I'm going to be receiving some coleus next week from a new friend in Florida! This was perfect timing...thanks Allison!

Becky
Coleus Lover

good... best of luck with them.. post some progress photos!!!

Fantabulous article dear onewish Thanks for the tip about wetting the polymer crystals before using them

I might mention-
High humidity can help a lot, and we have plenty of that here in summer. If your ambient humidity is low, using a humidity dome or putting the cuttings in plastic bags can help a lot. You'll have to put them in shade though so they don't burn. And as long as they're enclosed you won't have to water often.

When I start cuttings inside the house in winter (actually, fall thru spring) I have to use domes because the inside air is so dry.


Karen

Karen, that's a cool set up. I may need to start them in side in my studio....Phoenix is hot for another couple of months. Then it's just warm.

good point Karen.. in the summer I don't use a dome.. in winter inside I do

Our humidity when I got up this morning was 95%. High temp today will be 90*. In this weather I can just pinch off a stem of coleus, poke a hole in the ground, and stick a stem in the ground (as Allison described with coir in a pot). As long as the cutting doesn't get too much sun for the first couple of days, it will root. Often I put a pot of plants in front of it to give it shade.

It doesn't get any easier than that.

Karen

sometimes I pinch ... and toss the piece on the ground.. and once in a while I get lucky and some root on there own

Karen, where did you get those domes? that looks like a great setup.
We're dry year round here. i've been using construction plastic and I'm ready for something that doesn't get static.

I love those tall ones!

I buy them at locally at Worm's Way. I guess it's basically a hydroponic store but they also sell soil mixes, plant lighting, a lot of organic ferts, lots of neat things.
http://wormsway.com/detail.asp...

They're nice domes- nice and tall at 7" and they have two adjustable vents on the top for moisture/air control.

Karen

I must see if I can find similar domes. I have put in cuttings of about 5 other cultivars today that I have found in gardens around the island. I will photograph them once they get going. Allison, I do the same when clipping the plants - just throw the clippings on the ground. I get quite a few striking too. Unfortunately the grasshoppers just love coleus. I have a plague of green longhorn grasshoppers at the moment.

ugh that doesn't sound fun