{"id":4453,"date":"2025-01-06T08:26:12","date_gmt":"2025-01-06T16:26:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/?p=4453"},"modified":"2025-01-06T08:26:12","modified_gmt":"2025-01-06T16:26:12","slug":"color-me-croton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/color-me-croton\/","title":{"rendered":"Color Me Croton"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Sadly, the poinsettia plants that many of us purchased over the holiday period have given their all, lost their colorful bracts, and been consigned to the curb, the compost pile, or that neglected spot among the unloved houseplants where seasonal specimens go to die. Now, with holiday decorations stowed, and spring still far off, many of us feel starved for color. After the holidays we may also be a bit light in the pocketbook. The challenge is to brighten up our winter lives without bumping up against credit limits.
\nFortunately, the answer is waiting at your local garden center, and its name is \u201ccroton\u201d, or, more properly Codiaeum variegatum.
\nLike the recently departed poinsettias, crotons are part of the large euphorbia or Euphorbiaceae family and feature stems that contain a characteristic thick, milky sap. If you have children or pets, position your croton out of reach. The sap may be irritating to skin and is definitely dangerous to ingest.
\nHailing from tropical western Pacific and Asian areas, the plants are notable for their riotously colored leaves, which shine forth in combinations of bright red-orange, yellow, white, purple, pink and green. The flowers are insignificant and seasonal, and it is safe to say that no one buys a croton for its flowers.
\nCroton plants can grow to twenty feet tall in the wild, but containerized specimens for home display are generally anywhere from three to six feet in height. The leaves are always colorful, but depending on the variety, they may range from two to 12 inches long, wide or narrow, occasionally twisted or lobed, and often with heavy ribbing.
\nIn parts of Florida and California, tender perennial crotons have long been popular, and were frequently used in commercial installations at gas stations, motels and shopping areas, in the mid twentieth century. The fact that there are variegatum cultivars named after both Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt attests to the height of the species\u2019 popularity in the nineteen thirties and forties.
\nFor those of us in cold winter climates, crotons make congenial houseplants, preferring fertile soil and bright, indirect sunlight. Southeast or southwest-facing windows provide the light exposure most conducive to developing and sustaining good leaf color. Protect the plants from drafts and mist regularly if the indoor air is dry. Water only when the top of the soil feels dry\u2014too much water makes for an unhappy croton. When warm weather rolls around, the plants can go outside, but should be placed in filtered sunlight. As night temperatures dip into the fifties in the fall, return the plants to their indoor locations.
\nOne of my favorite crotons is \u2018Petra\u2019, which is widely available and often labeled simply as \u201cCroton\u201d with no varietal label. It boasts fat, ovoid leaves that are bright green and yellow, with pinkish-red ribbing. \u2018Gold Dust\u2019 features somewhat narrower green leaves splotched and speckled with gold. \u2018Oak Leaf\u2019 is similar in color to \u2018Petra\u2019, but the large leaves are lobed, reminiscent of the configuration of oak foliage. The unfortunately-named \u2018Mammy Red\u2019\u2014which is sometimes billed as \u2018Mamie Red\u2019, is glorious, with elongated leaves and more red coloring than either \u2018Petra\u2019 or \u2018Oak Leaf\u2019. \u2018Banana Yellow\u2019 shows off with extremely narrow green foliage, accented with bright yellow midribs and some yellow \u201cdusting\u201d on each leaf.
\nIn warm winter climates, some gardeners use crotons as specimen plants, in mixed perennial and shrub groupings, or as hedges. For those of us up north, the containerized plants make lovely summer accents on porches and patios, or around pools or other water features. They harmonize nicely with the equally flashy cannas and\/or annual lantanas.
\nIn the wake of the December holiday season, crotons will once again make their way from the backs of garden centers to the fronts, as the poinsettias go the way of all things. This is a good time to buy one. Mass merchandisers will be stocking them as well. You can also find a selection of the plants at Eureka Farms, 16700 SW 184th St, Miami, Florida 33187; (305) 234-9588; www. eureka-farms.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sadly, the poinsettia plants that many of us purchased over the holiday period have given their all, lost their colorful bracts, and been consigned to the curb, the compost pile, or that neglected spot among the unloved houseplants where seasonal specimens go to die. Now, with holiday decorations stowed, and spring still far off, many … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,2,3,1,5],"tags":[3127,701,3104,677,3128,3129,495,492,499],"class_list":["post-4453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fall","category-general-interest","category-spring","category-summer","category-uncategorized","category-winter","tag-codiaeum-variegatum","tag-colorful-foliage","tag-colorful-leaves","tag-crotons","tag-euphorbia-family","tag-euphorbiaceae","tag-houseplant-care","tag-houseplants","tag-tropical-plants"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4453","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4453"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4453\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4455,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4453\/revisions\/4455"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}