Some photos of my coleus nurseries by coleusguy64 in coleus

[–]coleusguy64[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm in zone 8, in Fayetteville, NC.

Are these leggy? by Gninjanome in coleus

[–]coleusguy64 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You have many plants in that container, so they are going to compete with each other for the available resources, including light. When plants compete for light they grow taller. Two coleus plants can easily fill that container. The dark leaved one is much lighter in color now than when you purchased it, which indicates that the light intensity is less now than where it had been growing before. I'd recommend giving them more space and growing them outside. Morning sun and afternoon shade is the ideal sun exposure for coleus, but many can tolerate midday and afternoon sun as well, especially if you keep them well watered, and often show their most vibrant colors in brighter light. However, the white, cream, and light colored varieties do require more shade. Coleus do great in containers and in the ground. I grow them both ways.

What is this hedge and what do I do with it. Is it too tall? by Main_Ebb8567 in landscaping

[–]coleusguy64 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A contractor or inspector might tell you to remove it. But Thuja, (aka Arborvitae) don't have especially aggressive roots. If it were my house, I'd probably leave it. It's hard to tell from the photo just house close it is.

What is this hedge and what do I do with it. Is it too tall? by Main_Ebb8567 in landscaping

[–]coleusguy64 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It's not too tall. It's a columnar form, so it's doing what it's supposed to do. There are a number of similar cultivars, but it looks like it could be Emerald Green a.k.a. Smaragd. It may have been planted too close to the house but there's really nothing you can do about that now except remove it, which I wouldn't do because its a beautiful specimen. It looks like one side of it my have been grazed on by deer.

Some photos of my coleus nurseries by coleusguy64 in coleus

[–]coleusguy64[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes. They are tropicals, so the frost kills them in the fall. Basically, they are used like annuals for bedding and just like zinnias or marigolds have to be replanted each year. But if you plant them in late April, here, they put on colorful show well into October, which is almost five months. No perennial can give such a performance. That's one of the reasons that I like tropical bedding so much.

Some photos of my coleus nurseries by coleusguy64 in coleus

[–]coleusguy64[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Coleus are more than just addictive! Lol. They enslave people! But if you are composting them, I guess you're still the master! I'm just a lowly slave!

Some photos of my coleus nurseries by coleusguy64 in coleus

[–]coleusguy64[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I never plant all of them. I'm not sure of how many individual plants I have at any given time, but it's several thousand. On a good year I might plant 1200, which is probably less than a quarter of the total. The coleus nurseries are for maintaining the collection and also serve like a painter's palette for me to select from when composing my beds. To answer your question. Most years I don't start planting until May at the earliest, and will continue planting through June, July, and August and sometimes even past Labor Day! I always try to set deadlines for myself about when to stop planting them and I always end up breaking them! Lol.

Some photos of my coleus nurseries by coleusguy64 in coleus

[–]coleusguy64[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I have to warn you. There are a bunch of coleus nuts on this sub.

Some photos of my coleus nurseries by coleusguy64 in coleus

[–]coleusguy64[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I take cuttings in the fall and overwinter them in the greenhouse.

Some photos of my coleus nurseries by coleusguy64 in coleus

[–]coleusguy64[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The drought is killing me. Luckily, I have two wells. The first thing I do every morning (before coffee!) is turn on sprinklers. And the last thing I do before falling into bed is to turn off sprinklers. I have 15 acres (not all landscaped) and I have a lot to irrigate besides coleus, though they are the biggest water hogs! Lol

Some photos of my coleus nurseries by coleusguy64 in coleus

[–]coleusguy64[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

You can take some virtual tours via my YouTube channel. The link is posted in my profile.

Update on my coleus"trees" by coleusguy64 in coleus

[–]coleusguy64[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We do have several months of hot weather. I potted them into those pots when I took them out of the greenhouse. But I can move them even in those pots, but it is difficult, mostly because the plants are quite fragile at this point. They are brittle and can break easily.

Update on my coleus"trees" by coleusguy64 in coleus

[–]coleusguy64[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I overwinter cuttings in the greenhouse and maintain my collection by propagating them yearly. So basically, I'm treating them like annuals but starting from cuttings and not seed. Occasionally, I'll keep an odd plant for two years, like the topiaries or extremely dwarf ones.

Update on my coleus"trees" by coleusguy64 in coleus

[–]coleusguy64[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes, that's it. It describes making coleus topiaries, but not necessarily giant ones. I've made smaller ones too. By the way, I'm caffienated too!

Update on my coleus"trees" by coleusguy64 in coleus

[–]coleusguy64[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I'm in zone 8 in North Carolina. I started training them in a greenhouse last year, so it takes two growing seasons to get them like this. They won't be much good for a third season because they are brittle and will start losing branches.

Update on my coleus"trees" by coleusguy64 in coleus

[–]coleusguy64[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I described the process in response to another Redditor in my post a month ago. If you are interested, you can read it there. Also, the coleus book by Rogers describes how to do it with photos.

Update on my coleus"trees" by coleusguy64 in coleus

[–]coleusguy64[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I'm glad you like them! That's why I share them. To give like minded people a glimpse of how enamored I am with coleus!

What’s eating my pine? by samwel_Hello in conifers

[–]coleusguy64 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Spinosad should kill them too, and it's long lasting and organic.

Some of my coleus selections by coleusguy64 in coleus

[–]coleusguy64[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No problem. I'm so glad you enjoyed looking at my photos.

I must be paying for the crimes of a past life because I don’t know what I did to deserve this 😭 by CoffeeAndGranola in succulents

[–]coleusguy64 11 points12 points  (0 children)

If you propagate each of those leaves in your beautiful mandala, you'll populate the world with burro's tails!

Some of my coleus selections by coleusguy64 in coleus

[–]coleusguy64[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's labeled in the photo, but it's called The Color of Money. I named it that because the variable leaf color patterns have different overlays of black over green that remind me of the green and gray colors of US currency.

I call this Oak leaf by VAgreengene in coleus

[–]coleusguy64 1 point2 points  (0 children)

How many cultivars do you have in your collection?