How to Propagate Coleus

Coleus are popular outdoor container plants which can also be over-wintered indoors or grown permanently as house plants. Whether you have a coleus house plant you would like a backup of, or would like to bring an outdoor coleus indoors for the winter or permanently, propagation is the best method to achieve this.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Take cuttings of outdoor coleus at anytime for propagation. Propagation is best to bring outdoor coleus inside because a fresh propagation can adapt better to your home than bringing inside an entire plant. You can propagate a coleus in late fall, start a new plant inside and then return it outside in the spring. The coleus also thrives inside with a sunny window.

2. Select a few healthy stems to take your cutting from. Remove any flower stalks from the tops of these stems, as the flower stalks can take energy away from the new plant and prevent new growth. Removing the flower stalks can also cause the coleus to branch, creating a bushy new plant.

3. Cut 3- to 5-inch sections of coleus away from the plant. Make the cut just above a leaf node. Remove the bottom set of leaves from the cutting.

4. Fill a large jar, such as a mayonnaise jar, with room-temperature water. Place the coleus cuttings in the water so that the bottom 2 inches of the stems are underwater. The coleus cuttings will root in the water.

5. Remove the propagations from the water when they have produced roots 2 to 3 inches long. This generally takes about 2 weeks.

6. Plant the coleus propagations in 3-inch pots filled with standard potting mix. For full plants, place three cuttings in one pot. Treat the coleus as mature plants at this time.