Bright colors of shiny curly croton leaves make this unique giant stand out from its competitors. Even in the company of the most striking flowering plants, it is always visible. Croton is the perfect color decoration for any office and modern home. And from the purchase of this plant, neither its poisonousness, nor the risk of croton transformation into a much less attractive “stick” without proper care measures is not deterred. Demanding to everything except lighting, Croton is an always up-to-date classic of indoor floriculture.
The brightest indoor crotons
Contents:
The most colorful varieties of Croton
No matter how hard encyclopedias and reference books try, the botanical name “codiaum” has not supplanted the more popular, simpler and so familiar to everyone name “croton”. Colorful crotons-codiaums are good everywhere, in any interior and office. They remain a bright color spot even in winter, when yellow-orange-red colors are so lacking.
Crotons in their youth seem compact, showing off only a rosette of large leaves, but the trunk quickly rises up to 2 meters without plant control. Constant renewal, dropping old leaves from below exposes the “leg”, but the beauty of the foliage remains.
Large, curly and very tough leaves, the shape of which is often compared to oak, are the main pride of Croton. They are strikingly variable, surprising with both contours and shades, and the presence of decorative forms with narrow, lobed, spiral-shaped, curly leaves. Only bright color veins and the presence of patterns, erosion, shades and specks remain unchanged – always within the framework of the autumn-fiery and sunny palette, and repainting with age in red tones. Rare clusters of inflorescences are hardly noticeable and negatively affect the leaves.
In room culture, only one type of croton is grown – motley codiaum (Codiaeum variegatum). He has long since moved from flower shop windows and greenhouses to the interiors of rooms. New varieties, in addition to outlandish bright colors, can boast of more and more resistance.
Today, the most popular are the following extravagant varieties of hybrid codiaums with dazzling colors:
Variegated codiaeum (Codiaeum variegatum), cultivar ‘Mammie’ (‘Mammy’). Farmer Burea-Uinsurance.com upsidedownhouseplants
Codiaeum variegated (Codiaeum variegatum), cultivar ‘Magnificent’. Farmer Burea-Uinsurance.com katieanneplants
Codiaeum variegated (Codiaeum variegatum), cultivar ‘Gold Dust’. Farmer Burea-Uinsurance.com mannysplants
- Mrs. Iceton – almost devoid of green color, changing young yellow leaves to delicate pink, raspberry, purple and red colors with dark streaks and strokes.
- Pie Crust – a spectacular variety with wavy lanceolate leaves, at any age covered with large specks – from yellow on a bright green background to pink-fuchsia on dark red.
- mommy (Mammy) Is a variety with bizarrely twisted leaves, famous for its scarlet and purple spots on a dark, almost black background, replacing the yellow fire of young leaves.
- Thai String – one of the most narrow-leaved varieties, whose long grass-like leaves are painted in a wide variety of shades of purple.
- Andreanum Is a spectacular oval-leaved variety with almost yellow leaves, backlit with light gold edges and veins.
- Evening Embers – a metallic variety with a bluish bloom on almost black leaves, mottled with light green and red spots.
- Magnificent – a watercolor variety with blurred tints of red, orange, pink, bronze and lilac on a dark background, with variegated patterns of light yellow colors.
- Gold dust – speckled croton, in which rich grassy green and lemon yellow mix into small ripples, forming an explosion of splashes of color.
- Zanzibar – a variety with grass-like leaves in a very graphic crown and a mixture of shades of purple, red, gold and orange with a light vein in the middle.
- Majesticum – a luxurious variety with thin drooping shoots and very narrow leaves with a golden central vein, changing from dark green to red.
- Eleanor Roosevelt и Franklin Roosevelt – similar varieties with lanceolate, elongated leaves with a basic medium-bright color, turning red with age into very dark wine shades and covered with gold, in the second grade – yellow-pink spots.
- Ramshot – an unusual variety with sickle-curving, densely spotted leaves that change from yellow-green to pink-red as they age.
- Irene Kingsley – a violet-leaved variety with very strict, large, spear-shaped-three-toothed leaves, a bright pink border and a central vein, as if dissolving over time.
Variegated codiaeum (Codiaeum variegatum), cultivar ‘Zanzibar’. Farmer Burea-Uinsurance.com Clesen Wholesale
Variegated codiaeum (Codiaeum variegatum), cultivar ‘Eleanor Roosevelt’. Farmer Burea-Uinsurance.com flaura_linsley
Conditions for growing varietal crotons
Do not assume that codiaums will find a place only in conservatories or bathrooms with their stable heat and moisture. In the rooms for them, you can also find a good place, but it is better not to forget about the habits of the plant and their requirements.
Read also our article Modern Croton varieties and their cultivation.
Lighting and placement
Crotons hardly notice the difference between natural and artificial lighting, grow well in bright rooms and do not welcome only two extremes – direct sunlight and strong shade. Different varieties have different light-requiring (and the dependence of color on the intensity of light), therefore, when buying, it is better to clarify what kind of lighting a particular plant is accustomed to.
There is nothing difficult in choosing a place. Crotons are placed where their decorativeness is revealed to add dividers and bright accents. In offices, lighting compensates for the distance from the window, in rooms it is worth focusing on conditions similar to those of western or eastern window sills.
Temperature and humidity for crotons
The heat-loving and moisture-loving Croton does not tolerate cold snaps, it is afraid of drafts, especially with a strong temperature difference. The ideal is considered to be a summer temperature of about 20 degrees and a winter temperature of about 18, but in general it feels great in living rooms and offices with their stability. In summer, when the night temperature does not drop below 16 degrees, crotons will happily move to the open air.
The rates of aging and deformation, the effectiveness of croton leaves directly depend on whether comfortable air humidity is maintained. Codiaums do not welcome dry air, and even more so the proximity of batteries and air conditioners. You can maintain at least an average air humidity by any available means – spraying, installing pallets, humidifiers.
The effectiveness of croton leaves directly depends on whether comfortable air humidity is maintained.
Simple but thorough care
For codiaums, constant soil moisture is a prerequisite. They will remain decorative and compact for many years only if gross mistakes are excluded and the substrate does not completely dry out. Watering is carried out abundantly, allowing a few centimeters to dry at the top of the substrate. In winter, watering is reduced.
Crotons signal the need for watering by sagging leaves. It is better to drain the water from the pallets after 5-10 minutes. And choose it correctly – soft, slightly lukewarm or identical temperature in the room.
Croton feeds are carried out all year round, with special fertilizers for decorative deciduous plants. From March to September, 1 top dressing every 3 weeks is enough, from October to the end of February – 1 top dressing every 1,5 months.
Leaves should be kept clean by regular wet cleaning. Crotons welcome the use of leaf polishes.
Croton pruning is not needed. Only when the desired size is outgrown and the trunk is excessively stretched, the tops are rerooted or pinched. Regular procedures are reduced to the removal of drying leaves and flower buds.
Read also our article Caring for codiaum. Reproduction of codiaeum variegated.
Problems in growing crotons
Despite the amazing density of leaves, in the absence of basic hygiene and constant overflow, Croton will not only suffer from rot, spotting, late blight and fusarium, but also become vulnerable to thrips, aphids, spider mites. It is very difficult to remove scale insects from its leaves. Any pests should be fought not only by correcting care and washing, but also by treating with insecticides, and diseases with fungicides.
The plant always signals about uncomfortable conditions and careless care with its leaves:
- with insufficient watering, they droop;
- when overflowing, they become covered with brown-black spots;
- when the soil is depleted, they become smaller;
- with poor lighting, they lose their colors;
- in direct sun and in heat they become covered with white spots and dry out at the ends;
- in the cold and in a draft, they do not grow and fall.
In the cold and in a draft, crotons do not grow and fall off. Farmer Burea-Uinsurance.com bloomscape
Transplant, containers and substrate
Crotons are transplanted when the roots appear in the drainage holes, in February or March, by the transshipment method, removing only free soil and the upper contaminated layer of the substrate.
Crotons are grown in standard pots with a depth slightly exceeding the diameter. Stable ceramic vessels with large drainage holes are preferred. 3-4 cm of drainage are laid at the bottom of the containers. Increase the pots during transplantation by no more than 4 cm.
Any loose universal substrate with neutral acidity and a high percentage of soddy soil is suitable for croton. To prevent problems in the soil, it is imperative to mix rippers, ideally perlite or small expanded clay.
Read also our article 7 sunniest plants for winter interior.
Reproduction of crotons
Reproduction of codiaums requires experience and skills. If you want to root the shoots and get a new plant, it is easier to use the method of air layering – cut the bark on the stem in the internode with a “ring” and wrap it with wet moss, fixing it securely on the stem. Maintaining light moisture allows roots to develop over time. Only after they have grown up enough, the top is separated and planted as an independent plant.
Classic cuttings with tops (length about 10-15 cm) is considered difficult, requiring strict control of conditions: temperature of 25 degrees and stable substrate moisture in greenhouses with bottom heating.
