I love coleus, too, Helen. I planted some in my window box. The first year I tried to keep pinching the flowers so the leaves would get bigger and thicker. Went away for a month to visit my folks and hubby was not too good about the pinching thing...when I came back home there were flowers galore and would have pinched them except I noticed the hummingbirds were swarming them...Left them after that and what a surprise I had the next year when I found out they had reseeded themselves! Guess not cleaning out the fall leaves, and my windows leaking warm air on them all winter gave them a nice winter bed to sleep in ...

I always wondered if they truly were sunfast. They are beautiful.

Will you be taking cuttings inside to winter over?

Do yours come back each year Hellen?
I am with miss four seasons. Mine were so small looking I never tried them again.
Maybe with a heavy mulch they may come back thicker?
My dusty miller does. I mulch heavy after they get that first zap of cold. I cut them down and then pull mulch pack first thing in the spring before the rains start. Has worked for 4 years now.
Bonnie

I take cuttings of the sun coleus and keep them inside over winter. They don't like temps under 50. In spring I take cuttings of those. I put them outside about the same time as impatients. The shade coleus are too cheap to mess with. I buy them in 4 or 6 packs in spring. I like the odd wavy ones and I have fun picking the colors I like. Both are easier for me to grow in big pots - I have tree roots and rocky soil and digging dogs. A few have had something eating the leaves, but usually bugs are no problem. I use Miracle Grow a few times a summer on everything in pots, but I don't really need to do that.

Bonnie: Pinch them, give them Miracle Grow, keep the soil moist and give them a nice airy potting soil and you should get some big plants. In the Ozarks summer, keep them in a shaded area so full sun doesn't hit them...They'll give you some big leaves...

Have you tried growing caldiums? I had lots of pleasure from those as well and just a colorful.

Thanks Missfourseasons.
I may try them again next year.
I have used caldium. I have them in w/my hosta.
Bonnie

I could go crazy on caladiums if I could keep them through the winter for sure. I am going to try again lost some last winter.

I expecially like the third picture. They are so pretty! I didn't know that you put coleus in the sun. Is is a special variety? I would love to have them in my garden out front, because they have so much color. Great pictures.
Ann

Helen: Even here on Guam caladiums go through a rest period. Then, all of a sudden they come jumping out of the ground. In MO, you would have to dig up the bulbs and store them over winter. Never tried doing a heavy mulch on them like elephant ears, so who knows...it might work, but just in case, dig up some of the bulbs anyway...

Sun coleus are found in 3 or 4 inch pots in garden centers in spring. They are about $4 each. They get bigger than the shade coleus. If you google them you will see there are many many choices. I like dipt in wine. They have different growth habits. I collect them, but over wintering in my basement gets to be a chore if I have very many plants. They get ratty by spring. I think caladiums really like it warm. I kept my caladiums in the basement last winter. Some of them got mold and others rotted. A few survived. I kept a sweet potato (ornamental kind) dry in a plastic shoe box. It survived. I think I had the caladiums in peat moss. I may try the caladiums in plastic shoe boxes. They are s l o w to get started in the spring. Some of the rotting happen when I tried to grow them in my basement under lights.