Someone help please! I bought this "Dappled Apple" coleus a few weeks ago and it was beautiful. It got a little dry and now it seems to be killing itself off. It has lost most of its leaves and its very limp. The base is still solid and strong but nothing else is. Is there any recovery for this plant? I have seven different varieties of coleus and I've never had this much trouble. I've kept it inside since the kansas sun is like a torch. I just don't know what to do. Here are before and after pix. Thanks, Becky
Looks pretty awful alright. Where I live, coleus is an outdoor annual. Usually when an annual dries out 'a bit', it just gets a crisp around the edges. This looks like more than a dry out problem, or it dried out a lot more than you realized. I would cut it back to a pair of buds fairly far down the stem. That's about all you can do with that kind of plant in that kind of condition.
coleus is grown as an outdoor annual in Arkansas too. I would put it outside. It thrives in our hot, full sun, just keep it watered.
Up here, coleus is put in sun/shade with the emphasis on shade, and we're considered to have cooler summers. What's the deal?
I agree with Chester, cut it down and keep it well watered but not soggy. You can put it outside just protect it from the hot sun during the afternoons. They have to have some sun in order to retain their leaf coloring. Too much shade and they revert to all green. I have my Coleus on the east side of the house. They get several hours of sun in the mornings and are shaded for the hottest part of the day, they're doing great.
I have used the 'Black Dragon', 'Wizard Mix', and 'Kiwi' a lot in full sun mixed with other full-sun annuals and they get about 2 1/2 feet tall and very bushy and produce their spikey flowers. They are under irrigation so they have constant watering. I have never had any problems with them burning or anything. They also do great in containers.
I think it may be a goner. The base is turning black from the dirt up. It was such a pretty baby too. I have it outside on my patio that only gets morning sun so hopefully things will turn around. I think I watered it too much after it got dry. Live and learn, I guess. Thanks for all your advice! ~Becky
tigerstail21 I think you solved your own problem. Your potting soil appears to be high in peat content and, of coarse, it can hold large quantities of water. In that we have no time frame from overdry to watered to present time, it may be a case of 'once burned, twice shy' and you have been a little too faithful about watering. It happens. Sorry, don't know where Becky came from, a few distractions on my end.
