The koleus plant belongs to the family of labial flowers. The genus of the wheelies is quite large, there are up to 200 varieties of wheels: annuals, perennials, semishrubs. They are all very bright and colorful. This plant comes from the tropics of Asia and Africa. At home, Coleus Blumei is most often grown. Its various variants are considered to be a hybrid koleus.
Coleus hybrid
Home wheels are often perennial half-shrubs. Often, the leaves are oval, velvety to the touch, the edges are slightly incised. The color of the leaves can be quite different: red, yellow and green, often there are shades of pink and purple. Almost always on the sheet a lot of patterns and shades at the same time, monochrome wheels are less common.
Most often you can find flowers of two types of cole: Black dragon and Rainbow. The leaves of the Black Dragon are corrugated and rich in red, with a fringe along the edge. The variety Rainbow got its name for a bright combination of green, bard, yellow and red shades.
Coleus is grown in rooms on the windowsills. Planted in the flower beds as an annual. It can be grown as an ampel plant in a pod or pot.
Coleus: cultivation
To grow a koleus, you need to observe a few simple rules:
- This is a light-loving flower, but it is not recommended to keep it constantly under a bright light. In the afternoon, you need to shade the leaves, otherwise the bright and colorful drawing on the sheet will disappear.
- To water the koleus recommend only soft boiled water. To avoid falling leaves, watering should be abundant enough. In winter, instead of irrigation, it is better to give preference to spraying.
- For good home care, the wheel needs very moist air. Pot with a flower is better placed in a pallet with moss or pebbles, the air should be constantly sprayed.
- Ideal for koleus is a clay soil mixture, you can use a groundless substrate. When planting the flower in the substrate, you need to pick up a pot with a fairly wide base, otherwise the crown can outweigh and overturn the pot. To form a lush plant you need to constantly pinch buds. Transplant the koleus enough once a year, pick up the pot according to general rules.
- To grow a beautiful and strong koleusa the plant must be constantly fed. Indoor plant koleus likes nitrogen-rich fertilizers. When growing in the substrate, fertilizing should be done every 5 days, if the plant is in soil with loam, enough once in 10 days.
- The ideal temperature for a flower is about 21 ° C. If the temperature is high (up to 38 ° C), constantly water the plant. With a significant decrease in the degree (up to 10 ° C), the leaves of the wheel may lose their brightness.
- Constantly pinch the plant and provide a bright light, then you can grow a magnificent and incredibly bright flower. If you constantly feed the koleus, it will start to blossom and the foliage will acquire a very beautiful pattern.
Coleus: Reproduction
Propagation of koleus can be done with the help of cuttings or seeds. To grow a cola from seeds, fertile light soil is needed. This soil is filled with small seedlings. Before planting the soil should be moistened. Then sow the seeds and sprinkle them with a thin layer of sand. Cover everything with glass. Constantly keep the temperature no more than 20 ° C. In a couple of weeks you will see the first shoots. After that, the temperature should be lowered to 15 ° C. It is necessary to ensure good ventilation of the premises and constant moistening of the soil.