Well, the weather conditions are better lately, and although the daily temperature is far from being in the outdoor gardening range, it’s an improvement over the last few months of heavy snowfall and bitter cold. And because of the more tolerable levels, my husband and I have slowly, ever so slowly, started to resume our lengthy walks after supper. Even so, not all our evening strolls have been warm and fuzzy; on a few nights we’ve had to brave bone-chilling winds and temperatures that were close to freezing. But we plough ahead bravely anyway because we’ve been stuck indoors for so long that the slightest indication of decent weather has us scrambling to the great outdoors. We may not be happy about the cold and wind but at least it’s milder than it was a month or two ago, and it’s nothing that a little extra padding won’t take care of.

Just a few days ago, as we headed towards a coffee shop, me with my hood over my head to keep the bitter wind from numbing my brain, my husband stopped, threw back his head and pointed to the sky. “Look” He said “There they are” I looked up and got my first glimpse this year of one of my favourite spring events – the return of the Canadian Geese. They are easily recognized by the telltale v-formation of the flock as they fly overhead and their enthusiastic ‘honking’, which can be quite substantial, especially when they’re all yapping at the same time. Every fall, as they’re flying over my home on their way south, they wake me up at 5:00 - 5:30 in the morning (they usually leave so darn early) with their collective ‘honking’. That’s how loud they can be. But I don’t mind. The minute I become aware of them, I jump out of bed and race to the nearest window to catch a glimpse of one of nature’s most spectacular shows. I also stand at the window sulking about how lucky they are to be headed to warmer regions as the winter is headed my way. Sigh.

Anyhow, that night during our walk I never would have caught a glimpse of the geese flying right above us if it hadn’t been for my husband pointing them out because, basically, I never heard them as they went by. At first I thought the hood over my head muffled their sounds, but that’s a little ridiculous since their steady chorus of boisterous ‘honking’ penetrates the walls of my home easily. So it wasn’t that at all. The fact in the matter is that I never heard them because they were so uncharacteristically quiet. They were, more or less, completely silent, aside from the occasional, single ‘honk’ that one of them made. And even that was feeble.

My husband blamed it on the cold temperatures still lurking in April. “Well, there you have it.” He said. “Even the geese are depressed about the weather; they certainly don’t look happy to be back. They remind me of a family whose faces all suddenly go grim when they arrive at their vacation destination and realize that it’s not quite up to par with what’s advertised in the brochure.”

Ain’t that the truth.

I could just hear the flock telling the goose responsible for travel arrangements: “Way to go Charlie. Let’s get a head start, you said, the weather should be nice and warm now. We have to hurry, you said, so we can beat the rush and get the primo spots at the lake. Well, the $%@%# lake is a skating rink, the temperatures suck and it looks like we’ll be building our nests in snow banks. We could’ve still been basking in the southern sun, but nooooo, we had to hurry here to freeze our %@%# tail feathers off. Nice going bonehead.”

Hey, I hear you guys; I hate winter too. And I wouldn’t feel like honking either.

Having been reminded once again of how long and dismal the winters are here, courtesy of the Canadian geese, the next morning (when I woke up to cloudy skies and chilly temperatures), I decided to take a drive over to the local greenhouses near my home to check out what’s going on in the plant world. And to pick up my spirits. Hey, I needed an emotional boost; if the birds can get down about the weather, so can I.

I did not buy any plants but I did pick up a packet of Coleus seeds, which will make for an interesting project. And no, I’m not going to write about starting these plants from seed; I’m going to write about how to care for them once they’re grown.


Caring For Coleus As A Houseplant

Years ago, way before I’d ever personally seen any of these plants, I read about them in one of my favourite books (The Houseplant Expert) where the author (Dr. D.G. Hessayon) writes that “Coleus is sometimes called the poor man’s Croton”. He goes on to state that Coleus is sometimes referred to in that manner “because it matches and even surpasses its stately rival in the brightness and colour range of its foliage, and it does this at a fraction of the cost”. Considering that the photos in the book are not that interesting and really don’t do these plants any justice, I did not agree with the writer - until I finally ran across some Coleus at a local greenhouse.

Coleus boasts vibrantly-coloured, variegated leaves available in a wide range of colours (green, pink, red, purple, yellow, cream) and leaf forms (oval, crinkled, ruffled). The plants are quite versatile and can be grown any which way you want. You can treat them as tender annuals (very common in my neck of the woods) and simply discard them when summer comes to an end. You can grow them outdoors when the weather is warm and then move them inside when the temperatures start to drop in the fall. Or you can simply treat them as houseplants year round. In addition to their versatility, they are much easier to grow than the fussy and demanding Coleus, they don’t cost as much and they grow fairly quickly.

There are so many different plants in this group and so many different names given by different greenhouses for the same plants that it’s difficult to distinguish between them. In addition, in older sources of plant information, you may find the botanical name listed as Coleus Blumei, but in more recent books and online sites, the plants are referred to as Solenostemon Scutellarioides. So I’m not going to make a list of plants or get too specific with naming conventions. To simplify this article (and to keep it at a reasonably length), I’m just going to use the term Coleus all the way through.

That’s that, so we’ll move along.

Coleus is grown for its colourful, stunning foliage but it requires ideal conditions to maintain that charming look. It’s best to heed this advice because a poorly grown Coleus is very unattractive. You can grow any one of these plants indoors as long as you are able to provide enough light and adequate humidity.

Plenty of light is needed – including some direct sun - for the leaves to retain their impressive colours and for the plant to retain its compact, bushy form. Choose a location that offers bright, filtered light; protect against the summer’s hot midday sun, which can fade the leaves. Coleus will flourish in the full morning sun of an eastern windowsill, the indirect sun of a southern location or the late afternoon sun of a western spot. When given proper amounts of light, the foliage will remain colourful.

Use a well-draining, porous soil and water plentifully during the spring and summer seasons whenever the surface of the soil fees dry. The plant should be kept evenly moist at all times; it will drop leaves if the medium dries out. Check on your plant daily if it’s growing in a warm, sunny room. During the winter, when the plant is resting, keep it barely moist but don’t allow it to dry out completely. You can convert your plant easily to the hydroculture system; just rinse the roots free of soil and pot them up in clay pellets. You can also take cuttings, root them in water and start new plants, which is also a very quick and effective method. And your options don’t end there; Coleus is so flexible that you can grow this plant immersed in water permanently once new roots form; make sure to change the water regularly to provide the root system with adequate air.

High levels of humidity are just as essential as high levels of light to keep this plant in good shape. If your home does not offer enough humidity naturally, remedy the situation by adding a humidifier nearby, by placing the plant on a pebble tray filled with water, by double-potting and filling the spaces in between the containers with moist peat, by grouping plants together to form a microclimate with higher humidity, by growing the plant in a room naturally higher in humidity (bathroom) or by growing it in a greenhouse (if you are fortunate enough to have one). For more information: Improving Humidity

Average household temperatures are fine. Many resources recommend that you do not expose this plant to temperatures below 10°C (50°F), but I suggest that you do not expose a Coleus to temperatures below 15°C (59°F). You can grow Coleus outside during the warmer months after the danger of frost in your region has passed. These plants are very cold sensitive and temperatures, day and night, should not be below 15°C / 59°F if you decide to move them outside. In addition, the transition to the great outdoors should be done gradually for greater success. For more information: The Great Outdoors

If you are growing your plant in soil, the care conditions are ideal and your plant is growing vigorously, feed it every two weeks from March to September with a fertilizer for foliage plants measured at half strength. If you are practicing the hydroculture style, use a fertilizer specific to that, follow the manufacturer’s directions and feed in spring and summer; reduce the amount to 1/2 or 1/3 strength if the plant is growing slowly. If you use a product that is not specific to hydroculture, reduce the amount to 1/10^th and feed about once a month. If you are growing your plants directly in water, I would recommend that you feed them with a very mild solution as well; 1/10^th recommended dose of liquid fertilizer 3 or 4 times during the active growing season should be fine. No matter what growing method you are using, if your plant is not growing at all or it is not healthy, eliminate feeding entirely until the situation is remedied. Do not feed during the winter when the plant is resting. Also, bear in mind that the above recommendations on feeding are very general. When and how much to feed is dependent on many factors; adjust the amounts according to the vitality of your plant and its feeding requirements.

Although Coleus is a rival to the aristocratic Croton in many ways, it falls short in others. For example, its splendor is short-lived and plants need to be replaced regularly by new ones if you want to continue to grow a particular specimen. Even though a Coleus declines as it ages, and its colours fade, it’s a fast-growing plant that roots easily, so new stock can be raised from cuttings indefinitely. Older specimens should be pinched and pruned to promote bushy, compact growth.



Coleus adds a splash of colour to the indoors, and it is a lot of fun to grow. Thanks to the Canadian Geese for inspiring me to take a trip to my local greenhouses, I should have an assortment of these plants gracing my home before long. Hopefully the seeds I’ve sowed, which should germinate in 7 – 10 days, will sprout and lead to some lovely specimens.

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