My unheated greenhouse gets down to an average nighttime temperature of about 50 degrees. I have not been able to keep coleus over the winter. I tried three years in a row, and gave up. Al

I gave up too. I thought perhaps a rooted cutting done in September may have had a better chance?

iris gal That is the way I tried them. They lasted longer, but not long enough. Al

I am not even sure coleus can live indoors in the winter. The air inside the house is too dry. The best way is a heated green house like for orchids.

I take cuttings and leave them in water (in the house) over the winter. In early spring, I'll plant the rooted cuttings in containers and then plant them in the ground in the late spring. Its been working for me for several years.

Ok callistoga. That will save me a futile experiment!

erela,
do you change the water regularly, or top it off? How many months are they in water? Do you add diluted fertilizer? TIA

The last two years I have grown my coleus from seed. Half of them I start too early and cannot keep them alive, the rest do fine. They are in four inch pots right now, having been transplanted from the cell packs where the seed was planted. I bought about 6 varieties from Hazzard Wholesale Seeds two years ago and they seem to be as viable as ever. I have plenty for next year, so will see how well they hold up in storage. Al

Thanks everyone. I never imagined there would be so much interest in getting them to make it across winter!

I guess that is what I'd do : take a cutting and get it to survive indoors. I would also try several places like bathroom window and kitchen etc; let me check if I can get them to survive.

Keep up the discussion! It has been very interesting and enlightening!

I usually change the water but sometimes I just top it off. They can be in water for many months. I don't add any fertilizer to the water. They don't seem to be very finicky.

I have wintered over my Coleus the last two years in an unheated greenhouse, the trick being to have them in 4" pots on a heat mat.

Chad