I have some now that I potted in the hopes of getting a new plant. This is the second time I have tried it. All the leaves rotted after potting the first time. Just checked and all from this try rotted too. I don't know if I left them in water too long, kept them too wet after potting, or too dry. I'm going to try starting some in soil. Never hurts to try and normally I throw away the big leaves away.

hey girl ...

water roots often fail on transplant..

i used to put cuttings in water.. and when i saw 1/16th inch root nodes.. i would then pot them in damp media.. and put a one gal storage bag over.. to tent in humidity ...

never failed ...

i dont understand your comment you potted them to bring them in .... it doesnt surprise me those would fail ...

with coleus .. you should have about 100% success on rooting.. once you get the right procedure ...

as to purple.. who knew.. i used to do that with african violets .. go figure ...

ken

purple, if you CAN get this little leaf to live...I wonder if it will grow a new stem? In other words, have you rooted a leaf that will remain a leaf and never a whole plant. Most plants are programed that way.

Begonias and african violets are two examples of plants which we can make new plants from with just leaf tissue. I don't believe that coleus has the genetics for it.

The fact that a single little leaf grows roots is kind of a testament to how easy coleus are to root. I agree with Ken that they are pretty much fool proof when rooted in a good potting mix.

i bet.. the issue will be .. whether there is/was .. any microscopic stem tissue ... rather than just leaf tissue.. and that MIGHT be the defining point as to whether or not plants will develop ...

keep us posted

ken

Hello to all! I am new here, actually just now! LOL I have greatly valued all the information shared on this site. I will be going to my first plant swap this year 2012 (Henry Horton Park) Can't wait, especially since Santa did not bring me 'Spring' like I asked!
About Coleus... if I cut the leaves off I generally get no roots; if I pull the leaves off I get roots and new shoots or leaflets that turn into a new plant. Coleus will sprout new leaflets at the base of the leaf stem, which in turn become a new branch.( If I want the branch to grow faster to even up a plant I pull that leaf off when these leaflets present themselves and plant the leaf for another plant.) So, stem tissue is probably the determining factor. I don't keep the leaves anymore though. It is so easy to just take a stem at the end of the season and cut it up into pieces with just one set of leaves on it and bunch them all in a small jar of water to root. Once roots get long you can keep them here all winter and nip the tops or cut off 3/4 of the roots, nip the top and pot up. Keep nipping the tops to keep reasonable size until you can plant out in the spring. Being leggy isn't so bad if you have them in a hanging pot at a sunny window for the winter. Then just chop them in pieces right before time to plant out in the Spring and bunch in water to root again. Just remember to cut 1/2 to 3/4 of the roots before planting.
Mine get waist high in my flowerbed and almost as wide. I keep the flower stalks pinched off.
I started off with a packet of mixed Coleus one spring and dumped the whole thing into a take out salad tray with dirt (maybe an inch deep)LOL!!! It looked like a miniature jungle (2-3 inches tall) I took out what colors I wanted and planted them in my beds and gave some away. At the end of the season I still had quite a few left in that little starter tray and no more than 3-4 inches tall! Bonsai... The ones in the flowerbeds were 3ft tall! Go figure...
Like I said, I am new here and don't know how to post pics and it is late. But I will figure this out tomorrow in case anyone is interested in pics.

hey wild wood.. welcome ...

you should allow email from your members page .. i could have sent the link below directly to you ...

i hope you come back here.. to see the tutorial at the link below ...

unless your pix are directly related to rooting/propagation from leaves .. i suggest you may get a larger audience in the annual forum.. but be clear.. i care not where you post .. just start posting.. winter is dead here .. and we need entertainment ...

the other beauty of doing your own post.. is that replies to your pix.. come to your email ... as compared to the person in this post ...

good luck

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link

Hi ken_adrian,
Thanks for the link, it really helped as I have found out how to add photos everywhere but to a post like this. Overlooking it I'm sure.
I did get my page somewhat set up and members can e-mail me now.
I have been searching my 'Gazillion' photos trying to find just the leafstem sprout ones, but am not having much luck. I have found the end result pics of those leafstem sprouts but they really don't clarify how the new plant came to be as the original leaf had already dissipated and was replace by the new plant. Anyway, for me not knowing any better, leaves popped off the stem close (kind of fat on the end) did sprout new plants that looked just like seeded ones only grew faster. LOL Threaded on a thread and dangled just touching water in a jar. Neat experiment but so easy just to do the other methods I wrote about above.
Thanks again, I am off to see if I can at least load a pic to here from my Flicker account.

Picture

the small one above was from a leaf
Tray of seeds below

Wow these pics are big... will do smaller? next time

So, back to original post ... it has been long enough (based on my own experience that is) did you just get roots or is the plantlet forming? Inquiring minds want to know... LOL

Hi Wild. Love your pics, thanks for sharing them.

What's been said about the necessity of having a bit of stem attached to the petiole is probably accurate. Unfortunately, mine did not, and it has died. It made a lot of roots before finally giving up and, in its' defense, I left it in the cup of water. It was beautiful for quite a while. Luckily, I have many cuttings from the same plant that grew this huge leaf.

Here we are again...

I took these pics just before potting this up a couple days ago. When it dies or grows something, will post again.

i hope you tented it ...

ken

That is one FINE looking rooted leaf, purple! :-) Wonder how long you can keep it alive? Keep us posted, girl. Have you named it, yet?

Man, it's so humid here, I think it would just rain if tented - LOL!

Thanks, Rhizo! No names unless/until it does something more than make roots.

Here's the mama:

It's making HUGE leaves this year!

{{gwi:256278}}

I completely forgot about the "bit of stem attached" thing until re-reading just now, so I went out and pulled this one, instead of cutting. Wonder if it will make any difference?

For now, the one from the other day looks good in its' pot, hope it can grow faster than it gets eaten. Two others are now keeping him company, moved to porch where hopefully whatever is munching can't find them.

The suspense is... suspenseful!

The 2 new ones before potting yesterday, and the other one:

Well so far the only sign of one of these leaves (and there are MORE now) making new leaves is this one, pictured last post with "bit of stem."

Ok here's the last pics before I potted these. Hope you enjoyed the ride, I know I did.

Same plants), different angle.

All it takes is a few plant stem cells for new shoots to begin to grow. The petiole will grow roots, but no shoots. Your petiole is attached to a little bit of stem tissue, probably because you pulled it off instead of cutting it sharply.