there were long discusions about how to preserve coleus through the winter.
beside collecting my own seeds i would like to try an experiment....
i have a 30 litre container with dying 4 different coleuses(whos seeds i have collected for next year.....my question is since i see here and there small little leaves sending signs of life i feel like cutting above these leaves wich are very close to the surface taking off rotten stems and leaving the whole root system as it is under the ground and give a nice layer of some dry potting soil to protect from cold weather to relocate to a warmer place and stop watering till spring.how does it sound?

Sounds like just what you said, David. An experiment. They may or may not make it depending upon how cold it gets. Keep them in the warmest possible place - maybe you have a south-facing wall that collects the day's sun? Or a spot against a glass door that will give them some heat through the glass?

I wouldn't let them dry out completely, though. Every week or two you should brush back the dry potting soil you're using as your insulating mulch, and dampen the growing medium. If you let the plants dessicate completely they will die for sure.

thanks again
it sounds like the care of dahlias but with addition of light watering.....as i am writing. a thouhgt came to my mind can i take some out with the roots and wrap them up with a dry cloth.and once in a while spray the roots with water and then wrap the roots back again with a cloth?

I save many Coleus (as cuttings in a jar of water, and as potted plants with roots already) inside for winter. Not all of them love the spots where I can put them, but I lose very few. Well worth doing.

That's right, cuttings are really the best way to carry over your coleus from one season to the next. I've kept coleus cuttings in a jar of water for literally months. Last winter I took cuttings to my daughter's house in Salt Lake City, and she kept them going on a windowsill for at least 2 months.

The difference between coleus and dahlias is that the dahlias have stored moisture and food for the dormant period in their tubers. That's why you can store them dry and they will survive. Coleus don't have any storage. You have to keep them alive and growing very slowly.

i got the difference thanks
my coleuses in jars are already dying off from cold/\.