You're probably over fertilizing and coleus don't respond well to fertilizer. When you feel the need to do it (which shouldn't be all that often especially if they're in the ground and not containers) - dilute the Miracle-gro to half strength. Even in the ground, dilute the fertilizer or, better yet, forget entirely. I bought a few this year, planted in partial shade and watered them in. No fertilizer at all and they're doing beautifully.

Thanks nc-crn! I had read that but wasn't sure it was valid.... I'm looking at pics of this mix at maturity and there's a huge difference in color compared to my seedlings......

For most standards, pinch the top when it's about 3/4 of the height you envision it being when it's filled out. The overrun plant can be pruned and pinched just like you would a tree. Remove large branching that spoils the 'flow' of the plant or the o/a appearance and pinch the particularly vigorous areas to keep it in bounds. I NEVER allow a Coleus to grow as it wants to. I'm always pinching and pruning to keep them full and in bounds. (Pics on request.). As day length shortens (technically, it's the increasing dark period) it stimulates blooming in Coleus, so fall plants are much more determined to bloom than they were in summer. There is no practical way for the hobbyist to prevent the plant from maturing sexually, but pinching the blooms will go a long way toward keeping the plant growing with the vigor of the intermediate (teenager) stage. Mudbear - asking questions on another's thread is kind of a breech of etiquette. It's better to start your own thread. That said, the choice of pot size is determined by the relationship between the size of the plant and the porosity of the soil. Plants in slow (water-retentive) soils must be grown in pots smaller than those less water-retentive soils. You can grow very small plants in very large pots if the soil holds no perched water. This thread is not the place to expand on that thought, though. If you think of a sponge that has been wrung out thoroughly - that's about an ideal moisture level, but it's pretty much impossible to maintain it consistently AND water properly. Once again - not the place to expand on that thought. Al

Below a link for a good video about how to pinch a coleus. It does seem kind of brutal, but it really does work. I learned about this the hard way when I first started growing coleus. I couldn't figure out why my coleus did not look like those lush photos in garden magazines...mine looked sort of taller and more spindly...until I found out about pinching them. At first I was kind of like, "Yikes!" but they do recover pretty quickly and get bushier. I've only grown coleus in the past from nursery plants purchased in little containers, but this year I'm going to try growing them from seed from the first time, which will be interesting. I've read conflicting info about the colors...some places I've read that they become more colorful with more sun, but others say they develop the best coloring in shadier areas. I usually plant mine in a spot by our house that gets morning sun but full afternoon shade and the colors have been beautiful. Nice deep reds on the ones with red in their leaves, etc. Token, I love that combo of the purple-ish coleus with the light green ones. Very nice! Here is a link that might be useful: Pinching Coleus video