Croton is a beautiful plant that delights with the beauty of its variegated leaves. Many housewives dream of having a croton flower in their home. Care at home for him is not so simple, which is explained by the finicky culture. The thing is that the plant is very demanding on external conditions. In our article we want to talk about how to grow croton at home.
Finicky handsome
Croton, or codium, as it is often called, belongs to the family of euphorbiaceae, which includes many inhabitants of tropical forests and ornamental home plants.
As you know, growing conditions in the tropics and at home are very different. Therefore, in the wild, crotons reach three meters in height. At home, with proper care, the plant can reach 1.5 meters. Having overcome some difficulties in care, you can get a beautiful flower, pleasing with its variegated foliage. The efforts made in the care process are worth the result that you ultimately get.
Flower description
Croton is sometimes called the codium or "Joseph's cloak." In Greek, the name of the plant means "head". Why culture got such a name, experts do not know for sure. There is speculation that the plant was named after a city in southern Italy.
The islands of Northern Australia and the Pacific Ocean, as well as Southeast Asia and India are considered to be the birthplace of wild-growing forms of croton. The genus has many species. But indoor culture is represented only by motley croton and its hybrids. The croton flower (photo is given in the article) is considered one of the most beautiful decorative indoor crops. The plant is used as interior decoration. In some countries, croton is considered the guardian of the hearth, which protects the apartment from negative energy.
At home, the plant usually does not exceed a height of 1-1.5 m, even with the best care. The description of the croton flower, of course, cannot convey all its beauty. Decorative plants - its main advantage. Crotons are often used to decorate halls, lobbies, offices and other premises. Their beautiful leaves of various shapes and bright colors invariably attract people's attention. Externally, the codecs resemble a small tree. The formation of the crown occurs rather slowly, so you should not hope for a quick result. In order to get a beautiful bush, the plant is periodically sheared.
Codium is a flowering plant. But culture rarely blooms. At the same time, the plant releases an arrow with small nondescript flowers painted in a light yellow shade. It is worth saying that bloom does not add particular beauty to the croton. But the plant spends a lot of strength and nutrients. Therefore, many flower growers prefer to initially remove the arrow so that the crop does not lose its supply of nutrients.
Types of culture
For cultivation at home, several varieties of crotons are used. Flowers differ in the shape and size of the leaves, as well as their colors. The most popular species is the croton Motley. The plant has the shape of a bush, the height of which reaches three meters. On the branches of the culture are green-brown leaves. There are several varieties, the main difference of which is in the form of foliage:
- Grade "excellent". The plant has characteristic oak leaves, painted yellow-green on top, and red-burgundy on the bottom.
- Grade "dizraeli". Plants have leaves of lobed form, painted brick-brown underneath, and green-yellow with characteristic veins and specks on top.
- Variety "black prince". This plant has a very exotic look. On the black surface of the foliage there are red and orange spots and veins.
- Variety "Peter". Plants of this species may have lobed, oval and pointed leaves of dark green color with yellow streaks and specks.
- Grade "Mrs. Ayston." Small-sized trees have brightly colored foliage, which can be yellow-pink, maroon with pink dots or golden with black dots.
Among flower growers, croton varigatum is no less popular. The plant has the shape of a bush with a bare stem. The leaves of the flower are painted in green-brown tones. Varigatum is represented by several types:
- The flat-leaved croton has oval wavy leaves that reach a length of 30 cm and a width of 10 cm.
- Lobed view. Its distinctive feature is three-lobed leaves, which can have a plain or variegated color. In length they reach 22 cm.
- The appendage croton has characteristic green and variegated colored leaves, which consist of several plates.
- The decorated codium is actively used by breeders to obtain new hybrids.
Plant acquisition
What is necessary to provide croton care at home (flower photos are given in the article)? Much depends on the quality of the plant you purchased in the store. Therefore, I want to say a few words about how to choose the right plant. Buy only those items that have a healthy look. Plants should have hard elastic leaves with bright colors. There should not be traces of pests on their surface.
Instances of sluggish foliage should not be purchased, as they will certainly fall during the adaptation in your home. And in the worst case, the plant may die at all. Young bushes should be preferred, as they are easier to take root and easier to tolerate the period of adaptation. It is not necessary to purchase a ready-made plant in a store; it is enough to break off the stalk from the croton you like from friends or neighbors.
Lighting and temperature
Maintaining the right temperature and proper lighting is the basis of home care. The indoor flower Croton differs from other cultures in its stunningly bright color of the sheets, which attracts the attention of flower growers. In order for the bushes to please with a variegated color, it is necessary to place them in a well-lit place. It must be remembered that with a lack of light, the plant loses its unique decorative effect. But at the same time, in the summer, crotons must be shaded from direct rays. The leaves of the culture only seem stiff. However, from the sun, burns quickly appear on them, which look like spots. In winter, the plant can be placed on the south window. If you organize the care properly, the croton flower will certainly delight you with its beauty.
It must be remembered that the tropics are the birthplace of the codium, so culture is thermophilic. Proper temperature control is an important component of home care. The croton flower is demanding on the air temperature of the room in which it is located. The optimum temperature for the crop is + 20 ... + 22 degrees. Please note that the temperature should not fall below +16 degrees. In summer, the bushes can be put on the balcony or taken out to the garden, installing protection from the wind and scorching sunlight.
Humidity
It must be remembered that the tropical inhabitant is very fond of high humidity. Therefore, spraying the bushes should be a regular procedure for home care. The croton flower should be regularly bathed and sprayed from the spray gun in the spring and summer.
If the plant is in a cool room in winter, then water procedures can be practically eliminated. But remember that heating dries the air enough. If you do not want to bother with winter spraying, remove the bushes away from radiators. Otherwise, you have to moisten the air twice a day. In addition, you can increase the humidity in a simple way. Near the pot it is necessary to place a vessel with water or a tray with wet moss or expanded clay. There is another way to maintain the necessary moisture for the croton flower. Home care can be greatly simplified if you use a humidifier, which is best placed near the bush.
Another important point in the care is regular rubbing of the leaves with a damp sponge. The procedure must be performed at least once a week.
Watering
Very often, amateur gardeners have many questions regarding the proper care at home. Indoor flower croton can not be called unpretentious culture. He is very sensitive, so care for him should be especially careful. It is important to properly organize watering the plants. Humidify the bushes in such a way that the soil is always a little moist. But it is important to prevent stagnation of water in the roots. Watering is one of the most important components of care. Croton flower does not like dryness, but also does not tolerate an excess of moisture, which leads to decay of the root system. At the same time, excessive dryness causes the leaves to fall and dry out.
Therefore, it is recommended to use drainage when landing. The croton flower (see photo in the article) should be regularly and abundantly watered, but moisture must not be allowed to stagnate.
In winter and autumn, watering should be reduced if the room is cool. Experienced growers recommend using only warm, settled water. This condition applies not only to watering, but also to spraying. It is better to take filtered water. In the summer, the plant needs bathing in the shower.
Fertilizer use
All the beauty of the variegated color of the plant can be estimated by the photo of the croton flower. How to care for the crop to get the same beautiful bushes as in a store? It is necessary to fertilize the plant regularly. From April to November, you need to do two top dressings per month. But in winter, one fertilizer per month is enough.
For top dressing, complex mineral fertilizers created for decorative and deciduous crops should be used. Fertilize plants after heavy watering so as not to burn the roots.
Transplant Rules
It is no secret that almost all indoor flowers need a regular transplant. Croton in home care is very moody. But at the same time, he needs an annual transplant of young bushes. Transshipment of adult plants can be done much less frequently - about once every three years. The transplant should be carried out in the spring before the onset of the growing season.
For croton, it is necessary to use soil that is most suitable for the soil in which it grows in the natural environment. Many flower growers recommend purchasing a ready-made substrate. But you can prepare the mixture yourself. To do this, in equal proportions, it is necessary to mix humus, sifted sand, turf land and peat. By the way, charcoal can be added to the mixture to avoid rotting of the root system. The prepared mixture must be calcined in the oven or spilled with a solution of potassium permanganate so that insect larvae do not remain in it.
The convenience of the finished substrate is that it can be used without pre-treatment.
Pot selection
Before planting a croton flower, you must choose the right pot. For young bushes, you should take a medium-sized, not deep pot. The pot should not have much unnecessary space, otherwise the roots may rot. It is necessary to transplant the plant if you notice that the roots are visible from the drainage hole. The new flowerpot should be slightly wider than the previous. The diameter must be increased by no more than 5 cm.
Young plants brought from the store do not need an emergency transplant. The supply of nutrients in the substrate is enough for them for a long time. At the initial stage, it is important to ensure the proper care of the flower. Croton (photo is given in the article) must adapt in your apartment and get used to new conditions. Moving it from the store to your home is stressful for the plant. Therefore, a transplant at this time can lead to the death of the bush.
Transfer
Many beginner gardeners are wondering about how to plant a croton. The flower needs good drainage. Therefore, at the bottom of the pot, it is necessary to put a layer of expanded clay, the thickness of which should be at least three centimeters. Before planting, the plant must be shed well to gently extract the roots from the old flowerpot without damaging them. If the earthball does not fall apart, the root system will remain intact.
Soil is poured at the bottom of the tank with drainage. Next, put a flower in a flowerpot and fill the roots with earth. Press the soil with your hands. Planted bush is abundantly watered with settled water. In the future, it is very important to ensure the proper care of the flower. Croton (see photo in the article) after transplantation must be put in a slightly shaded place. The plant must be regularly watered and sprayed on its leaves.
Young crotons are transplanted annually. As soon as the plant is transplanted into a container with a diameter of 25 cm, its transshipment is not carried out. Topsoil can be updated annually. This is quite enough for the plant.
Breeding
How to breed a croton? A flower can be propagated in several ways: seeds and cuttings. The latter method is very simple and convenient. To get a young plant, just cut off the top of the bush and root it. If you want to get several cuttings, you need to divide the shoot into several parts. Please note that each piece of the stem must have at least one healthy leaf and one internode. Only in this case can the root be planted and a new flower obtained. Reproduction of croton is a simple matter. The resulting pieces of the stem on the slices secrete milky juice, which is a toxic substance. White juice must be washed off with water. Next, the cuttings are dried for several hours. Leaves are removed from the bottom. The upper leaves are cut half parallel to the veins.
Dried cuttings can be placed in a vessel with water. The liquid in the container should not be cold (+ 23 ... + 30 degrees). In cooler water, the plant will not only not give roots, but will also rot. How to propagate a flower? Croton, whose photo is striking in beauty, can be planted in a pot only after roots grow to a length of 2 cm. In the future, it is necessary to regularly spray the soil and the plant itself. When the elasticity of the foliage is restored, the croton will begin to grow.
Seed propagation
The plant can also be propagated by seeds. It is important to remember that freshly harvested material must be used for sowing. Croton seeds lose their germination very quickly. Experienced flower growers recommend propagating the plant by cuttings. Firstly, this method is much simpler, and secondly, it allows you to save all varietal characters. Unfortunately, the same results cannot be achieved with seed propagation. The process takes a lot of time and does not give the desired result.
If you still decide to use the seeds, they must first be warmed up in water at a temperature of 60 degrees for 30 minutes. After they must be left to swell in the liquid for a day.
Prepared seeds are sown in containers with soil to a depth of not more than one centimeter. Boxes with crops on top are covered with glass and placed in a warm place with a temperature of at least 22 degrees. Before emergence, watering must be done through the pan. Next, the glass is removed, and the pots are taken out to a more illuminated place. As soon as the third leaf appears in the plants, they can be transplanted into separate containers to get young home-grown croton flowers. How to care for seedlings in the future? Care for seedlings is exactly the same as for adult plants.
Air lay
You probably noticed that the crotons often expose the trunk. This phenomenon affects the decorative bush. But don't be upset. From the plant, you can get air layers for a young plant. To do this, in June, at a distance of 10-15 centimeters from the top on the trunk, a circular incision is made up to a width of 0.8 cm. The cut-off point is always treated with a stimulant so that the roots form faster. You can also use moss-sphagnum, which is wrapped around the plant. From above, the section is covered with a film and tied with a rope. From above, the oilcloth should not be attached too tightly so that moss can be regularly moistened. The first roots will appear in about a month. But you can cut the stalk only after the roots grow to five centimeters. Many leaves are usually retained on the lay. To maintain their livelihoods, you need a good root system.
. . . , .
. . . , .
. , ? . , , . / ( ) , . - . . , :
- .
- Prevention of possible depletion of the plant due to lack of nutrients to all shoots.
- Hygienic procedure for removing damaged and dry leaves and branches.
Do not be afraid of the poisonous juice of the plant, which does not hinder the pruning. After all, in the end, you want to get a beautiful indoor flower. How to care for a croton? Pruning a plant must be done with gloves that protect your skin. Juice contributes to the rapid tightening of the slices, so the cuttings take root well.
The trimming procedure must be carried out regularly. After reaching the required height, all stems should be clipped or trimmed. This will enhance the growth of dense lateral growth.
It is worth saying that care depends on the age of the plant. Croton pinch the flower, if we are talking about a young bush. On adult specimens, the branches are cut. After each such procedure, the plant must be treated with stimulants and placed in a greenhouse.
Please note that when pruning, flower buds and inflorescences, if any, must be removed. Modest flowers do not decorate bushes at all, but they drastically deplete them, which affects decorativeness. Pruning plants of different varieties has its own characteristics. As you know, the croton "Peter" does not branch out very well. If you want to achieve the splendor of the bush, it is worth planting several bushes in one pot. You can create a great mix. In this case, it is necessary to form each plant separately.
Pruning should be done in early spring. It is better to do this before the onset of the active vegetative period. The first pinching can be done at the moment when the plant reaches 15 cm in height. In this case, cut off the upper growth points. In the future, all the shoots are sheared when their length reaches 20 cm. Such a haircut scheme allows you to awaken the side buds to make the bush branch actively.
The formation of a beautiful bush is not only about the right pruning. The plant must be regularly rotated relative to the light source. This will avoid the one-sided crown. Adult crotons must be treated with chopped charcoal. By the way, cut cuttings can be used to obtain new plants.
Possible problems
The beauty of foliage is the main advantage of the indoor flower croton. How to care for him, we told earlier. Compliance with all rules will avoid problems. If something is wrong with the plant, look for mistakes made in the care. Their elimination will help restore the bush to its former state.
Why do croton leaves fall? The flower may drop foliage at the bottom of the trunk. Such a process is natural. In this case, do not worry if the rest of the foliage is in order.
If you notice that the tips of the leaves dry, causing them to fall later on, this indicates a low level of humidity in the house. Tropical beauty does not have enough moisture and it dries.
When the plant is kept at low temperature, drying of the edges of the leaf plates occurs. Brown spots may also form. This phenomenon is observed if the plant suffers from cold, which leads to leaf fall. A similar picture can be observed when the bush is in a draft.
If for a long time the croton does not receive the necessary amount of moisture through irrigation, it begins to massively dry and discard the foliage. Since the root system does not receive enough moisture, it cannot provide the whole plant with it.
Sometimes croton lowers the leaves. Why is this happening? This situation is the reaction of the plant to the cold. When the roots are cold, they do not supply moisture to the plant. The flower pot must be moved to a sunny, warm place and watering should be ordered. In between periods of moisture, the soil should dry in peas by several centimeters. While the situation is not normalizing, do not feed the plant. It must be sprayed with water and wrapped in a transparent bag.
The loss of elasticity of the leaves indicates excessive moisture in the soil. Abundant and frequent watering does not allow the soil to dry out. Sometimes it can even rot the stem. But the most dangerous is the decay of the root system. Therefore, it is very important to follow the watering schedule.
Sometimes crotons absolutely do not want to grow. Why is this happening? This situation occurs if the plant does not have enough light. For a tropical resident, the sun is the basis of life. To improve the situation, the pot should be moved to a more lighted place.
Sudden leaf fall is possible if the plant is watered with cold water. Croton prefers warm watering. In the cold season, water needs to be slightly heated.
Do not worry if the young leaves on the bush are not decorative. This is a normal occurrence. New foliage is usually painted dull yellow or green; it becomes colorful with age.
Disease
The plant is rarely sick because it is poisonous. But inaccuracies in care can lead to the appearance of ailments.
Sometimes the bushes suffer from anthracosis. The disease appears with frequent watering with cold water. A sign of anthracosis are ash spots of red and gray on the foliage. The fungus is very dangerous for the crop. It penetrates into the tissues of the plant and affects it. Ill bushes must be isolated and treated with an antifungal agent. All plants that have been in contact with croton must be treated with biological products.
No less dangerous root rot. It may appear due to the reduced acidity of the soil. A sign of illness is pallor and falling leaves. In the future, softening of the stems and roots occurs. To combat rot use antifungal agents with a wide spectrum of action.
Spider mites can settle on weakened plants. In this case, a thin cobweb appears on the plant. The reason for the appearance of parasites is dry air and lack of watering.
When a light fluffy coating appears on the foliage, we can say that it is a mealybug. Also on the croton, a scale shield can settle. In this case, spots appear on the foliage. When pests appear, the pot with the plant must be isolated and treated with a soapy solution. After the foliage must be wiped with vegetable oil. If the bush is severely affected by pests, Actellik or insecticides can be used for processing.
Instead of an afterword
Many flower growers consider croton a moody plant. All difficulties with its cultivation arise due to improper care. The slightest errors cause a violent reaction. A whimsical handsome man is a tropical resident, it is not surprising that in our area it is not easy for him to take root. Croton, with proper care, can grow well in a house up to ten years. A perennial plant in the hands of experienced gardeners is able to reach impressive sizes.
The main value of culture is its decorativeness. With proper care, the croton pleases with variegated foliage and large leaves. The plant is not prone to disease due to its toxicity. And yet, with a lack of watering and humidity, crotons can be capricious and sick. And this means that the simple implementation of the rules of care will avoid troubles.