How to Grow Croton Plants (Codiaeum variegatum)

By Matt Gibson and Erin Marissa Russell

Croton plants are tropical houseplants recognise for their colourful vary foliage . Croton leaves come in a wide-eyed variety of color , colouration combination , leaf figure , and leaf sizes calculate on the variety , and are commonly found spread over in green , yellow , orange , and red-faced splashes , splotch , stripes and stripe . you could also determine croton variety show with shade of chocolate-brown , purple , copper , pink , and tusk .

Many cultivars have two or more foliar colors on display , and some type even lento change color over the grade of the arise season , while others boast three or four different colors at a fourth dimension . The name “ croton ” is commonly used as a generic term referencing all of the different varieties that live within the genus .

croton plants growing

Commonly turn as houseplant , croton plant have gotten a tough reputation for being very particular about their growing environment , as well as poverty-stricken when it get to care and upkeep . However , if you take how to provide the proper environment and tutelage , croton plant are really quite resilient and hard to kill . Once you have sex the preference and needs of these tropical lulu , croton plants become rather well-to-do to arise and maintain .

Crotons thrive outside in warm , temperate climates but will not endure by cold conditions conditions . If you are grow croton plant , you need to check that that the temperature they are expose to stay above 60 degrees Fahrenheit at all times throughout the whole yr . Codiaeum variegatum prefer humidness but will tolerate more or less desiccated condition as well .

quick , humid , tropical experimental condition are preferred , and climate like those in Florida are idealistic for outdoor croton plants . If you survive in a neighborhood where the weather gets insensate for several months each year , it is expert to arise croton works inside where you could decide the precise temperature that your plants are display to . Croton plant do n’t typically flower when they are grown indoors , but the blooms of most croton varieties are unimportant , especially compared to their arresting foliar display .

croton plant leaves

Varieties of Croton Plants

There are hundreds of different varieties of croton plants , and the differences between the various salmagundi are Brobdingnagian . Various cultivars display a wide range of coloration , color jazz group , foliage shapes , and plant life sizes . With so many salmagundi to choose from , you could grow a unlike cultivar of croton every year of your life and you would never run out of option to choose from .

Though the expansive variety is exciting , select which croton to grow can be intimidating . We made the job slimly less baleful by specialise the choices down to our favorite 20 selections . It ’s still a long list , but we could n’t leave any of these cultivar off and slumber soundly . Here are our favorites :

Andrew Croton – A popular variety show of croton , the Andrew mixed bag display long , narrow-minded deep fleeceable leaves with cream - colour streaks and edges . When arise outdoors , it can reach up to five feet marvellous . When grow as a houseplant , it is generally around three foot magniloquent .

croton leaves with text overlay how to grow croton plants codiaeum variegatum

Banana Croton – reach three to four feet tall at maturity , the hit banana croton cultivar is normally grown indoors as a houseplant . promising gullible lance - shaped leaves are highlighted by splotches of banana tree yellow .

Bush on Fire Croton – This stunning three to five fundament miscellany has drear green leathery leaves with splashes of fiery pink , orange , yellow , and ruby-red . It really looks like it is on flack with its vibrant coloration . Even more sympathetic , the leaves change color as the plant ages .

coffee Caricature Jamacian Croton – A rightfully interesting looking plant , the chocolate caricature Jamacian croton boasts Battle of Magenta stem with chocolate brownish - gullible leaf highlighted with splashes of garden pink and bronze on the inside of the upper side of the farewell .

Dreadlocks Croton – As its name indicate , the dreadlocks croton has twisted , dreadlock - like dark green leave of absence that change color as the plant ages , slowly morphing into various wraith of cerise , yellow , and orange .

Eleanor Roosevelt Croton – The long , narrow-minded leaves of the Eleanor Roosevelt croton assortment modification from fleeceable to purple as the plant eld , all the while highlighted with golden yellow splatter .

splendid Croton – The botanical name for this croton variety is C. variegatum var . pictum , ordinarily call the excellent croton , and its common name does n’t amplify its greatness . spring up three to six feet tall in containers indoors , the excellent croton shows off an impressive regalia of colored leave , flash shades of light-green , regal , yellow-bellied , orange , red , and bronze simultaneously . This is a fabulously sporty plant .

Florida Select Croton – This cultivar has showy , politic , dark-green , velvet - like leaves with orange , red , empurpled , and chickenhearted veining . The leaves deepen from a light jet , to a average green , to a dark green , and finally to a nigh black wraith of commons as the plant age .

Au Dust Croton – A pop outside salmagundi that is also well - suited to indoor ontogenesis , the Gold Dust cultivar demand full exposure to bright , collateral light . Well named , its dark-green leaf are sprinkled with small but bright gilded yellow spotting .

Gold Star Croton – This dwarf - size of it , tree - shape Croton tiglium grow to only 20 inch gamy , romp narrow-minded , linear - mold green leaves decorate with bright yellow slur .

Lauren ’s Rainbow Croton – An fantabulous cultivar for indoor growing due to its humidness and drouth tolerance , Lauren ’s croton displays long , narrow-minded , yellow , fleeceable , and morose - empurpled leaves . Her rainbow croton grow to four to five - invertebrate foot magniloquent and wide .

Magnificent Croton – This confidently - identify croton variety lives up to its name . A succinct , shaggy-haired plant that grows up to seven feet high outdoors but only three to four feet high-pitched indoors , the magnificent croton has prominent , deep - green parting that are freckled with yellow , pink , orangish , purple , and red dose . One of the few full - tone tolerant croton varieties .

Mammy Croton – Mammy croton has rounded , elongate , twisted leaf in earthly concern tone shades of light-green , carmine , maroon , orange , and gold chickenhearted .

Mother and Daughter Croton – A unfeignedly unparalleled - looking croton variety , the female parent and girl cultivar sports obscure green , dark reddened and purple foliage splash with yellow and ivory which taper off to a breaker point like they are hold onto a little leaflet .

Mrs. Iceton Croton – The Mrs. Iceton variety is a gorgeous croton cultivar . Its tranquil light source green farewell deform unlike autumnal shades of orange , pinkish , reddened , and jaundiced , finally losing nearly all of its original gullible tint .

Oakleaf Croton – Oakleaf croton has oak leaf - shaped foliage that is dark greenish or bronze . The leaves are highlight with yellow , cherry-red , and orange veinage .

Petra Croton – One of the most popular varieties of croton , the three to six - foot Petra variety displays oval , dingy - green leaves with eye - catching nervure in bright shades of pinkish , ruby-red , orange , and yellow .

Picasso ’s Paintbrush Croton – If Picasso painted this croton variety , he did it with a utter pastel pallet . The variety ’s sparse folio and short height make it look more like an ornamental dope than a tropical groundcover .

Red Iceton Croton – One of the most oculus - get variety , the red iceton croton displays dark yellow leave of absence that each gradually change to shining pink , then dark red . It ’s big leaf look extra sensational on it ’s seven to eight foot skeleton .

Zanzibar Croton – This cultivar look like a multicolored cosmetic grass in shades of red , green , orange , majestic , pink , and yellow . Absolutely glorious .

Growing Conditions for Croton Plants

Croton plants require bright , indirect brightness level to grow healthily . Unfiltered lineal sunlight can bleach out their intricate designs and vivacious color , and can even damage leaf tissue paper . Croton plants thrive in dappled sun . Though nuance is a must , croton plants still need a bright placement , as the luminosity and chroma of their lavish colors require a brilliant source of brightness . Croton plants like a nutrient full-bodied , well - drain soil with a neutral pH. A well - draining commercial potting soil is everlasting for the croton plant ’s penury .

If you are growing your Codiaeum variegatum plants indoors , keep the way they are in over 60 degrees F and keep the plant sheltered from insensate drafts and overly ironic weather condition .

Humidity , as well as bright light , are essential components in bringing out the works ’s most vibrant foliar colors . If the humidity is too grim , the plant may not only lose some of its coloration , but it could also potentially drop some of its leaves entirely .

Keep humidity levels between 40 to 80 percent . If you are find oneself it hard to maintain high-pitched humidity levels in your star sign , assay go a humidifier in the room where you keep your croton plant life , or typeset a humidity tray under the Croton tiglium plants . A humidness tray can be made by filling a shallow dish with pebbles and water , keep on the water tier under the top of the pebbles so that the plant container sit on the pebble tops without disturb the water strain . Grouping your croton plant together with other plants can also aid preserve humidness level .

How to Plant Croton Plants

Use a container that is somewhat toilsome when plant croton plants , as they are comparatively tall plants with an good emergence habit . Croton plants are known to get rather top heavy , so you want to select a container that wo n’t tap over very easily once the plant becomes full sizing . Plant Codiaeum variegatum industrial plant in a standard , well - draining potting mix and keep the substrate slightly moist , but never soggy , or wet .

In strong , humid climates , croton can be grown in the ground or in containers outdoors to add an exotic plash of tropic coloring to your landscape . The various plants work as well in containers or next to your preferent annual in your garden beds . If you live in an surface area where temperatures drop below 50 stage F , you will want to keep them in containers so that they can be add indoors during cold spells . Crotons do not grow very well from seminal fluid , but multiplying your Codiaeum variegatum plants by taking cut of existing plants is quite sluttish . For more information on how to take and settle cuttings from your crotons , refer to theHow to Propagatesection below .

Care for Croton Plants

Keep Codiaeum variegatum plant in a burnished spotlight with indirect , sink in sun , like a well - perch window facing the eastward , due south , or west . If it is not get ample light , its newly - developing leaves will be tone down in color . Keep the soil slightly but equally moist but let it dry out briefly between irrigation . Mist the industrial plant ’s leaves with a spray bottle once per week if the humidness level in your home is insufficient . downhearted humidity level make the plant more susceptible to wanderer mites .

Croton will get covered in detritus rather easily . at times clean the leaves off with a moist towelette or cloth to keep them uncontaminating . feed in the springtime and summer with either a slow - release or liquid fertilizer . Repot your Croton tiglium plants in the spring whenever need using a plenty that is one size bigger than the previous container .

trace the bottom of the unexampled container with one or two inches of a dampish , peat - basedpotting filth . Turn the plantation owner over and cautiously slide the works out of the original container . Set the industrial plant into the new planter and fulfill up the container with new potting dirt . Irrigate well to make the potting mix reconcile and add a niggling more potting soil if necessary to bring the substrate up to one column inch below the lip of the planter .

Croton set like to be trimmed occasionally . If they become long-legged , prune the fore back hard near the start of its active season and move the plant outdoors . Pruned crotons should begin to regrow from the cut luck immediately . brilliantly colored foliage is highly pendent on the amount of light the plant gets , so do n’t avoid give way your Codiaeum variegatum plenty of filtered , ever - move sun exposure .

How to Propagate Croton Plants

The simple-minded path to spread crotons is with a stem film editing . It make sense to take your cuttings when you ’re pruning crotons anyway . Choose section four to six inches long , using blank , sterilized shear to clip below a leafage tubercle ( the bump where leave of absence emerge from the stem ) . foray off the leaf from the bottom of the cutting , give three to five at the top . Dip the cutting off end into rooting hormone for best results , then consist the film editing on newspaper until any fool has dry .

Plant it in moist moxie or a mixture ofpeat mossandperlite , total a pliant bag over the top of the container for a greenhouse essence . Water the cut consistently to keep it equally moist , and store it somewhere that stays above 70 degrees Fahrenheit ( 21 degrees Celsius ) . Roots should develop within the next month .

you may also spread croton using air layering and petiole rooting , but these are not as mere as stem cuttings , nor are they potential to be as successful . grow crotons from seeds is not usually act on as the new plant wo n’t resemble the parent like the cuttings will .

Garden Pests and Diseases of Croton Plants

Croton tiglium generally do n’t have problems with pestilence and disease . When gardeners of Codiaeum variegatum do experience challenge , they ’re most potential to face one of the issues we ’ve list below . Many of the pests that infest croton plants can be treat by simply brushing the plant life ’s leaf with a cotton plant ballock that ’s been douse in rubbing alcohol every once in a while .

Still , gardeners who cultivate Codiaeum variegatum should familiarize themselves with the symptoms of the insects and diseases we ’ve listed here so they will remark a problem if one rear its heading . We ’ve also detailed on the nose how to preclude and treat each potential type of illness or infestation .

Anthracnose : Anthracnose diseases are triggered by several fungal pathogens that all get the same sobriquet because they partake in very like symptom and use the same treatments . At the outside , anthracnose causes irregular discoloration on leaves , turning spots yellow , brown , or black . The spots can expand and conflate until large areas are covered , sour darker in the process .

One style to forestall anthracnose is clean up the earth in your garden to remove leaf bedding material and plant debris , which can domiciliate the fungus kingdom over the winter . Watering plants at their base rather of splashing the moisture on their leaves can also serve reduce risk of anthracnose .

If you see symptom of anthracnose on your plants , you could utilise blank , sterilized shear to snip off those areas and minimize the disease ’s spread . It ’s also a estimable practice to quarantine any diagnostic plants so they ca n’t pass the unwellness to their neighbors . antimycotic agent can be an effective treatment , but in dangerous cases , it may be in force to remove and dispose of sick plant to save the rest of the garden . Remember not to employ morbid plant tissue in your compost so you do n’t re - premise the disease when the compost is utilise . For more details , read ourarticle Guide to Anthracnose Fungal Disease .

Caterpillars : Most nurseryman can identify the damage of caterpillars in the garden , but if you ’ve been lucky enough not to see much of it , look for fair large holes with irregular edges . They ’re often made on the out edges of plant foliage . Frequently , you’re able to find the caterpillar themselves still on the plant life or napping in the shade of their leaves . If the damage bother you , you could dispatch caterpillars with a good squish or drop them into a bowl of soapy urine to overwhelm them . However , some caterpillars become good pollinators that are n’t a threat to plants once they go through their transfiguration .

Some gardeners may prefer to apply something more justificatory than loathsome , like insect roadblock fabric ordiatomaceous earth , also called DE . A border of DE around a plant prevent cat damage because their gentle body are damaged when they crawl across it , so they ’ll avoid the expanse where it ’s been sprinkled . For more details , read ourarticle 8 Effective Ways to Get Rid of Caterpillars in the Garden .

mealybug : Mealybugsare tiny , flightless , and downy , and they vary in color from lily-white to cream or brown . Plants where mealybugs are feeding may have yellowed or curled foliation . You may also see a clear , tacky stuff called ” honeydew melon ” on the surfaces of plant haunt by mealybugs . Honeydew also attracts ant and can run to the developing ofsooty mildew fungus .

Fight back against mealybug with predatory insects like mealybug destroyers , ladybugs , or lacewing . you could also spray plants with a water and dish soap answer to keep mealybugs at bay . Other options admit neem petroleum and horticultural oil , but use these carefully and only when necessitate , because they are dangerous for good louse as well . For more details , say ourarticle How to Fight Mealybugs .

Root Rot : Root rot develops where plants are growing in environments that rest too slopped , either because they ’re overhydrated from irrigation or pelting or because the area does n’t drain well enough . To check for root rotting , gently pull up the plant and inspect its root system for changes in color or grain . etymon rot turns the roots dark and spongelike or slimy . Where you see this kind of harm , use unobjectionable , unsex garden shear to swerve those portions of the root word away . If the root system is still wet , lay your plant life out on newspapers where it will be in the sunlight so it can dry out before you replant it .

Overcoming root decomposition requires that you address the redundant wet as well in rules of order for the discourse to be successful . Avoid watering plant from above and instead target the base of the plant . you may also part checking to make certain it ’s meter for more moisture before you hydrate your flora by sticking a finger into the soil near their roots . If the terra firma feel wet or bit of malicious gossip cling to your skin , it ’s not yet time to irrigate again . Plants in containers may need a fresh soil medium that offers more drainage or might require being transplant into a plenty with more drainage holes ( or large ones ) . For more details , read ourarticle How to agitate Stem and Root Rot .

Scale : It ’s easy to neglect a scale plague if you do n’t know just what to look for . The midget insects have armored shells that make them front more like bumps along the stem turn and branches of plants than bug — and they ’re normally still once they find a berth they wish . Scales can be between an eighth of an inch to half an in long and add up in shades of gray , green , brown , and black . Where scale are living , you ’ll get hold the substance they secrete name “ honeydew , ” a clear , sticky film that attracts pismire and can causesooty stamp fungus .

If just a few scale insect are disperse on your flora , simply scrape them off with a scrub thicket , clear and sterile garden tool , or even a twig complimentary from signs of disease . If there are too many scale insects on your plants for this feeler to work , you may prune aside the surface area where you see scale . you could treat scale by secrete their predators in your garden , which admit leechlike white Anglo-Saxon Protestant , lacewing fly , or dame beetle .

Neem fossil oil will discourage their feeding and keep Modern scale leaf bugs from moving in , but it also works against beneficial bugs , so practice it with precaution and utilize it slenderly . you could make a homemade neem oil spray out of a l of warm pee , four or five drops of dish goop , and a teaspoon of neem oil , and use it on plants twice each workweek . Horticultural oils solve well on knockout cases of plague but are also prejudicious to beneficial bug . For more item , show ourarticle How to Control Scale Insects .

Spider Mites : Spider mites are such tiny little spiders that to our vision , they seem to be moving red or blank dots . Where spider mites feed , you ’ll find musca volitans of yellow , tan , or white on plant foliage along with net on the underside of leaves . If you see this webbing on your plants , get rid of it — not only will doing so inhibit the wanderer hint ’ ability to journey , you ’ll also reset the direction for treatments to reach the spider mites . As wrong progresses , plants may develop blot and run , or foliage might alter its colouring , shrink , or fall from the plant . plague that go untreated can eventually be fatal .

As soon as you discover a plant is overrun with spider mites , quarantine the works to bar their spread . you may knock the wanderer mites properly off your plants with a pip-squeak of water from the garden hose , but this approach requires a good bit of repeat before it will work . you could also defend against spider pinch by purchasing predatory mites or ladybugs from a nursery , garden core , or on-line provider and releasing them near the infested plants . Treatments using neem oil , insecticidal oil , horticultural oil , or miticide are good against spider hint but will also skip the population of your garden ’s good insects . For more details , say our articleHow to fight back Spider Mites .

Thrips : petite thrip insects come in a spectrum of colors that tramp from yellowish to black . The thrip wish to hide late in the crevice between leaves at the Qaeda of plants or where leafage meet the stem , so regain them may demand some geographic expedition . They ’re often cloaked inside the petals of a bud or at the base of a flower . You may have to tear open a few flowers to determine whether or not your job is thrip . damage heyday sack inside of unopened buds are a sure signaling of thrips .

In addition to suck the liquid out of flora cell as they bung , thrips can carry plant viruses and help them spread from works to plant . However , not all thripid are a menace , and the ones that do n’t damage plants in reality benefit the garden by feed on pest dirt ball . That ’s why the simple comportment of thripid should n’t signalise you to set forth a treatment plan , but the presence of thrip paired with signs of damage should .

Damage from thrips look like this : wilt leaves , spots or stripe on leafage that may be stripe - shaped , alternating light and blue circles that step by step inflate , or patches of necrotic tissue paper . Thrips tend to feast on the most lush parcel of the plant , so watch for damage on leaves that have just unfurled , open blossom , grain of pollen and pollen theca , or bud . Where thripid are feeding , works first turn obtuse , then become dry out and become wash away out , with a flecked , bleached look . thrip damage is often paired with frass , the term for their dung , which look like lilliputian , dark fragments or little shavings of dry , colored plant tissue .

you’re able to stave off thrips by placing a camphor pad of paper or bathroom deodorizer every so often among vulnerable plants . you may also deploy predatory insects , such as sea rover glitch , Orius nymphs , syrphid fly ball larvae , lacewing fly , or ring wing thrip . predatory touch are predator of thrips larvae but not adult thripid . A Cartesian product called Nemasys Fruit and Vegetable Protection consists of a diversity of roundworm that feed on thrips . Insecticidal easy lay is an especially good direction to keep thrips off your houseplant , and neem crude oil will also keep them at bay laurel , though it also has negative effects on beneficial insects . For more inside information , read ourarticle How to Fight Thrips .

How to Harvest Croton Plants

The leaves of croton plants commonly appear in professional flower organisation . you could add them to your own as well . Here ’s how to glean Codiaeum variegatum leaves for cut flowered arrangements just like the florists do .

crimp the bottom of the foliage and bend , so the leaf detaches at the groundwork of the petiole ( where the leaf meet the root word ) . If you have many leave and want to keep them refined , you’re able to stack them and use a safe band to secure the stack . Be thrifty not to allow the sap of leave that have just come off the plant to drip onto furniture , floors , or anything you do n’t want to be stained .

How to Store Croton Plants

Because croton plants are tropical , gardener in many zone will necessitate to relocate or stash away them during colder seasons to save them from the stress and damage that come along with the cold . croton begin to corroborate damage from the cold when temperatures get colder than about 50 degrees Fahrenheit ( 10 degrees Celsius ) . In fairly temperate areas like the southerly United States , croton plants that produce outdoors can simply be covered with Robert Lee Frost fleece , a tarp , or a similar covering to keep them safe from Robert Lee Frost .

Where the atmospheric condition lean to get colder , moreprotective cadence against winter coldare apprise , such as incite crotons indoors . When you ’re choosing an indoor location to store your Croton tiglium , select a infinite that gets plenty of bright light that ’s collateral or dappled . Your flora will need plenty of cheer , but keep in mind that they do n’t wish to be in direct sun . To fulfil their craving for humidity , you’re able to either mist the plants with piddle from a nebuliser bottle every few days or expend a humidifier in the room where Codiaeum variegatum are keep .

Croton plants are the complete way to add a tropical panache to your abode decor or outside landscape painting . Once you start growing croton , you will never end trying out different variety . You owe it to yourself to see these plants convert color first helping hand .

Toxicity Warning!

Croton plants are toxic to both humans and pets . All parts of the croton plant are poisonous , especially the seed and the sap . Ingesting minimal amounts of the croton plant can cause man to have a combustion , or stinging sensation in their mouths , and can make humans to salivate excessively . Ingesting large quantities of croton can induce important GI distress , include upturned tummy , diarrhea , sickness , and vomiting . take in the sap - filled seeded player pod can cause severe stomach pain , irregular heartbeat , and even demise . So , be certain to keep your croton works in a location that is well out of the reaching of infants or curious pets .

When the works is damage , it secretes a milky - colored sap that can stain the skin and cause cutis temper . So , whenever you are cover Croton tiglium plants , always wear protective gloves , peculiarly when off leaves , pruning , or taking cutting off for propagation . Anytime the flora is damage , the milky muggins will be present , so do n’t forget to wear glove when cultivating croton . If you distrust that your pet has ingested croton plants , particularly if they are showing symptom of croton poisoning , such as extreme lassitude and inordinate vomiting , take them to the vet straight off . dearie that have ingest any part of the croton plant may become trite , fractious , or nauseated . Croton plants are especially attractive to pets and vernal children due to their large , brightly bleached leaves , so be certain to keep them in emplacement that are well out of the reaching of child , and out of areas that are commonly access by household pet .