Coleus, painted nettle, so colorful!

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Leaves splashed from red to pink, green to white and yellow to brown make coleus a plant grown for its foliage rather than its bloom — and though they look like stinging nettles, they neither sting nor spread. Keep the soil slightly moist in partial shade and the colours stay true.

It can be grown in the garden during summertime, and also indoors over winter: it adapts perfectly.

Planting coleus

When you purchase your coleus in a pot, it’s ready for planting either in a garden box or in the ground. It loves fertile and moist soil.

Planting coleus outdoors

Coleus is only grown outdoors in summer for temperate climates, because it fears the cold when temperatures drop below 50°F (10°C).

• In a garden box, you can plant your coleus in a good soil mix.
• In a flower bed, mix garden soil with planting soil mix.
• Best select a partially shaded location, especially in summer if the afternoon hours are very hot.
• Water regularly after planting.
• Bring the garden boxes inside before the weather gets cold.

Planting coleus indoors

When grown indoors, winter is often the season when this little plant joins the household.

It isn’t mandatory to repot your coleus immediately after purchase, unless the roots show that they’re feeling squeezed.

• Repotting in a pot of a slightly larger size is recommended at the end of every winter.
• From late spring onwards, the plant can be brought outdoors.

Caring for coleus

Coleus isn’t a very picky plant but it does need some attention, especially to protect and preserve its nice colored, spotted leaves.

• Pinch the tip of each stem often.
• Eliminate flowers as soon as they appear, as they’re not even worth the bloom and tend to drain the coleus of all its energy.
• Ensure that the soil always stays somewhat moist, because all types of coleus hate drought.

Adding fertilizer isn’t a requirement, but it may be an option if you notice that the leaves start turning pale or white. This shows that the soil has become too poor.

Keeping the coleus leaf colors bright

The colored leaves are the reason for growing the coleus plant, it ranges from red to pink, from green to white and from yellow to brown.

To ensure that this magnificent coloration stays true, the coleus plant requires sunlight, while avoiding situations that would scorch it.

Best exposure for your coleus

Outdoor coleus

Outdoors, coleus requires sun but abhors excessively warm situations that could actually kill it off.

Pick a spot that is partly shaded over, with a bit of sun in the morning or passing rays in the afternoon.

Indoor coleus

In winter, it’s great to give it as much light and sun as you can for most of the day, to ensure it grows and develops and try to keep all the leaves attached.

In summer, however, refrain from placing your coleus near a window facing south, because the sunlight would burn the plant.

Choosing a coleus variety

Coleus varieties differ far more in leaf colour, leaf shape and how much sun they will take than in anything else, and some are raised from seed while others are only sold as rooted plants. The table below sets out the kinds most often found on garden centre benches and in seed catalogues.

Learn more about the coleus plant

Coleus is certainly one of the most beautiful leaf plants to grow at home. With such bright colors, this amazingly easy plant to care for is ideal for pots or garden boxes.

It actually fits right in on any terrace or balcony in summer or indoors in winter. But feel free to also include a few specimens in the middle of your flower beds, you’ll notice that it interestingly catches the eye.

Although its leaves are very similar to those of stinging nettles, there’s nothing to worry about because it is neither invasive nor urticant.

Diseases and parasites that impact coleus

Coleus is vulnerable to mealy bugs and it’s often difficult to get rid of them if not caught early. Whitish masses colonize leaves.

• Here is how to effectively fight mealybugs or scale insects off.

There are also other parasites like a couple famous bugs, the red spider mite indoors and aphids in summer. Snails and slugs show signs of interest in moist weather.

• Check the undersides of coleus leaves first, since mites and whitefly shelter there.
• Downy mildew (Peronospora sp.) is one notable disease of coleus, appearing as angular yellow leaf blotches with a greyish fuzz on the undersides, often followed by leaf drop.
• Space plants so air moves between them and water the compost rather than the foliage, as leaves that stay wet overnight invite downy mildew.
• Dry indoor air beside a radiator suits red spider mite perfectly, so stand the pot on a tray of damp gravel to keep humidity up.
• Before bringing a coleus indoors, inspect leaf undersides and stem joints for mealybugs, whiteflies, aphids, and spider mites, then isolate it from other houseplants for two to three weeks, re-checking regularly.

Coleus pests at a glance

Coleus is easy-going, but a handful of pests turn up again and again. Knowing when and where each one appears makes it much easier to catch trouble early.

Catching any of these early is what saves the colourful foliage the plant is grown for.