Coleus Bonsai

[Franco]

Hey guys. I go to college in eastern Maine. I believe I'm still considered zone 5.

I took a bunch of plants up to school including a couple coleus. I did a presentation on asexual propagation and couldn't bring myself to throw my example out.

My question is, could I bonsai a coleus indoors in Maine? He just rooted and we're approaching mid-fall. Can coleus even be kept over the winter?

I'm 20 and I really want to start a bonsai now that I can keep for a long long time.

[TomM]

Franco,

I'm sorry - coleus will not make good bonsai material.
I'm even sorrier that I can't explain why. That will be left to other bonsai fanciers with a more solid background in horticulture.
Don't get me wrong. I've seen 'bonsai' made from dandelions and even poison ivy. Just for laughs.
I would much rather have you get into real bonsai. Just my opinion.
You're young and adventurous. Learn all you can about what bonsai is, and isn't. Enjoy the ride!

Tom

[Franco]

Thanks a lot. Honestly I'm probably going to try it anyway

I work in the sustainability department at my school and one of my jobs is to sort the recycling. One day I found about 7 seed packets, one being viburnum. Now I KNOW you can bonsai a viburnum!!

[TomM]

Have some fun.
Your project deserves some attention. Share photos with us. We will be an attentive audience (class).

BTW - I see you've been posting now for some 5 1/2 years. You must be really into this growing stuff. Glad you are sticking with it - and getting a good education. Hope your intrigue in bonsai continues to thrive. Got 'future plans' in a particular field?

[tomc]

One day I found about 7 seed packets, one being viburnum. Now I KNOW you can bonsai a viburnum!!

Mmm viburnums covers a lotta biome. Lest I sound disparaging, and I am a chump for trying most anything woody, that would grow on my old home range (NH), or my new residence (OH). And being partial to start woody plants from seed, you do understand dried woody plant seeds, are at best problematic.

Still, you reside where upland blueberry litters every bank from Kittery to Houlton. Dig a couple of them and overwinter them out doors.

If you're feeling prankish, sweetfern grows a palmate serated (leaf) low bush, let the proff's figure iut what its not...

[kdodds]

Coleus would be more of a curiosity or accent plant than a true bonsai, like some Begonias and Geraniums. You CAN "bonsai it" through jusdicious pruning and potting, but it will never be a tree, or even look like a tree. As well, I've never tried to keep Coleus indoors year round, so I can't say whether or not it will survive. AFAIK, it's an annual.

[Franco]

BTW - I see you've been posting now for some 5 1/2 years. You must be really into this growing stuff. Glad you are sticking with it - and getting a good education. Hope your intrigue in bonsai continues to thrive. Got 'future plans' in a particular field?

Yes I am very interested and have been since my biology teacher inspired me sophomore year of high school (when I made this account). I have a perennial garden, a fruits and veggie garden, a pseudo rooftop garden (The window in my bedroom is very large and leads out to a slightly sloped roof.. with the shingles on) that cacti and succulents do really well on, my room is PACKED with plants and this year I really went all out with potted plants on my deck. I love all of it, I'm about to make terrariums out of mason jars in my dorm room.

I will definitely post pictures.

Plans in this field... hm.... No, none that I can see, but there is a path at least. I'm majoring in ecology right now (they got rid of horticulture the year I arrived!!!) because I think it's really interesting, but I'm only using this program to help me refine what I really want to do. In the long run I want to be a teacher, but I don't want to be molding the fragile minds of thousands of kids without loads of life experiences first.

Mmm viburnums covers a lotta biome. Lest I sound disparaging, and I am a chump for trying most anything woody, that would grow on my old home range (NH), or my new residence (OH). And being partial to start woody plants from seed, you do understand dried woody plant seeds, are at best problematic.

Still, you reside where upland blueberry litters every bank from Kittery to Houlton. Dig a couple of them and overwinter them out doors.

If you're feeling prankish, sweetfern grows a palmate serated (leaf) low bush, let the proff's figure iut what its not... Wink

I've never started a woody plant from seed so I'm really excited about it. Do you think it'd be wrong to germinate it now, in October, indoors, since it's not going to go outside until next spring/summer anyway?

I'm pretty sure 90% of America's blueberries come from the state of Maine haha. They are everywhere, including up Mt. Blue that I hiked this summer.

There a lot of Ostrich ferns, NY ferns, and sweet ferns around here. I'm pretty sure two of the three I just mentioned are the same thing. I'm sure some of the professors here would like to see me grow "sweet ferns"

Coleus would be more of a curiosity or accent plant than a true bonsai, like some Begonias and Geraniums. You CAN "bonsai it" through jusdicious pruning and potting, but it will never be a tree, or even look like a tree. As well, I've never tried to keep Coleus indoors year round, so I can't say whether or not it will survive. AFAIK, it's an annual.

Being an annual or perennial is subjective to what temperatures the plant can tolerate. Even if plants are annuals, I'm pretty sure you can A. Keep them in their juvenile stage by pruning and B. Prevent senescence by pinching off flower buds before they are pollinated and start to set seed. If that's all true, I should be able to keep a coleus alive for at least a few years indoors, given that I'm paying a lot of attention to it. Sounds like another project to me. I would really like to see a woody coleus!!! I'm sure you guys would too.

[rainbowgardener]

Coleus is tender perennial. It's often grown as an annual in cold climate, but I over winter mine indoors and have had some several years old. They do always seem to give out after awhile, so I wouldn't count on having one for decades like you might with a tree bonsai. My coleus (not bonsai'd or pruned much) do go outdoors for the warm season all the time. I think they would at least need supplemental light if you were to have it indoors all the time.

[Franco]

Awesome, thanks rainbowgardener for verifying. Do you have any advice on overwintering them? Is there anything I need to do differently?

[rainbowgardener]

Mine are in containers, which I just bring in. I cut the plants back a little, maybe a third or so, just so there's less foliage to try to support, and water less. Since I don't have any really sunny windows, I do have some supplemental light on them. Don't fertilize through the winter.

[Franco]

Thanks a ton this is really helpful.