Coleus - planting and care at home

These beautiful plants adorn flower beds and personal plots, are grown on balconies and in apartments. Indoors, Coleus varieties grow in boxes, pots, pots. The flower is undemanding to care for. A little attention and care will reveal all the positive aspects of keeping a plant in an apartment.

Coleus: planting and care at home

For growing in the house, the plant is planted when it reaches a height of 15 cm, regardless of the propagation method. Suitable planting time is late March - early April. And by the summer the room will be decorated with a full-fledged flower.

Coleus at home requires a minimum of attention

High-quality drainage is placed at the bottom of the pot, since the flower loves watering, but does not tolerate liquid stagnation.

The flower has features and care requirements. They are taken into account when growing flowers indoors.

Temperature

Temperature readings are important for successful growth and flowering. Winter temperature is required at least 12 ° C. The rest of the time, the thermometer readings are suitable within the range of 15-25 ° C. The temperature should be stable and without sudden jumps. Lower values ​​slow down the development of the plant, ruining its graceful form.

Lighting

Indoor flower Coleus prefers bright diffused light. Direct rays destroy it: the bushes stop growing, the leaves turn yellow, and get burns. To prevent this situation, windows facing east or west are selected.

Watering

In winter, watered as the soil dries up. At other times, the earth is kept moist. The water for irrigation is settled and slightly warmed up. Leaves should remain dry when watering.

From time to time, the water is acidified. Use lemon juice (3-5 drops per 1 liter of liquid) or acid (0.2 g per 1 liter). The procedure will enhance the brightness of the foliage. Hydrogen peroxide is also suitable (20 ml per 1 liter of water).

Spraying

In the summer, this procedure, which is important for the flower, is carried out twice a day. In winter, the plant is not sprayed.

Humidity

To maintain humidity in the room, a container with moistened sand or expanded clay is placed next to the pot. And the pot itself is placed in a tray containing wet pebbles.

Growing Coleus at home is an exciting experience, especially for a beginner.

Priming

The soil is chosen loose and fertile with a neutral or slightly acidic reaction. A soil mixture is bought for flowers growing in the house, or the soil is prepared independently. There are two cooking methods:

• mix leafy earth (or sod), humus, peat, sand in a ratio of 4: 3: 1: 1;
• mix leaf and sod land, sand and peat in equal volumes.

Top dressing

From the first days of March until the end of summer, top dressing is applied weekly. Complex mineral compositions for home flowers are used. In autumn, watering and feeding are carried out less often, and in winter the flower is fed every 30 days, and the amount of the substance is halved.

Features of winter care

Winter is the most difficult time that indoor Coleus is going through. Due to the lack of sunlight, the flower loses its picturesque appearance. The shoots stretch out, the leaves become dull, the lower ones dry and fall off.Florists who do not want to care for such a plant simply dispose of it and re-grow it from seeds in the spring.

Who does not want to part with a flower, carry out the activities described below.

• Urgently, the pot is placed in the sunniest place in the house, rarely watered to prevent the activation of stem growth.
• To prevent the plant from dying from low temperatures, the pot is placed on a thermal insulating pillow (for example, foam).
• No water is left in the pan of the pot, and after watering it is immediately poured out.
• The irrigation schedule is being revised depending on the temperature in the apartment. If it's hot, the plant is watered once a week and once a month with the addition of mineral fertilizers.
• If necessary, maintain the temperature in the room at 15-18 ° C. The plant will stop growing upward. But in this case, watering is carried out every 3-4 weeks, and fertilizers are not applied at all.
• Fresh air has a positive effect on the plant, but not a draft.

Winter is a difficult period for Coleus

During the winter season, the indoor plant Coleus weakens and loses its appearance. To tidy up the flower begins with pruning. And only the Black Dragon variety, which has a compact crown, can be saved from these actions.

Coleus pruning

In the spring, pruned upward shoots with faded foliage are cut. Stumps are left 10 cm high, where new buds soon appear, then new shoots. After that, the Coleus will fluff up the foliage, return the original chic.

You can't limit yourself to spring pruning. It is carried out regularly to:

• restrain the growth of the flower;
• to activate the growth of shoots after pinching;
• to form a beautiful shape;
• to recreate decorativeness after winter;
• get cuttings.

When and how Coleus blooms

The plant blooms from March to September. The flowers are small, they are usually white with blue. The ears are complex, but not decorative. Good seeds are difficult to obtain. Therefore, flowers are useless, many growers remove them in order to preserve useful substances for the bush itself.

Coleus Black Dragon

How Coleus reproduces

The flower is propagated by cuttings or seeds.

Rooting cuttings

Step-by-step propagation algorithm by cuttings:

1. During the spring pruning, cuttings are cut without flowers and buds.
2. The cut points are dusted with charcoal powder.
3. Petioles are chosen with a length of 10 cm, they are deepened by 2.5 cm into a raw mixture of sand and peat.
4. Cover with half a plastic bottle with holes.
5. Maintain temperature for successful rooting in the region of 20 ° C.
6. Periodically ventilate and watered by removing the plastic cap.

Rooting Coleus by cuttings is the surest way to propagate a flower

When roots appear (after 2 weeks), the seedling is transplanted into a pot.

Germinating seeds

How to propagate Coleus by seeds:

1. Prepare a shallow container with a mixture of peat and sand.
2. Plant the seeds, keeping the distance between them 3-5 cm. The best time for sowing is February - March.
3. Spray and cover with foil.
4. From time to time, remove the cellophane to air the seedlings and water them.
5. Shoots will appear after 12 days. When 3 leaves appear, shoots dive into separate cups.
6. With a shoot length of 15 cm, they are transplanted into pots.

Germinating Coleus seeds is a difficult and time-consuming process that does not always end successfully.

Coleus transplant

It will not be possible to grow a decorative flower if it is not timely transplanted into a deep pot. The procedure is carried out in any season of the year. The main thing is that the roots of the plant are completely wrapped around the earthy lump. This occurs in the 3rd year of life of the Coleus. Mature bushes are not transplanted.Only in the pot is the top soil layer removed.

Coleus transplant

Due to the beauty of the leaves and decorative qualities, as well as ease of cultivation and easy maintenance, the plant can often be seen in public places and apartments of friends and acquaintances. When growing it, the main thing is to pay enough attention in winter.