Question
Hi,
I've started pinching off my coleus leaves now to root them for next spring plantings.  I've put them in water and have pinched off the bottom leaves and have only the top four leaves left on top.  I've placed them in water and put them on a window seal that has northern exposure.  This is the first time I've done this... Is this a good way to do it?  
Thanks,
Kim

Answer
Coleus are incredibly easy to root, ranking with Impatiens as the cuttings champions.

Good thing, too.  Autumn is the toughest time of year to do this.  Shortening day lengths and cooler temperatures, plus lower light levels, make it very hard to succeed at cuttings off anything.

But what do you have to lose?  No one's saying it CAN'T be done.  It's just not easy right now.  Scientists happen to LOVE using Coleus in the laboratory because it is so agreeable.  Whatever you need to test, Coleus respond with no complaints.

Let me explain how this whole 'cuttings' thing works.

Across the plant kingdom, certain flowering plants (like Coleus and Impatiens) have plant hormones (called 'auxins') along their stems to tell the plant cells what to do.

One part of the stem needs to grow a branch?  The plant puts auxins right there, and voila!  A branch starts to shoot out the side of the plant.

One part of the stem has to grow flower buds?  No problem.  The plant puts flowering auxins right there, and poof!  A flower bud forms.

Auxins are the magic words in the plant kingdom.  They turn an ordinary plant cell into a leafy branch, a blooming rose, or even a root.  And this last activity, rooting, is what you plan to do.  You want to cut the stems and wait for auxins to move around, until they reach the bottom of a stem, and make the stem grow roots down there.

Remember that word: AUXIN.  It's a nice word to impress people, and it is very handy to know about.

Here is where you will find scientific step by step instructions for growing Coleus roots:

www.pearsonsuccessnet.com/ebook/products/0-13-203512-X/brlb7250.pdf

You probably don't have a scalpel handy (although I could be wrong about this).  If you don't, use a razor blade (preferably single edge) or a scissors, or your thumbnail.  The cleaner the cut, the better your chances.

You also don't need rooting powder, but it would be nice to have.  It will also maximize your chances of getting roots quickly.  But you can do this without it.  In fact, you can do everything without the special things the scientist is using in that lab experiment.  What you should look at on that website is the illustrations.  Note where the scientist cuts.  The website is very detailed about exactly where to cut, how many leaves to leave (haha), how much space to leave etc.  What you want to do is no different from what the scientist who wrote those directions wants to do.

I should add that it sounds to me like you did everything correctly. But I cannot be sure, and you can't send me pictures.  Just to be certain, I'm sending you the link.

The Northern Exposure is really going to lower the success rate of this exercise.  Is there any way you can get these cuttings into a room with another view?

Also, be careful of drafts.  They have destroyed many an indoor gardener's cuttings collection, even after they have reached potting size.  Through the years, those chilly drafts in the dead of winter have ruined plenty on the windowsills of The Long Island Gardener.

Never kept me from doing it again, though.

Give it a shot. You have everything to learn. Keep me posted,

THE LONG ISLAND GARDENER