Can You Use Coleus in Hanging Baskets?

Plant Selection

• Purchase a young coleus plant in a nursery or garden center. Select a type of trailing coleus such as Solenostemon scutellarioides, available in varieties including the dark burgundy Red Trailing Queen; Trailing Bleeding Heart, which is purple, hot pink and bright green, or Trailing Salamander, in shades of bright lime green and burgundy-black.

Planting

• Coleus does well in any type of hanging basket, as long as the basket has bottom drainage. Coleus planted in poorly drained soil may develop root rot. Lightweight plastic containers work well for hanging baskets, while ceramic and clay containers are heavy when filled with damp soil. A wire basket lined with sphagnum moss is also a good choice. Fill the container with a soil-less potting mixture, then plant the coleus in the potting mixture. Fill the container with coleus alone, or mix coleus with other annual bloomers.

Sunlight

• While coleus is often grown in partial shade, trailing varieties are happiest in four to six hours of daily sunlight, rewarding you with brighter colors than shade-grown coleus. Place a hanging coleus where the plant is exposed to bright sunlight during the morning, but in shade during the hottest part of the afternoon. Too much hot afternoon sun may cause coleus to wilt.

Water

• Coleus is moderately drought-tolerant, but prefers soil that is kept slightly moist. Check coleus daily, as hanging baskets dry quickly during warm weather. Allowing the top of the soil to dry slightly prevents rot caused by soggy soil, but the soil shouldn't be allowed to become bone dry. As a general rule, water coleus whenever the top 1 inch of soil feels dry to the touch. Coleus benefits from regular feedings during the warm days of summer. Feed coleus every month from June to August, using a water-soluble fertilizer diluted to half potency.

General Maintenance

• Pinching the tips of young coleus plants cause the plant to branch out, becoming full and bushy rather than tall and spindly. Pinch off spiky flowers that appear on coleus from midsummer to autumn, as the flowers aren't particularly attractive and will make the coleus to go to seed instead of producing new growth.