Hi Foreverlad, I have them by the garage outside. 11 flats elevated off the ground about 4ft. They get, maybe, 6 hours of direct sun and then are shaded by trees in the afternoon. They have been outside all the time but once, when I thought it would freeze I put the flats in the garage. I water daily. Hmm...That was a wake up call. You are right about the sun. Maybe I better shelter these things. Last year and the year before I direct seeded in the ground in a shaded area. I better rethink these coleus in the flats. Thanks for your question. You might have saved my coleus. Incidentally I just showed Swallowtail for the pictures. I use Geoseed. Bob Here is a link that might be useful: Geoseed This post was edited by bugbite on Wed, Mar 13, 13 at 22:48

Marguerite, I purchased all my Coleus from one mailorder nursery (in 2004 and 2005) but pretty sure they were pestfree when received...especially as I kept them all near sofa the first few days so I could admire them...LOL They spent all summer on my patio so probably picked up mealybugs (or eggs) there. I think I've found part of the answer...attached article says Coleus very susceptible but constant inspection and washing can prevent infestation and spread if caught early. Also, I just had 3-4 little mealybugs...not all over the stems as I've seen in photos (shudder!) Another thing the article recommended was growing potplants inside house a little dry and using less fertilizer. In winter I just "maintain" my plants, not try to grow them...and I never use fertilizer (although some may be in some of potting soil I buy). My house is kept between 66-68 degrees F days and cooler still at night so they sort of go into hibernation mode. So maybe I was doing the right thing inadvertently. I'd always felt fortunate not to have had pests on my tropicals indoors...I think possibly my method of brisk thorough shower and watering well and then letting pot dry out a good bit was, in addition to catering to my laziness, a good insect preventative...LOL Of course when outside they get thorough spray/watering every other day...temps in 90's all summer here. But they flourish and grow so well they don't mind the lower light, cooler temps and reduced water in winter inside. Oh, the one Coleus that got the mealybugs was 'Klondike', orange-red leaves with yellow edge. Iside house it fades to a soft copper-pink but still nice. josh Here is a link that might be useful: Mealybug Life Cycle & Prevention

I've started them from cuttings many times but have a hard time overwintering them on the back porch. For some reason they always get infested with scale, mites, or mealy bugs. It's just less hassle to buy new ones from the big nursery not far from me each spring. The nursery always has a nice selection of sun loving coleus for real cheap prices every spring. Even though I let my coleus bloom each year I don't think I've ever seen any seedlings sprout.

My "Dark Star" seems to die every year, much in contrast to my other coleus, which usually live through the winter. "Religious Radish" was awesome, and I had a few other named varieties that lost their tags, so I have no clue what they are, but they did well also. "Rose Trails" did very well. I'm waiting for it to sport off another "Dark Trails", because that one died. I found a replacement for my heirloom trailer, but it isn't thriving. Living, but not doing as well as I'd like. All my NN's did well except the lance leafs. They aren't as hardy, I don't think, but so pretty! Now I want a Sedona!