I recently planted the flowerbox the former tenent of my apartment put out
on the fire escape. One of the plants is (obviously) a 'Sedona' Coleus
Hybrid. Or at least that what was on the plastic tag stuck in the pot with
a picture of the plant on it. It's growing well with the limited light it
gets, and recently one of the plants has put out something that looks a bit
like the top of a stalk of wheat (only green) in two places. Is this the
start of a flower? I was told by the woman at the store it wouldn't flower.
Not that I'm complaining. I can't find anything about this on the web, so I
thought I'd try here.

Ken

yes, it's the flower spike. Pinch it out, so you'll have more branches of
colorful leaves. Coleus flower, which you don't want them to do. They're
grown for the beautiful leaves. To save some for next year, take cuttings
and root them in water thru winter and plant in soil come springtime. If you
let it flower, it will weaken and eventually kill the coleus.
madgardener

--
Humankind has not woven the web of life.
We are but one thread within it.
Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.
All things are bound together.
All things connect." Chief Seattle
"Ken" wrote in message
...
I recently planted the flowerbox the former tenent of my apartment put out
on the fire escape. One of the plants is (obviously) a 'Sedona' Coleus
Hybrid. Or at least that what was on the plastic tag stuck in the pot
with
a picture of the plant on it. It's growing well with the limited light it
gets, and recently one of the plants has put out something that looks a
bit
like the top of a stalk of wheat (only green) in two places. Is this the
start of a flower? I was told by the woman at the store it wouldn't
flower.
Not that I'm complaining. I can't find anything about this on the web, so
I
thought I'd try here.

Ken

"madgardener" wrote in message
...
yes, it's the flower spike. Pinch it out, so you'll have more branches of
colorful leaves. Coleus flower, which you don't want them to do. They're
grown for the beautiful leaves. To save some for next year, take cuttings
and root them in water thru winter and plant in soil come springtime. If
you
let it flower, it will weaken and eventually kill the coleus.
madgardener

I have let coleus grow into huge plants and let them bloom without killing
them - at least not before the frost gets them. I agree that pinching the
flowers is a good idea if you want them to be tidy. I couldn't recommend it
simply to keep the plant alive. In fact, I find that if you let them flower
and set seeds they will self-sow and return the next year here in zone 6. I
have to pinch them back to keep them from getting too large. I simply take
the cutting and strip off the lower leaves, poke a hole in the soil with my
finger, and plant them. They nearly always root. I have some in planters
on my deck that I am propagating that way this year.

I will try that next time! Thanks Vox!
maddie always willing to try new things.

--
Humankind has not woven the web of life.
We are but one thread within it.
Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.
All things are bound together.
All things connect." Chief Seattle
"Vox Humana" wrote in message
...

"madgardener" wrote in message
...
yes, it's the flower spike. Pinch it out, so you'll have more branches
of
colorful leaves. Coleus flower, which you don't want them to do. They're
grown for the beautiful leaves. To save some for next year, take
cuttings
and root them in water thru winter and plant in soil come springtime. If
you
let it flower, it will weaken and eventually kill the coleus.
madgardener

I have let coleus grow into huge plants and let them bloom without killing
them - at least not before the frost gets them. I agree that pinching the
flowers is a good idea if you want them to be tidy. I couldn't recommend
it
simply to keep the plant alive. In fact, I find that if you let them
flower
and set seeds they will self-sow and return the next year here in zone 6.
I
have to pinch them back to keep them from getting too large. I simply
take
the cutting and strip off the lower leaves, poke a hole in the soil with
my
finger, and plant them. They nearly always root. I have some in planters
on my deck that I am propagating that way this year.

On Thu, 05 Aug 2004 22:59:42 +0000, Vox Humana wrote:


"madgardener" wrote in message
...
yes, it's the flower spike. Pinch it out, so you'll have more branches of
colorful leaves. Coleus flower, which you don't want them to do. They're
grown for the beautiful leaves. To save some for next year, take cuttings
and root them in water thru winter and plant in soil come springtime. If
you
let it flower, it will weaken and eventually kill the coleus.
madgardener

I have let coleus grow into huge plants and let them bloom without killing
them - at least not before the frost gets them. I agree that pinching the
flowers is a good idea if you want them to be tidy. I couldn't recommend it
simply to keep the plant alive. In fact, I find that if you let them flower
and set seeds they will self-sow and return the next year here in zone 6. I
have to pinch them back to keep them from getting too large. I simply take
the cutting and strip off the lower leaves, poke a hole in the soil with my
finger, and plant them. They nearly always root. I have some in planters
on my deck that I am propagating that way this year.


Agreed! I LOVE coleus, they are SUPER EASY to start from cuttings, I do it
all the time. I plop them in moist potting soil and typically in 2-3 weeks
if they are still rigid they most likely took root.

"Tom Randy" wrote in message
news
On Thu, 05 Aug 2004 22:59:42 +0000, Vox Humana wrote:


"madgardener" wrote in message
...
yes, it's the flower spike. Pinch it out, so you'll have more branches
of
colorful leaves. Coleus flower, which you don't want them to do.
They're
grown for the beautiful leaves. To save some for next year, take
cuttings
and root them in water thru winter and plant in soil come springtime.
If
you
let it flower, it will weaken and eventually kill the coleus.
madgardener

I have let coleus grow into huge plants and let them bloom without
killing
them - at least not before the frost gets them. I agree that pinching
the
flowers is a good idea if you want them to be tidy. I couldn't
recommend it
simply to keep the plant alive. In fact, I find that if you let them
flower
and set seeds they will self-sow and return the next year here in zone
6. I
have to pinch them back to keep them from getting too large. I simply
take
the cutting and strip off the lower leaves, poke a hole in the soil with
my
finger, and plant them. They nearly always root. I have some in
planters
on my deck that I am propagating that way this year.


Agreed! I LOVE coleus, they are SUPER EASY to start from cuttings, I do it
all the time. I plop them in moist potting soil and typically in 2-3 weeks
if they are still rigid they most likely took root.

At first they tend to wilt for me because I just stick them in garden soil,
but they nearly always survive and grow.