How Many Coleus Plants Per Pot?

Would you like to know how many coleus plants you can have per pot? Well, we have researched this topic and have answers for you. Knowing how many coleus plants you can have per pot is vital to ensure you don't overcrowd them.

You can have one coleus plant per 50 square inches of the pot's surface area. A pot with an eight-inch diameter can hold only one coleus plant. A 12- and 16-inch pot can hold two and four coleus plants, respectively.

In this article, we will talk more about how many coleus plants you can have per pot. We will also learn the answers to other interesting related questions, such as can you put different kinds of coleus plants together, and why are my coleus plants dying? Keep reading to learn more.

A background of Urtica Coleus Blumei plant leaves, How Many Coleus Plants Per Pot?

How Many Coleus Plants Per Pot?

The number of coleus plants you can fit in a pot before they begin overcrowding each other will depend on the size of your pot. Calculating the pot's surface area is a quick way to know how many coleus plants a pot can hold. Each coleus plant needs at least 50 square inches of space to flourish in the pot.

Let's look at several different pot sizes and learn how many coleus plants you can have per pot.

Eight-Inch Pot

An eight-inch wide pot has just over 50 square inches of surface area, making it ideal for no more than one coleus plant. It's also essential that the pot is at least eight inches deep to ensure the roots don't become bound.

12-Inch Pot

A 12-inch wide pot has a little over 100 square inches of surface space which is enough for two coleus plants. Both coleus plants have room to grow as long as the pot is at least eight inches deep.

16-Inch Pot

A 16-inch pot has just over 200 square inches of surface area to support up to four coleus plants. Like with the other size pots, the roots will have room to grow as long as the soil is at least eight inches deep.

Conclusion

You can have one coleus plant per 50 square inches of the pot's surface space. It's also essential that the soil is at least eight inches deep to avoid roots becoming bound.

This spacing metric scales to large grow bags that can hold dozens of coleus plants.

Can You Put Different Kinds Of Coleus Plants Together?

You can put different coleus plants together. As long as each coleus plant has 50 square inches of surface space and eight inches of soil depth, they won't interfere with each other.

Coleus plants come in many varieties, and mixing these varieties can be the best part of growing coleus plants. Here are some of the most popular kinds of coleus plants that go well together.

Crimson Gold

Foliage plant of multi-colored decorative leaves

Crimson gold has stunning crimson leaves lined with a bright gold edge. These coleus plants can be mixed with other varieties to make eye-popping combinations.

Kong Red

Close up of colorful coleus plant in garden

Kong red is a variety of coleus plants that have very distinct leaves with three hues. The innermost part of the leaf is a bright red, bordered by a dark black. The edge of the leaf also has a vivid green border, making it one of the more showy coleus plants.

Kong Scarlet

Background of Urtica Coleus Blumei plant leaves

Kong scarlet is like kong red in that it has a vivid green border, but instead of a black and red inner leaf, it has a solid deep scarlet hue. These coleus plants will pair well with other reddish coleus plants or greener varieties.

Wizard Sunset

Close up photo of Coleus plant

Wizard sunset is famous for its deep orange hues. The edge of the leaf and its veins give way to reddish hues, earning this coleus the name wizard sunset.

These coleus plants do well with other coleus plants and pair great with red-leafed coleus plants.

Why Are My Coleus Plants Dying?

There are several reasons that your coleus plants may be dying. Let's learn how to identify the most common causes for your coleus plants dying and how to remedy them.

Overwatering

If you're overwatering your coleus plants, the leaves will start to turn yellow, and the ground will be wet. The leaves start turning yellow when the roots are waterlogged and the plant can't breathe.

As the plant begins to die, it will become weaker and more susceptible to bacterial and fungal infections. You can tell if your coleus plants have an infection by the appearance of white or black dots on their leaves.

Often, the white dots are fungi while the black dots are bacterial infections, but there are exceptions to the rule.

The first step to helping your Coleus plants is to allow the ground to dry for several days. Don't water again until the soil is dry at least two inches below the surface. When you begin rewatering, use reduced watering times and decrease the number of days you water per week.

If your coleus plants have contracted a bacterial or fungal infection, you must also treat that. Since it can be challenging to know which kind of infection your coleus plants have, it's best to treat them with a spray that treats both bacterial and fungal infections.

Here are two of the best sprays on Amazon that treat both bacterial and fungal infections for plants.

Garden Safe Fungicide 3

You can find this product here on Amazon.

Monterey Fungicide And Bactericide

You can find this product here on Amazon.

Underwatering

If you're underwatering your coleus plants, then they will be wilting, and the ground will be dry. It's easy to fix underwatering by increasing the time you water and how many days per week.

You must gradually increase watering times and see how your coleus plants respond. If you increase watering times too fast, you risk the many issues associated with overwatering.

Overfertilizing

If you have overfertilized your coleus plants, it will be easy to identify because the plants start turning yellow a day or two after fertilizing. You may also see fertilizer burn, where the edges of the leaves start turning brown and dying because the plant is sending excess fertilizer to the edges to survive.

To help your coleus plants survive overfertilizing, you need to flush out the fertilizer. You can flush the soil by soaking it for at least an hour to allow water to wash away excess fertilizer. Allow the area to dry for a few days after soaking to avoid damaging your plants.

If you don't see your coleus plants bouncing back after a week, you may need to soak the ground again to remove more fertilizer.

Shallow Pot

When a coleus plant is in a shallower pot than eight inches, the roots can grow back on themselves and begin choking the plant. When this happens, the plant has become root bound.

If a coleus plant becomes too root bound, it will start turning yellow and dying. The solution is transplanting the coleus plant to a larger pot or into the ground.

When transplanting a root-bound coleus plant, you must break apart the roots a bit before setting it into its new home. Gently take your hand and use your finger to separate the bottom layers of roots. Don't separate more than the bottom inch of roots to avoid causing undue stress on the plant.

Too Little Sun

A large coleus plant indoors in a window sill

While many varieties of coleus plants look most vivid with less sunlight, too little and they may become sick. If your coleus plant isn't receiving enough sunlight, then you will find that its new growth is weak and thin.

If your coleus plant isn't thriving, you need to increase its daily sunlight. It would be best to increase sunlight in the morning while reducing it in the evening for the most vivid colors.

Too Much Sun

Coleus in summer garden

If your coleus plant is receiving too much sun, then its leaves can become faded, and the plant can become stressed. If your coleus plant is stressed for too long, it may become susceptible to disease and die.

It would be best if you limit sun exposure if your coleus plant is stressed. Adjust the daily sunlight available until you find what your coleus plant prefers.

Final Thoughts

This article taught us that you need 50 square inches of surface space in a pot per coleus plant. We also learned that you could put different kinds of coleus plants together.

Remember, if you see your coleus plant stressing, examine it closer because knowing what's wrong with it makes it easy to help.

We hope you enjoyed this article. If you want to learn more, check out some of these other posts:

What Size Pots For Fruit Trees

What Size Pot For Elephant Ear Bulbs [And How Many Bulbs Per Pot]

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *