Coleus: planting and care in the open field, description of varieties and reproduction with photos

Knowing the features of planting and caring for coleus in the open field, you can arrange a flower bed, terrace, garden paths. An unpretentious plant, many know as an indoor flower. Its original leaves serve as interior decoration. When grown in the garden, the decorative properties of the coleus are preserved.

General description of the plant

Coleus flower growers lovingly call nettle. The leaf is shaped like a nettle. In nature, the plant is found in the tropics. There coleus is a perennial, herbaceous subshrub. In our climate it is grown as a house flower.

Severe winter is not suitable for the inhabitant of the tropics. It needs to be brought indoors for the winter. Coleus is valued and grown for its original, contrasting or bright monochrome coloring of velvety leaf plates. The pattern is made up of many shades.

It is unrealistic to list the entire palette of colors:

• red-violet and white border;
• copper green;
• purple and white trim;
• light green with yellow border.

Leaves are arranged oppositely on shoots. They have an oblong pointed-ovoid shape. The height of the coleus bushes depends on the variety. Dwarf varieties do not exceed 20 cm. Large species reach 60 cm.

The flowering of the plant is inconspicuous. Flowers are white, blue or purple. They are collected in inflorescences. After pollination, seeds are formed. They can be used for breeding.

Types and varieties of coleus

In the temperate climate of the middle lane, three types of nettles are grown - Renelta, Blume and a hybrid form. Varieties of the Blume variety are tall. The length of the ribbed tetrahedral stems is 80 cm. They are covered with large ovate-pointed leaves. The length of the leaf plates is about 15 cm.

The color palette of Coleus Blume is wide. The drawings contain shades of black, pink, burgundy, purple, cream, dark red. Popular varieties:

1. Sabre. Coloring pink-cherry, height 15 cm.
2. Wizard Scarlet. The leaves are red with a golden border.
3. Wizard Pineapple. Mix of shades of green and cherry.

Coleus Renelt varieties are used to decorate offices, trading floors, residential premises. Reneltianus superbus and Reneltianus are popular with flower growers. Hybrid forms of coleus are herbaceous plants 20-60 cm high.

The leaves are beautiful, velvety, variegated. Their edges are curly, fringed, serrated, wavy. The highly branched variety Rose Blush looks good in garden design. It has ruffled, pale pink leaves with a light green border.

Many cultivars are named after the color of their leaf patterns:

• Red (red-green);
• Green (cream green);
• Golden Bedder (yellow).

Features of growing crops

Nettle loves sunlight. The decorativeness of a plant directly depends on the quality of lighting. In the shade, the color fades. In open ground, the culture is grown as a letnik. Seedlings are transplanted into the ground in early June.

What time to plant

Seeds for seedlings are sown in spring in early March or late April. During this period the days are short. Coleus seedlings lack natural light. Phytolamps are used to extend daylight hours.

Preparation of planting material

The coleus seed is very small. This creates certain difficulties. For better germination, they are treated with drugs:

• Chlorella suspension;
• microbiological fertilizer "Baikal EM 1".

Nettle sprouts appear in a week. Seeds are sown in 2 pcs. into a glass. The substrate is taken from the store (universal flower primer) or prepared with your own hands:

• garden soil - 1 hour;
• peat or coconut flakes - 1 hour;
• biohumus - 1 hour;
• river sand - 1 hour

Drainage is poured on the bottom of the cup (technological pot). They take small expanded clay, crushed stone or shells from walnuts.

How to plant correctly

Seeds are small, so they are sown superficially, not buried.The soil is moistened, slightly compacted. Seeds are laid out with a toothpick. Maintain a distance of 5 cm between them. You can lightly sprinkle nettle seeds with river sand. The surface must be moistened with a fine mist sprayer. Before germination, glasses with seedlings are placed in a greenhouse. They are placed on a pallet and placed in a large transparent bag.

Care before germination consists of simple operations:

• airing the greenhouse;
• wetting the soil from a spray gun;
• maintaining air temperature 23-25 °C.

At the age of 1.5 months, they are transplanted into pots of a larger diameter. Seedlings by this time have 2-3 true leaves. The pick is carried out carefully so as not to damage the thin roots.

Seedlings can be transplanted into the ground at the age of 2 months. They should have 8-10 leaves by this time. The height of the seedlings ready for transplanting is 12-15 cm. It is being prepared for outdoor conditions for a week.

For hardening, seedlings are taken out to the balcony for a week or kept in a greenhouse. Nettles are planted in openwork penumbra. In the scorching sun, the color loses its saturated color. The decorative properties of the coleus are reduced.

Coleus Care Tips

All flower growers note that growing coleus in the garden is not burdensome. Caring for a flower is simple, little time is spent. Nettle bushes are planted in 20 cm increments. Humus and a little sand are added to the soil.

How to water properly

When it gets cold, watering is limited. In the heat, the bushes are irrigated more often. Sprinkler method is used. Spray the nettle on the leaf. The soil in the flower bed should always be moist.Water is used warm (20-25 ° C), defended.

How to feed

Feeding benefits the plant. The first time the fertilizer is applied 14 days after picking the seedlings. Watered under the root with a solution of complex fertilizer for decorative and deciduous crops.

During the summer, a flower bed with coleus is fed with potash fertilizers:

• water - 1 l;
• potassium nitrate - 0.5g

Fertilizers containing potassium, coleus can be fed every week. The culture responds well to organic liquid mixtures. Gardeners insist grass, mullein. Concentrated "mash" is diluted with water in a ratio of 1:10. Fertilize nettles after planned watering.

Pruning and shaping plants

Growing shoots of an adult coleus lose their decorative effect. Shrunken leaves worsen the appearance. If their seeds are not needed, then the inflorescences are cut off without waiting for pollination. For plants wintering in an apartment, rejuvenating pruning is carried out in the spring.

The stems are shortened by 5-7 cm. This stimulates the growth of side shoots. The bushes become fluffy again, covered with young brightly colored leaves.Cut tops are rooted in water or in a fertile substrate. Standing in water, they retain their decorative effect for a long time. How to properly cut and root is described below.

Protection from diseases and pests

Diseases are not terrible for a plant. Culture is characterized by stable immunity. Coleus must be protected from pests. It can be attacked by a spider mite. Young bushes often suffer from aphids and whiteflies.

From pests, flower beds are treated with insecticides:

• "Extra";
• Appolo;
• Confidor.

Whitefly larvae are fought with folk methods. The leaves are washed with a concentrated solution of tar soap:

• water - 6 parts;
• grated soap - 1 part.

After watering, the soil in the flower bed is sprinkled with ashes. It repels pests, serves as top dressing.

Reproduction methods

Coleus propagation operation by cuttings is very simple. It does not require skills or special tools. In an adult plant, the top of the head is 10-15 cm long with scissors or a sharp knife, this is the cutting process. Get the apical cutting ready for rooting.

Indoor plants can be propagated by cuttings all year round. With the onset of autumn, garden coleus are transplanted into pots and brought to spend the winter in a heated greenhouse, loggia or apartment. To decorate the garden plot, vegetative propagation of coleus is carried out in March.

Experienced growers prefer to root tops in water. A purchased root growth stimulator (Kornevin, Chlorella suspension) is added to it. Some growers speed up rooting with raw yeast (100g/l). The stalk is placed in yeast water for a day.

Roots appear quickly. Within a week, the lower part of the stem is covered with strong white roots. Cuttings for further rooting are planted in pots filled with a mixture of garden soil, sand and humus. In June, coleus can be planted in a flower bed.

Coleus in landscape design

The French were the first to appreciate the beauty of the Coleus. They actively used the plant to create garden compositions. The flower was appreciated by Russian masters of landscape design. The culture is used in combination with lilies, cannes, roses, and other flowers.

Dwarf varieties of nettles are planted in the flower beds. Bushes of Fireb, Ear of Nana do not exceed 30 cm. Their brightly colored leaves fill the space between companion flowers. The main goal of a landscape designer is to choose the right coleus of companions.

Burgundy tall roses look good against a background of light green foliage with a golden border. Nettle varieties with bright leaves are harmoniously combined in compositions with monochromatic decorative crops:

• cineraria;
• sage;
• grey fescue.

Colorful ampelous and undersized varieties are planted in beautiful flowerpots. They decorate secluded corners of the garden, terraces, patios. Coleus harmoniously looks in the landscape of any garden. Its beauty is that it is decorative throughout the summer. With the help of different varieties of coleus, gardeners create colorful compositions that resemble an oriental carpet in a pattern.

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