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| Here's something I never saw before. One of the crotons in my care at the library flowered for the first time. At least, I think that's what it is.
It's not an exciting flower, but intricate and delicate looking.
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Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by pirate_girl Zone7 NYC (My Page) on Thu, Jun 23, 11 at 10:06
| Hey North, That's exactly what it is congratulations; I'd be pretty excited. I only ever saw these in person once in Ft. Lauderdale, outdoor plants about 6-8 ft. tall, landscaped around a neighboring home. I described the bloom elsewhere recently as mini-fire crackers. It must be getting superb light to keep such vibrant colors; seems to love your care, keep up the good work & of course, Enjoy!! |
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- Posted by hopefulauthor z5IL (hopefulauthor@sbcglobal.net) on Thu, Jun 23, 11 at 13:32
| North, beautiful..You must have been surprised finding a flower on your Croton. Your Crotons leaf colors are fantastic, so vivid. Toni |
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| Yes, I was delighted to find the flower. I have used air-layering to renovate the old original plant so now have 3 crotons. I think they're beautiful. Our local library is an old building that was refurbished. It started out as the water treatment plant. Basically it was gutted and is now open concept. It has ramps that circle up the 3 levels. It has high windows on all 4 sides. So yes, the light is fantastic and every plant (over 30)just thrives. I volunteer to care for them, but it is enjoyable, as my house faces north and is dark. I go there to get my fix, which is especially pleasant in the winter. |
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- Posted by AlabamaMyra none (My Page) on Sun, Feb 17, 13 at 17:42
| I am new here . I was searching for information about a never seen before bloom, just now, on my Croton plant that I have had over ten years . I have included a before photo on on the deck this summer (left)with the one on the right taken just now. I was amazed as it is on its most pitiful condition, being on the inside all winter. I keep it by a window with only minimal sunlight available. I water it once weekly and at least once a month I add Miracle grow to the water. So I didn't do anything out of the ordinary to cause it to bloom! Was glad to read all the helpful info I found here. Thanks! |
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- Posted by AlabamaMyra none (My Page) on Sun, Feb 17, 13 at 17:47
| Here is a close up of the bloom. Several fell off as I touched them. |
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- Posted by kaktuskris 6 NH (barharbor75@yahoo.com) on Sun, Feb 17, 13 at 17:49
| I have seen some enormous Crotons in the Philippines, the size of trees, with all shapes and colours of leaves, and never saw one with flowers. Interesting! Christopher |
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- Posted by purpleinopp 8b AL (My Page) on Mon, Feb 18, 13 at 9:39
| Hi Myra, welcome to Gardenweb! Great Croton pics, thanks for sharing! Inspirational. Not sure where in AL you are, but feel pretty safe waving north, to wave at you! |
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| mine are just half-pints compared with yours. i keep them outside in summer, but overwinter them in western window, bagged all the time for humidity and warmth and stuffed under the shelf. so in tight quarters and barely moist. 2 of my other attemps failed due to mites and dropped leaves. so this is the third. i have 2 broad-leaved petras. when i looked the other day i noticed that one of them has 2 flower spikes to my surprise. and is producing new leaves. guess it got warmed up enough. |
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| here's 2 together. the bottom is 2nd overwinter - it lost some bottom leaves last year, before i mounted a full blown doting campaign. |
This post was edited by petrushka on Mon, Apr 1, 13 at 9:37
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| Hi I grow these as yard plants and have often wondered why they never seem to set a pattern. Most plants with muticolored leaves have a very distinct pattern . Coleus comes to mind though they come in a gazillion colors the leaves on an individual are very much alike With croton every leaf is different .. If there is a pattern to the color it's sure not obvious. Anybody know why?? gary |
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- Posted by tropicbreezent (My Page) on Fri, Mar 29, 13 at 10:35
| I've got a number of bushes of crotons, some have relatively similar leaves, some are very different, both in colour and shape. And one of mine just seems to flower continuously. Not that the flowers are anything special. Gary, perhaps their genetic code is unstable and causes the differences. But still stable enough to allow them to survive. I bought a small one recently with amazing colours, planted it, it shot up and all the new leaves were more green than anything. And any bit of colouring isn't the same as the original. I feel ripped off. |
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| don't worry, new leaves are always mostly green, then as they age, the colors go thru yellow and finally red stages. the oldest leaves have the most coloration, the green will darken too. |
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| Hi I think much might depend on which hybrid. ?? last i heard there are over 200 named ones.lol The "wild ones I seen in Costa Rica were mostly spotted rather than patterned . yellow and orange predominating About a third the markings of nursery stock. gary |
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- Posted by hopefulauthor z5IL (hopefulauthor@sbcglobal.net) on Sat, Mar 30, 13 at 12:37
| Pet, I wonder if older, lower leaf drop is normal...??? How many weeks/months is your Croton in plastic? Any ventilation or completely sealed? I think climate has a lot to do with coloration. Light, humidity, temps. I no longer have a Croton, 'type pictured above,' but here in IL, during winter months, colors fade. Leaves turn pale green. Tropic..you wrote, Croton flowers aren't anything special. I think all flowers are special..probably since I live in an area forcing tropicals into bloom takes a lot of work. :) Work and luck. lol. While reading Croton info, I just found out Codiaeums are in the family, Euphorbiaceae. Anyone know if Scientists recently discovered this? When I think about Euphorbias, succulents come to mind. Toni
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- Posted by cowgurl160 4 SD (My Page) on Sat, Mar 30, 13 at 21:05
| north, Myra, and petrushka you all have beautiful crotons! I have one in a west facing window right now and while its the best its ever looked in my apartment, it is no where near as nice as those pictured. |
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- Posted by tropicbreezent (My Page) on Sun, Mar 31, 13 at 8:23
| Toni, I think a lort of people get flowers on their crotons, but because they're so inconspicuous most don't notice. This is the one that's "cheating" on me. Note the lower (smaller) leaves and then the upper ones which have grown since I bought it. The lower leaves are also very 'bubbly', the new ones are less so.. |
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- Posted by tropicbreezent (My Page) on Sun, Mar 31, 13 at 8:28
| Close up of the lower leaves. |
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| tropic, i love your croton colors - i haven't seen those in nyc. i've had corkscrew crotons with yellow/red dots and petra with color veining: on both there's never red/pink on new leaves. they need to mature for some time , like sev months to get that red going. most appear as green with yellow veins. some as pure yellow. pure yellows slowly (3 mo? or more) start greening and then by end of winter some red appears. so i would not worry. that said, they say it needs dappled sunlight for good color - so if you keep it in shade it won't develop reds/pinks and would stay mostly green with cream/yellow veining. in winter it needs dappled south/western window. if humidity is low, nite/day temp fluctuates a lot, or it's too dry - it drops leaves. in florida in the ground they drop leaves due to cold temps. they need to be above 60F.very hot sun at 90F will bleach color: in mid-july i move them into bright shade outside. |
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| hopeful, for winter mine go into large dry-cleaning bags after xgiving and thru april. large hole on top, checks every month for mites, misting or shower monthly/dry up, back into the bag. leaves touching bags is no problem, but bags never steam, no condensation either, soil never wet, only slightly moist. they are in AV soil with perlite, cocomatting on the outer rim : all to allow water wicks. they never dry-up this way, but water consumption is quite low, since they are not growing really. i fill water reservoir may be once every 3 weeks. the new one did not drop any leaves on the bottom, only 2-3 in the middle. the older one has a bare stem from last year, but it back-budded already. my west window gets direct sun only 2-3 hours 1-3pm, but in march i start getting full sunset between buildings, so it heats up, much more light and they start growing/blooming. the sunlight is dappled, 'cause i have a calamondin tree and jade-tree casting sparse shade. new leaves now are green with a little yellow veining. i am really concerned with mites: but in a couple of weeks i'll start taking the bags off for the day and once it gets above 60f - i'll start taking them outside to NE early morning sun and bringing them back until i have above 60F at nite too. so pretty intense care. but they provide the best color for me in summer time and all thru xgiving, it's worth it for me. |
This post was edited by petrushka on Mon, Apr 1, 13 at 10:48
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| north and alabama, can you comment on color changes in your crotons? when leaves start developing red? under what conditions? is the new growth green? mine in summertime is sometimes totally yellow, but that's outside. it's a diff ball game. it seems you've overwintered yours much longer? i noticed that north has just green new growth, but directly below is very pink. so when does it start going pink? |
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- Posted by pirate_girl Zone7 NYC (My Page) on Mon, Apr 1, 13 at 11:52
| Hi everyone, I haven't grown Crotons for a few yrs. now, but found the colorful ones really needs lots of light to keep their colors, otherwise, they just go green (I grow indoors only, in apmt). I always kept mine on a pebble tray, finding it very thirsty & this was a good way to water copiously. I never had any trouble w/ Spider Mites. Hi Toni, Your question abt them being Euphorbia, that's not new info. I checked my favorite pre-Internet home reference book Success with Houseplants (Reader's Digest) & it has Crotons as Codiaeum as Euphorbiaceae, that copyright is 1979. Have you ever cut back a Croton? Think about the white sap, I never found it irritating, but it's definitely that white sap that Euph often have. Euph are such a large family I'm sure it's got plants which aren't succulent as well. Tho' I don't know many offhand, there's one I've killed twice now, w/ delicate foliage that I'd never have pegged as Euph. I think it's called E. continifolia or something like that. |
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| if you google images you'll see that all new leaves are green/green with yellow veins/pure yellow. even on pink/red plants. tropic yours is called 'harmonious' , see pic "here" with new green leaves (croton 6). also I found I nice article "here": with great pics. |
This post was edited by petrushka on Tue, Apr 2, 13 at 15:37
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- Posted by kaktuskris 6 NH (barharbor75@yahoo.com) on Tue, Apr 2, 13 at 17:05
| Saw some huge crotons in the Philippines a couple years ago, hope to see more when I go back later this year. So many varieties, too. They thrive on the humidity there. Christopher |
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