How to Root Coleus cuttings to Save Plants over the Winter

You don't have to let that beautiful bed of coleus that has adorned your yard all summer simply die out from winter's cold. It is easy to save coleus plants by taking cuttings and rooting them so you will have fresh new plants in the spring. If you have a greenhouse or a sunny, warm, window sill, it is simple to root coleus and keep them alive and healthy.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Existing Coleus for cuttings
• Plant pots or trays
• Watering trays/saucers
• Water
• Sterile Potting soil
• Clean sand

1. 
    
   Good sandy soil mixture

   First you need to make or buy the right type of soil for rooting coleus cuttings. The soil needs to be easy for young tender roots to sprout into and clean and sterile so they won't be attacked by fungi or diseases. The best mixture is made up of half sand and half sterile potting mix. You don't need to add any fertilizers as that can burn tender young roots and cause the new plants to grow out too fast. It is best to grow the plants slowly during the winter months so they don't get pot bound and are ready for a strong flush of growth when set out next spring. Mix up or buy enough soil for filling the containers you will be using.

2. 
    
   Coleus cutting and Cutting with leaves removed

   Decide which containers to use and get them ready. Any type of plant pot will do as long as they will hold at least 4 of inches of soil and will drain well. The coleus rootings will need to be kept constantly moist for the first few weeks, so you will need some sort of watering tray or saucer that will hold the pots. You can start multiple cuttings in shallow trays to transplant into larger pots later. Wash all the pots or trays and disinfect them, if they have been used before. Just rinse any loose dirt off of them and then soak in a 10% bleach solution for an hour. Rinse them well and let dry before filling with the soil mixture. If you are using the flat plant trays, one way to seal the bottoms so they will hold water, is to line them with plastic. A plastic trash bag will work well. Just lay one inside the tray so it extends up the sides and then fill with soil.

3. 
    
   Place the cuttings in the soil, Cuttings in a tray

   Gather and prepare the coleus cuttings. Cut off the top 4 to 6 inches of new growth on the coleus plants you want to root. Don't use any flowering tips only leafy growing tips. You want to get the cuttings into the soil as soon as possible before they wilt. If for some reason you can't pot them up right away, place them in a vase of water until you can. When ready to pot them, remove all the leaves except for two at the top and the top bud. If the top leaves are larger than 1 1/2 inches wide, cut them in half so the cutting won't lose too much moisture through them. Recut the stems to about 3 or 4 inches long for cuttings that will go in deeper pots and only an inch long for those in shallow trays. You don't need to put rooting hormones on the cut stems unless you want to, as coleus plants root very easily. Coleus will even root in water, but I find that plants rooted that way will have weak tender roots.

4. Have the soil in your pots moist and push the prepared coleus cuttings into the soil so that only the top with the leaves protrudes. You can place the cuttings some 2 inches apart, so a 6 inch pot will hold 5 cuttings easily. You want the stems to have good contact with the soil so water the cuttings well to wash the soil around the stems. Again don't use water with fertilizer added, only plain water. The soil has to stay moist until the cuttings have formed a good size root system and it needs to stay fairly warm. You can increase both the humidity and warmth by covering the pots with a clear plastic top. Simply cut the bottom off of a 2 liter soda bottle or gallon jug and place the top over the planted cuttings as a mini hothouse. Set the pot/pots in the watering tray/saucer and keep the tray filled with water. Place the pots where they will get bright direct light such as a east or south facing window.

5. Watch the coleus rootings for signs of growth. Right after planting them, the cuttings will probably wilt somewhat but they should not become totally floppy. After about two weeks the cuttings should have enough roots to stand some drying out. You can leave the tops off and let the water level in the trays drop. Watch for any wilting and water immediately if seen. Those cuttings grown in shallow trays will need to be transplanted now, into larger pots with more true soil and less sand. Just scoop them out of the tray with a large spoon and place them in a larger pot, then water well. If you don't have room for larger plants don't fertilize the coleus as they will tend to grow tall and leggy if over fed. Pinch back the growing tips to make them bush out and stay shorter. Some of the things that will hurt your coleus plants are hot dry drafts, total drying out of the soil, and having constantly waterlogged soil. Coleuses are tropical plants and cannot take frost or freezing temperatures, so wait till your soil is well warmed up and all danger of cold weather is over, before planting them out to enjoy next year.

Tips & Warnings

• The more hours of bright light you can give the coleus the less leggy they will be.
• Whenever you pinch the plants back, you can use those cut off tips to make more plants.