Croton is a popular houseplant of the Euphorbia family. A striking feature of all members of this family is the presence of milky sap in the stems and leaves. Hence the name – euphorbia. Milky sap helps the plant to heal wounds during any damage. The juice forms a special film that dries quickly and prevents the penetration of infections.
Croton, or codieum (Codieum). Farmer Burea-Uinsurance.com Wilfredor
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Croton description
Croton, or codiaum, Latin – codieum
The codiaeum belongs to the euphorbia family. The native land of this plant is Melanesia (in the southwestern Pacific), Polynesia (in the central Pacific) and Northern Australia. Codiaum flower growers are most often called croton flower. Many varieties of this plant are widespread in nature, but indoor croton is most often the variegated codiaum (C. Variegatum pictum).
Croton flower is an evergreen shrub with tough leathery leaves. In natural conditions, it grows up to 1,5 meters. Indoor croton is more modest in size (35-70 cm). Croton leaves are bright, of various colors and shapes. They can be wide or narrow, most often they look like enlarged laurel leaves, but they can also be ribbon-like, twisted, fancifully carved. Croton flower looks bright and colorful, as the leaves are painted in a variety of colors.
Young green and yellowish croton leaves are located in the upper part of the bush, but as they grow, they change their color, become variegated: with pink, red, orange spots. The codiaum blooms with yellowish-white flowers, which are most often cut off so as not to take away the strength from the plant, since all the beauty of this plant is in the leaves.
Croton flower (codiaum) is well suited for spacious, light rooms, halls, showcases.
Croton. Farmer Burea-Uinsurance.com Calimo
Croton care
Croton plant care is not easy… This shrub is quite capricious, it does not like sudden temperature changes, it is thermophilic, the temperature of the content should not drop below +17 degrees. Does not tolerate drafts.
The lighting should be bright, but direct sunlight is harmful. Croton is a plant that prefers rooms with windows facing east or west.
For a croton flower, care is, first of all, high air humidity and cleanliness of the leaves, therefore it is advisable to spray the croton leaves daily, often wash or wipe with a damp cloth.
Ð’ the period of plant growth in spring and summer, when it is warm, watering should be abundant… Soft warm water is suitable for irrigation. At this time, the codiaum must be fed regularly (once a week) with a 0,2% solution of complete mineral fertilizer.
In winter, for the croton plant, care should be no less thorough. When the temperature drops, watering is reduced, but the soil should never dry out. If the room is warm and dry from central heating batteries, the codiaum should be sprayed, but much less often than in summer, but the leaves from dust should be wiped off with a damp cloth quite often. Occasionally, you can bathe the codiaum under the shower, but do not forget to cover the ground in the pot with a film. At this time, the plant is fed no more than 1 time per month.
Croton is a houseplant that does not require frequent transplants. Young plants are transplanted once a year in spring, and old ones – as needed, but not more often than once every two years. For planting, clay and plastic pots are suitable, on the bottom of which drainage is poured, consisting of shards and charcoal, which prevents stagnation of water and decay of roots. The most suitable soil for young codiaum is a mixture of sod and leafy soil and sand in a ratio of 1: 2: 1; for adult plants, the amount of leafy soil is increased.
Кротон. Farmer Burea-Uinsurance.com Frank Vincentz
Features of growing croton
Temperature
Croton is quite demanding on temperature. It should not be lower than 17 degrees. Also protect Croton from drafts and sudden changes in temperature. Croton is a thermophilic plant, it is desirable to keep it at a temperature of 20-22 degrees. The state of the croton directly depends on the temperature: if the temperature is too low, the roots can rot.
Lighting
Croton needs a well-lit place, but shaded in summer from direct sunlight, as you can burn the leaves. In winter, put Croton on the sunniest window – west or south, in summer – on the east or west. Croton must be gradually accustomed to the spring sun. With a lack of lighting, croton leaves lose their unique color and become uniformly green.
Watering
Croton requires regular abundant watering in spring and summer. It is enough that the drying is only 1 cm in the depth of the soil. In autumn and winter, watering is reduced. Since at low temperatures, moisture from the ground evaporates more slowly, therefore excessive waterlogging can lead to decay of the roots and the plant itself.
Also, an interesting feature of Croton is that when there is a lack of moisture in the soil, its leaves hang down together. Do not be afraid – just water or spray abundantly on the plant, but it is advisable that the matter does not come to “sagging”. Be sure to settle the water for irrigation and heat it to room temperature – from watering with cold water, Croton can suddenly shed its leaves.
Air humidity
Croton comes from tropical forests, so high humidity is a prerequisite for its maintenance. In summer and spring, spray croton daily with water at room temperature, you can add liquid fertilizers in small concentrations. In winter, when radiators are working in the house, the air is too dry – spray the plant more often, wipe it with a damp cloth, arrange a shower periodically, but cover the ground with a film.
I also advise you to use humidifiers during the heating season – and for your own health it is useful (the skin and hair will not dry) and a big plus for plants. To increase the humidity in the air, you can also place a flat container of water near the pot.
It is advisable to wipe the leaves with a damp cloth at least once a week in any season of the year.
Fertilizer
In summer and spring, during the period of active growth, Croton is fertilized with a complex fertilizer for decorative deciduous plants once a week. With the onset of cold weather in the autumn-winter period, the fertilizer is reduced to once a month. Always fertilize after watering the plant.
Flowering
With proper care and regular feeding, Croton blooms regularly. But its flowers are white or yellow, small and inconspicuous, they take away a lot of vitality and nutrients from the plant, so they are cut off.
soil
The most suitable soil for young croton is a mixture of sod and leafy soil and sand in a ratio of 1: 2: 1; for adult plants, the amount of leafy land is increased.
Transfer
Young crotons are transplanted annually in the spring into a pot that is 2-3 cm larger. At the same time, it is recommended to carry out transshipment with the preservation of the old earthen coma, since when it is destroyed, the roots can also be damaged. Croton does not like pots that are too deep and too large. The material is clay or plastic. At the bottom of the pot, it is imperative to lay a layer of expanded clay, clay shards and charcoal at a quarter of the depth of the pot to prevent water stagnation and, as a result, root decay.
It is advisable to transplant older crotons no more often than once every 2-3 years.
Кротон. Farmer Burea-Uinsurance.com Forest & Kim Starr
Croton’s Reproduction
Croton is propagated mainly by apical cuttings… Cut a lignified stalk 10-15 cm long in spring with a sharp knife. It is immersed in warm water with the addition of charcoal or activated charcoal until the milky juice is washed off. Then it is dried a little. The leaves on the cuttings are tied into a tube to reduce moisture evaporation from the plant. The prepared stalk is planted in a mini-greenhouse: peat + sphagnum moss and sand, covered with foil. Every day, the stalk is sprayed and aired in the greenhouse. Rooting takes place within a month.
To speed up rooting, immerse the cutting in phytohormones such as Kornevin or Fitoverm before placing it in the greenhouse. The lower heating of the greenhouse also speeds up the process.
You can also propagate croton with air layers and seeds.… When propagating by air layers, a branch with a bare stem is tilted to the ground, crushed with earth and, when it takes root, is cut off from the mother plant and planted in a new pot.
Seeds are planted in the same mini-greenhouse as cuttings in January-February, after soaking in phytohormones for several hours. They germinate in 3-4 weeks.
Кротон. Farmer Burea-Uinsurance.com Forest & Kim Starr
Croton diseases and pests
Any errors in care adversely affect the croton flower.… Diseases can occur in poor lighting conditions. So, direct sunlight can cause leaf burns, and lack of lighting affects the color of the leaves: they lose their bright color, turn pale.
Intensive watering and stagnation of water in the sump causes root rot, and if watering is insufficient and the air is too dry, in croton, the tips of the leaves first turn brown and then dry out. Too low temperatures change the color of the leaves – their edges turn brown and the plant slows down.
Drafts and sudden changes in temperature can cause Croton to shed its leaves.
Codiaum juice is poisonous and therefore pests do not like it very much., but if the leaves are rarely washed, and the air is very dry, then the croton flower is affected by spider mites and scabies.
The spider mite is a very small red spider. It appears on the underside of the leaves and envelops them with thin white cobwebs. It is destroyed by spraying and washing the leaves, especially from the underside, with water, a weak tobacco infusion with soap, pollination (in the fresh air, outside the rooms) with ground sulfur, or the plant is treated with ready-made systemic insecticides. When washing the leaves with infusions with soap, after 2-3 hours, the leaves should be washed with warm water.
Shield or shield aphid got its name from the waxy shield that covers the body of an adult pest. At first, at a young age, the scale insect is hardly noticeable, but it multiplies rapidly, covering the stems and leaves with dark spots. Adults are motionless and sit under shields, from under which larvae crawl out and crawl throughout the plant.
At this time, they are destroyed by spraying with a soap-tobacco solution, to which you can add a little kerosene or denatured alcohol. Adult pests, along with shields, are removed with a damp swab, but you still need to treat the entire plant with insecticide or soapy water to remove the larvae. Such procedures will have to be repeated several times.
After all work with Croton, you must remember to wash your hands with soap and water and prevent pets from gnawing the leaves.… Croton juice is poisonous.
Кротон. Farmer Burea-Uinsurance.com Forest & Kim Starr
The influence of croton on the emotional state
Croton’s ability to awaken eloquence in a person explains the combination in the leaves of the principles of Mercury and the Sun. Mercury generates the energies of thought and word, and the Sun – happiness and joy. Croton has been seen to heal the irreparable silent.
It causes a plant and a sea of ​​positive emotions. It helps to cope with loneliness more easily, smooth out the difficulties in communicating with new interlocutors, and helps to reconcile people who quarreled.
Croton and health
Croton indoor plants also protect against the appearance of new diseases. A fierce enemy of disorder, Croton puts things in order in thoughts, the human body, things and events, helping to increase immunity.
Croton flowers (codiaeum) are classified as a group of plants that must undergo a certain period of adaptation to your conditions and possibilities of keeping.
For some time, Croton, finding himself in unusual conditions of detention, sharply different from those where he was raised by such a handsome man, behaves like a “capricious child”: plants can suddenly drop leaves or even twigs. But this is not a reason to lose hope.
The beautiful colors of this flower will delight you and your loved ones, and moreover, this flower has a beneficial effect on the atmosphere in the house! We are waiting for your comments!
