The 2010-2011 Overwintering Coleus Project Begins…

Posted on October 20, 2010 by joelignacio

We got the first rain a few days ago… and it’s starting to get a little bit cooler… so that means I have to start thinking about getting cuttings from my Coleus to overwinter. To tell you the truth, I don’t like overwintering my Coleus because it’s a lot of work and it take up room in my bedroom (and I don’t have that much room to spare). I use to have a lots of window space at work (see photo below), but since I quit, I am force to keep all my cuttings at home.

Overwintering Coleus at Work

The first few years I used 3″ pots, which worked well… but I had to water them alot. Below is a photo from 2006-2007.

Overwintering Coleus (Week 1 - Dec 1, 2006)

I then discovered clear plastic domes which helped retain moisture and keeping the flying bugs out… but it was a chore to water or take care of them because I had to slide the tray off the selves then remove the dome every time I need to do something. Below is a photo from 2008-2009.

Overwintering Coleus

Last winter I decided not to use the 3″ pots. Instead I used coir pellets (similar to peat pellets) and I placed them to cell-packs to hold them upright. It worked okay, but they dried out easily because they pellet were small.

This year, I want to try something a little bit different.

I liked using the pellets, but I need something bigger, so searched online and found Super Sized Jiffy Peat Pellets (from a seller on eBay) which are about 2 inches in diameter and expand to almost 4 inches tall. That’ll be plenty big enough for the cuttings.

I want to place each pellet and cutting in its own pot instead of cell packs which made each plant hard to move around separately. I want pots that are narrow (about 2 inches in diameter) and about 4 inches tall. I’ve used 9 oz. plastic cups in the past that are about the right size, but I don’t have enough. Additionally, I don’t want drainage hole and my old ones all have holes… so I searched online and found some NatureWorks PLA 9 oz. drinking cups that are biodegradable and compostable!!!… They also have lids for these, so I’m going to try that to help retain moisture without using the plastic tray domes.

So I think I’ll be set once I get these in the mail. I hope my plan works and I have healthy Coleus for next year.

Also posted on Folia Folia
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  • http://ronypony.blogspot.com Jennifer in MamaLand

    PLEASE post a picture once your setup is together… I need to see this because it sounds great.
    I don’t have quite this volume of cuttings, but I want them to not die this year. We’re in Toronto, so it’s a long, cold winter indoors, and last year, many succumbed to rot, damp, and cold (even indoors, I don’t like to blast the heat). :-o

  • http://www.joelignacio.com joelignacio

    Jennifer in MamaLand, I definitely will post photos once I get the supplies. I think they should arrive early next week. I actually can’t wait to take cuttings now :)

  • Pingback: My New Method of Overwintering Coleus… | joeysplanting

  • http://www.joelignacio.com joelignacio

    Jennifer in Mamaland, I finally started taking my Coleus cutting and wrote up the steps I did with photos :)

    http://www.joeysplanting.com/2010/11/08/my-new-method-of-overwintering-coleus/