All You Need to Know About the Flamethrower Plant

Last Updated on September 9, 2023 by a Friendly Gardener

The FlameThrower plant is a gorgeous plant that features a lime green border on each of its leaves, while most of the leaf portion is deep red in color. It is for this reason that it earns its name. The plant itself belongs to the Coleus genus and has several distinct characteristics.

Growing up to 20 inches in size in the wild, you can restrict its size a bit if you grow it in a pot or container. The bright leaves can also make for an impressive display in your house.

Propagating this plant is extremely uncomplicated, with its care requirements being relatively undemanding too. If you want to learn more, keep reading the following sections.

Can You Grow the FlameThrower Plant on Your Own?

The coleus FlameThrower plant is surprisingly easy to grow on your own. The seeds of this plant are also popular and simple to obtain, although this process might take you a bit longer to carry out since you will need to wait several weeks for the seeds to germinate in the soil before the plant begins to develop properly.

You will also need to start this process a few weeks before the onset of spring, which is why it might be better to stick to propagating via stem cuttings. Go through the following steps to understand this process:

• Using some sharp scissors or shears, cut out a few five-inch long stems from a mature FlameThrower plant.
• Clean the stem cuttings up if there is any dirt on them and see that you get rid of the leaves.
• You should try to source some rooting hormone (liquid or powder) and apply a small amount of it to one side of the stem.
• Leave the stems in a plastic bag for a few hours so that the roots can develop. You can also skip this step and directly plant the stem in the soil.
• Take some soil and fill up a pot with it. You can then stick the stem cuttings into the soil and lightly moisten the soil to encourage growth.
• Start out by placing the pot in a location receiving filtered light. You can then gradually provide some more light to the plant.

Once your plant grows a bit more, you can begin to follow a set routine for its care and maintenance. Until this point, you might need to rely on your plant’s condition for its care, although this will still continue to apply even after this stage.

FlameThrower Plant Care: Steps and Requirements

Here are some FlameThrower-specific care essentials that you should be aware of.

Soil

A standard potting mix should be enough for this plant since it can manage its growth in various soil conditions. For ideal results, however, you can add some moss, peat, and organic compost to the soil to make the soil nutritionally rich. These can also make the soil a bit looser so that any surplus water can seep out.

Water

FlameThrower plants tend to need more frequent watering as compared to several other plants. Water the plant every few days, although do not rely on this timeframe for watering your plant, especially since you might have different conditions based on your region’s weather.

If the upper part of the soil seems dry, this can be a good indicator that your plant needs watering. Do not let the soil dry up completely, but do not overwater the plant either, as this can rot the roots and stems.

Temperature

If possible, maintain warm temperatures around the plant, with the ideal range being between 60℉ and 75℉. This plant can, however, tolerate even cooler or warmer temperatures as long as they are not too intense. In fact, it tends to be hardy to USDA zones 10-11.

Light

The FlameThrower plant loves the sun, even if direct sunlight falls upon it. In the early hours of the morning, you should leave the plant under the direct sun for up to three hours, following which it can be better to provide it with indirect light.

Locations like balconies and windows can be ideal for this. See if you need to provide some afternoon shade and relief too.

Humidity

Keep the humidity level moderate to high where the plant is kept. Usually, you can simply rely on the air to supply this humidity to the plant. In drier regions, some smart placements of the plant can be in washrooms or kitchens where the steam can increase the humidity of the atmosphere around the plant.

Fertilizer

Whether or not you need fertilizer at all can depend on your plant’s soil quality. If there are enough nutrients in the soil, you can forgo the fertilizing step entirely. However, if your soil is not sufficient on its own, you can add a diluted fertilizer to the soil a couple of times during spring and summer.

Flowers

The flowers are tiny and blue in color and can grow on short spikes in the growing season. These flowers are relatively inconspicuous and do not add anything to the plant, so it can be completely okay if you pluck these flowers off to focus the plant’s energy on the rest of its growth.

Transplanting

You can repot or transplant the plant at the start of the growing season. This is not essential to carry out every year, although once in two years might be necessary based on how big your plant grows.

Preventing Pests

Pests are not much of an issue, but mild insecticides can help you remove them from your plant without damaging your plant.

Parting Notes

The FlameThrower plant has beautiful red and green leaves that can add a spice of color to your room. To encourage this color and to maintain the general health and growth of this plant, you should ensure that all possible conditions around the plant are apt and satisfactory.

In case there are any issues, try determining the cause and re-adapting the conditions to bring the plant back to its usual vigor.