Five things to do in the garden this week:

Ornamentals: Coleus thrives from spring to fall and may even persist into winter. The plant is somewhat tricky to grow since it burns in too much sun and flounders in too much shade, so filtered sun is best. Since its roots are shallow, keep it away from trees and shrubs whose surface roots could interfere with its own. If blue flowers begin to appear, remove them since, underwhelming in appearance, they halt growth of the colorful foliage. Keep coleus happy with fish emulsion, which contains only 4-5% nitrogen, or another low-analysis fertilizer. An incalculable bonus of growing coleus is its ease of propagation. Detach a 3-4 inch shoot terminal, remove its bottom leaves, place it in a glass with a little water, and it will begin to grow roots

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