this week have been in the low 70's and 50's at night. :D Very pleasent but this is really giving me the ich to plant. Guess thats why I sowed the coleus seeds.

If anyone knows of a website that would be informative that would be great. I've spent most of my day trying to find information that I can use but have found little.

Thanks for the help
Ashley

I myself have never grown these from seed. So hopefully someone will come along with more help.

What I did want to say is they will need thinned to one plant per peat pellet when they get a little bigger.

The best way to do it is with a small pair of sissors and cut all the extra off at the soil. If you pull them you run the risk of damaging the roots on the one you want to keep.

As a rule, the first leaves to form are 'seed leaves' and at this stage plants do not need fertilizer as they have what they need within the material from the seed. Once they show the second leaf/set of leaves they absolutely require nutrients as they have exhausted what was in the seed. Still, they are babies and do not require the nutrient load adult plants require. A 1/10th solution of an 'all purpose' fertilizer such as any fertilizer where the 3 numbers conform to a 3:1:2 or even 1:1:1 ratio will do them just fine.

As far as growing from seed producing smaller, less colorful plants, that's not true for coleus. Your Wizard Mix (I tried it one year) will produce some very nice variations in color and their size is purely genetics combined with growing conditions. Having said that, if you end up with a plant you find particularly beautiful and wish to propagate it, literally for life, then post about that here and you will get the help you need.

Coleus are absolutely incredible plants. They can take some sun as well as some shade and they can even be adpated to house plants for a time. They can be grown au natural or pinched back heavily to form mini shrubs or even trained to a standard 'tree like appearance' or even dabbled with for bonsai. On top of all this versatility they are colorful even with low light.

Very good plant to play 'mad scientist' with.

Would I be able to cut the thin net around the pellet and pull apart the seedlings to seperate them or would my best route be to just trim all but one per pellet as you suggested?

I have never had any luck transplanting seedlings from a peat pellet. IMO it's just not worth the trouble. The whole idea is to just plant the whole pellet when the roots come out the bottom.

You could try one or two and see how it goes.

I just thin out to one per pellet.

Good luck!
I love coleus! As justaguy says, a very fun plant!

JoJo

If you can simply use a small scissors and snip off all but one plant per cell that's the easiest. If this won't provide you with enough plants then certainly you can remove the net, soak the peat so it loosens easily and gently separate the plants and pot them up in something else. If you will be separating them, it's fine to do it now, or as soon as they sprout. In fact it's desirable to do it sooner rather than later since you will not be destroying roots if you do it now. If you wait you will find it near impossible to avoid tearing roots. This is OK, but it forces the plant to expend energy making more.

It can be very beneficial to have a fan -gently- blowing on the seedlings after germination as it helps give the stem a workout so it grows sturdy. Outside this would occur naturally, but indoors it won't without a fan to make the breeze. It also helps to quickly dry out plants and the surface of the potting mix to prevent harmful pathogens such as the nasties responsible for damping off from thriving.

Ashley

Here are my seedlings as of this morning. Its cloudy and rainy today so they look a little washed out. I replanted them about 3 weeks ago, and will need to replant again here pretty soon. Any suggestions on pot size and how many seedlings per pot?

I know some seedlings need to be trimmed. Once they grow the 2nd pair of leaves, those are to be cut so that the plant stem can thicken and new growth begins. Does this go for the coleus as well?

Where would I cut on this particualr one? Above the bottom leaves but below the upper 2?

Thanks for the help!

Ashley

Those coleus seem way to little to start pinching. If it were me, I'd wait till about 6"...

Hopefuly someone who knows more will come along and help us both learn...:)

Have a good one! I will write later!! ;)

JoJo

Here you go kiddo... :)

I was able to make it to big lots where I got a very long but narrow plastic pot...umm I'd say its definitely at least 48" long. I'm hoping to use this for my bulbs. I also got freesai bulbs (which I don't think I can plant til the end of summer) and some other bulbs, can't remember right now..fire something or other haha.

I was also able to find 2 small bamboo boxes that, I think, will work great with my jades and gritty mix. Now only to find the ingredients....I seem to keep saying I'll buy them but I just don't get around to doing it. :/

Talk to you later JoJo!

Ash

Here is an update on my coleus.
I haven't pitched them or pruned them yet. I'm not sure how much longer I should wait?....

I've replanted them with my brugmansia, to provide some shade and to allow for more growth space for each seedling. :) Also planted a few with my smaller brugmansia and some in with my freshia bulbs. I don't have photos of all of them yet...but I'll keep posting progress. The photos don't do show the wonderful colors the coleus seedlings are! Deep maroon, bright green...wonderful!

Its amazing to see the progress these seedlings have made. These were actually my first success at seeds, of any kind! :)

Thanks for looking!
Ashley

Al

I really like the one by your pinky.. neat color..

I cheated and bought a plant this weekend..LOL!

JoJo

Hey JoJo! Sheesh, I've been so busy and time just keeps flying! I'll get those AV leaves out to you soon! I really like the one by my pinky too, such contrast between the white and bright green. What color coleus did you pick up?

Wow Al, 1000 seed packs! These seeds are so tiny! I got mine from a wizard mix so I don't know the types of coleus. Guess I should do research and find out! :)

Ashley

Thanks for looking! :)
Ashley

Al