It needs more light if you wish for it to grow that way. And possibly more humidity.

I used to have it near a window, but then I acquired a cat that enjoys tasting plants. I have read that Crotons are poisonous to cats.

Can I still cut it down and have it grow bush-like or does it need more light/humidity regardless of where I cut it??

You can still cut it. But it is dropping its lower leaves for a reason, probably low light levels. If that isnt corrected, it will continue to do it.

Also, it will be much happier in a smaller pot. Being overpotted has its own issues.

I would cut the stem all the way back. Then cut it again to have a 6 inch cutting. Take off all but two leaves. Pot them up in a one gallon pot and mist them daily. Kept them in a sunny window. Don't water the soil until it feels semi-dry. I would probably wait until spring or summer to do this. The cuttings will grow better. If you can put them and the plant outside it would be even better.

Many tropical plants are toxic to some extent if ingested. The taste on this one is said to be most disagreeable, so most cats and kids would probably not ingest much of it. I agree, the plant needs more sun. Mine gets eastern sun at the side of my bed and the cat sleeps beneath it (as it's a sunny/warm spot). I have dozens of plants on one toxic list or another and have always had cats. If you are concerned provide the feline with something green to munch on. You can buy alfalfa grass or catnip at most petshops.

My favorite plant Lots of sun let dry out between watering(winter) outside in summer

I would not cut it back right now. That might kill it if it's not strong enough to resprout.

I would suggest waiting until spring to cut it back when it will probably be better prepared to grow back quickly. I also agree that more sunlight will help it grow bushier.

If you can, you might even want to put it outdoors for the spring/summer because it will love the sunshine and humidity. It will grow faster that way. The only danger to putting it outdoors is that there is a risk of pests finding the plant (especially spider mites) so you would want to be very careful about treating it to reduce the risk of bringing pests back in with it during the fall.

I agree with Summersunshine. Don't prune it now, wait until Summer when it is growing as robustly as it can.

Josh

I agree with Josh & SS. From the picture, we can see your plant has little in the way of energy reserves, if you cut off the plant's ability to make food (the leaves), where will the energy come from to both keep the plant's systems orderly AND pusdh a new flush of growth?

Cutting it back now would be a really iffy proposition, and it's a certainty that the recovery would be VERY slow.

Ideally, you would learn more about identifying what's limiting your plant and act on that information before you do anything rash. Cutting back a plant that's growing well and has high energy reserves carries little risk - especially if it's done during the longer days of summer.

More info to help you avoid all of the most common problems associated with growing in containers at the link below.

Al

Here is a link that might be useful: I'll take you to some basic info if you click me.

As others have mentioned, the sun (lack thereof) is the important issue. You can cut it back but whilst the low light conditions continue it will only grow back weak and spindly.

Thank you for all the advice (and the links). I have moved the plant to an area with more sun and will wait until the spring before cutting it down. I will try to mist the plant regularly

So far, the cat has ignored it. He prefers the ferns anyway!

Full sun, let it dry out. Come Spring, cut it down completely. They grow here in Florida in full, hot sun. Can't kill these plants. But, they need a lot of sun!

Jane