Learn How to Grow Coleus from Cuttings easily and multiply this colorful annual to beautify your home and garden with serrated leaf shapes and patterns!
Also known as painted nettle, painted leaf, and flame nettle, Coleus is grown for patterned, fancy leaves in the beautiful yellow, pink, purple, white, copper, green, and maroon shades in summer and fall. Let’s have a look at How to Grow Coleus from Cuttings easily!
Find the best coleus varieties here
Things You Will Need to Propagate Coleus from Cuttings
You don’t need much to grow coleus from cuttings. All you need is:
- Glass Jar or Pot
- Potting Mix
- Water
- A Knife or Gardening Shears
Note: You can grow coleus both in water and soil. Rooting it in water is a straightforward process, but propagation in the soil is not difficult either.
How to Grow Coleus from Cuttings
- Select a healthy plant and pick a stem that looks plumpy and thick. Cut 3-6 inches long stem cuttings just below the node, using a sharp shear.
- If you live in a colder region, take cuttings when the weather is warm, and the nighttime temperature is more than 50 F (10 C), ideally above 60 F (15 C).
- Leave only the top set of leaves intact and remove the lower foliage.
- Coleus plants root easily and don’t require rooting hormone, but if you are using it, coat the cut ends in a commercial rooting hormone or use cinnamon powder and plant it in a pot filled with a potting mix.
- Water well and cover the pot with a plastic lid or bag to entrap the moisture in the air.
- You can also use pure sand as a growing medium. Just keep the sand slightly moist all the time when propagating coleus cuttings in it.
- Keep the pot where it gets bright indirect daylight. Exposure to gentle morning is favorable!
- In optimum weather conditions, coleus cuttings will form roots in just a week, but it can take up to 2-3 weeks.
- Keeping the temperature between 60 and 90 F (16-32 C) will speed up the process.
Growing Coleus in Water
Keeping coleus in jars and vases filled with water is also a great way to display its beauty on tabletops, shelves, and windowsills. The process of taking cuttings is the same as described above. Just make sure it gets indirect, bright light and change the water once every 3-5 days.
And one more thing–Place the cuttings in a jar filled with non-chlorinated water.
Coleus After-Care Tips
The roots will develop in 1-2 weeks. You can then transplant the cuttings outdoors in the garden in partial sun or complete shade.
But remember, the more sun it gets, the more vivid it’s going to be. However, coleus is a shade-loving plant and must not be exposed to the afternoon sun, especially in hot climates.
After the plant is developed, speed up the growth by using a general-purpose, 10-10-10 feed.
Feed the new plant after 2-3 weeks, once it develops root, after diluting it to 1/4 of its required strength.
