How to care for Coleus scutellarioides

Coleus scutellarioides · Painted nettle

Coleus (Coleus scutellarioides) — a bushy tender perennial from tropical Asia grown for its toothed leaves patterned in almost any colour but true blue, on square, semi-succulent stems; cultivars range from about 15 to 90 cm tall. Coleus needs partial shade. Water it about every 4 days while it grows and about every 7 days in the winter rest.

Checked against sources: November 5, 2026

Watering and repotting coleus through the year

It lives indoors all year, so it has no sowing or planting dates: it grows from March to September and rests from October to February (the other way round in the southern hemisphere).

Repot it about every 12 months.

When to plant coleus?

Plant or repot coleus in spring, as it starts into growth; early to midsummer also works. It is a houseplant, so it has no outdoor planting date and no frost decides it: just avoid autumn and winter, when growth slows and fresh compost stays wet too long. After that, move it to a slightly larger pot about every year, or sooner once roots circle the pot or grow through the drainage holes.

Watering in the growing and resting halves of the year: Watering and repotting coleus through the year.

Sources: RHS: How to repot a plant · Penn State Extension: Repotting houseplants

Quick facts

Type	Houseplant
Latin name	Coleus scutellarioides
Family	Lamiaceae
Also called	Painted nettle
Light	Partial shade
Frost	does not tolerate frost
Repotting	every 12 months
Grown in	At home

Where does coleus grow?

7,348 records of the plant in gardens, fields and the wild worldwide; most photos come from Indonesia, Australia, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, and Taiwan.

World map: where coleus has been recorded — Darker green means more records. Photos are real observations from those countries — tap one to see it. Map and records: GBIF.org (2026-10-28), © OpenMapTiles © OpenStreetMap. Photo: Salsabila Firdausa, sleepy janay, Ordiales Kath, Andrew Conboy, Gabriel Cardoso Fialho, Elliot Greiner, Shane J .Anderson, Kabir Montesinos (CC BY / CC0).

Coleus, Indonesia — Darker green means more records. Photos are real observations from those countries — tap one to see it. Map and records: GBIF.org (2026-10-28), © OpenMapTiles © OpenStreetMap. Photo: Salsabila Firdausa, sleepy janay, Ordiales Kath, Andrew Conboy, Gabriel Cardoso Fialho, Elliot Greiner, Shane J .Anderson, Kabir Montesinos (CC BY / CC0).

Coleus care by growth stage

At home

Stage	Watering	Temperature	Feeding
Growth	every 4 days	—	nitrogen, 44 days into the stage; nitrogen, 74 days into the stage; nitrogen, 104 days into the stage
Winter rest	every 7 days	—	—

Growing notes

Light

Bright, filtered light; it needs good light indoors. Too much sun makes it wilt and too much shade makes it leggy.

Soil

Loose, organically rich, very well-drained potting mix in a pot with drainage holes.

Care

Keep the compost evenly moist and never let it dry out; pots dry quickly. Pinch the stem tips often to keep it bushy and remove flower spikes as they appear, because a plant left to set seed declines. Feed in summer with an all-purpose soluble fertiliser; a high-phosphorus flowering feed makes it leggy and pushes it into bloom. Pot it up every spring. Plants brought indoors in autumn should be cut back first; tip cuttings root easily in a glass of water, an easy way to keep a favourite. Watch for aphids, whiteflies, spider mites, mealybugs and scale, especially indoors; wet leaves and soggy compost lead to downy mildew, stem rot and root rot.

Pests and diseases of Coleus

4 problems are recorded for coleus; each has a page with symptoms, treatment and prevention.

Coleus: all pests and diseases with photos

Diseases

Downy Mildew

Pests

Other plants of the Lamiaceae family

Coleus belongs to Lamiaceae; 11 other plants of this family have a guide here.

Plant lists it is in

Part of: Houseplants · Thirsty houseplants · Houseplants to repot every year

Sources

Figures checked against these sources.