Croton - home care and how to water this plant

Croton is a beautiful decorative evergreen. He is appreciated for the beautiful shape and original coloring of the leaves.

Origin of Croton

The homeland of croton, or codium, is the tropical and subtropical regions of Indonesia, Southeast Asia, India and some islands of the Pacific Ocean. In Europe, he first appeared in the first half of the XIX century.

Croton is a plant with a dense smooth erect stem, from which a large number of lateral processes depart. Some species do not have a trunk; leaves depart immediately from the root.

Croton

Under natural conditions, the plant reaches a height of 4 meters and even more, in room conditions - up to one meter.

Belongs to the family Euphorbiaceae. Croton juice is poisonous, therefore dangerous for animals and humans. If it gets on the skin, it can cause irritation, if it enters the stomach - vomiting and diarrhea. Therefore, when caring for a plant, flower growers observe safety precautions: they put gloves on their hands. Tools and hands should be thoroughly washed with water after work.

How the croton houseplant blooms

The flowering period is the end of February and the beginning of March.

The flowers are white with a yellowish tinge and rather nondescript. Formed in the leaf sinuses of the plant. Collected in a small panicle, which is located on a dense peduncle. Bright sunlight stimulates the appearance of flowers.

Dioecious flowers. Usually, female flowers first appear, then male flowers. The flowering period is about a month.

Croton blooms greatly weaken the plant, so they are usually removed.

Croton leaf descriptions

The perennial has hard and leathery leaves, resembling ficus leaves located on the petioles. Depending on the type, they can be ribbon-shaped, curled, narrow, wide, large and small, have a shape from three-fingered to oval, smooth or slightly wavy edges.

Leaf color may also vary by species. There are plants with pink, dark green, olive, chocolate, raspberry, red leaves.

A relief pattern is clearly visible along the veins.

Attention! Typically, croton leaves are two-tone, but there are species in which the color of the leaves consists of 5-6 flowers.

Young leaflets are usually green or yellow. Over time, they can change color, spots of different colors appear on them, and the bush acquires its bright and beautiful appearance.

Types and varieties of croton

Currently, more than 1200 species of croton are known. However, for growing at home, only the Variegatum codium, its varieties and hybrids derived from it are suitable. Currently, most hybrids are bred by US breeders.

Dragon look

The birthplace of the plant is America. It got its name because of the red resin, somewhat reminiscent of blood. Adult plants look like trees with a thick trunk.

Croton dragon

This resin is used in the manufacture of varnishes, as well as in traditional medicine, as it has good antiseptic and analgesic properties. It is used in the treatment of various kinds of ulcers, for healing wounds. Resin preparations are prescribed for low immunity.

Croton Cascarilla or Euteria

Under natural conditions, Cascarilla is a small tree. The bark has a pleasant sweetish smell. It is used in the preparation of aromatic oils.

In medicine, oil is prescribed for diseases of the respiratory tract or stomach. It has antiseptic properties, so it is used for skin inflammatory processes. In cooking, perfume is made from it for liquors.

Thorny Croton

The shrub resembles a dragon croton not only in appearance, but also in properties and scope.

The color of the leaves is green and red.

Resin is used in the paint and varnish industry for the manufacture of varnishes.

Laxative croton

The birthplace of the plant is Asia. May grow as a shrub or small tree, depending on conditions.

Valuable raw materials for pharmacology are seeds. They produce oil that has a laxative effect.

Oil is used in homeopathy, cosmetology, medicine. It is used in the treatment of eczema, herpes and constipation. However, the oil from the seeds of the laxative croton is poisonous. During treatment, you must strictly adhere to the dosage so as not to harm the body.

Motley Croton

This is the most common type. On its basis, for cultivation at home, many different varieties and hybrids of crotons as indoor plants were bred.

Leaves can have different shapes: from spiral to oval. Painted in at least two colors. Usually these are combinations of colors of yellow, green, brown, pink and red.

Croton variegated

Three-Bladed Crotons

The shape of the leaf plate of this species resembles an oak leaf. Visually, it is divided into three parts, with the central part being larger in size than the side ones.

The leaves themselves are large, hard, leathery. Color is combined from green, yellow, red, brown, burgundy and other colors.

This type includes codecs:

• Excilant;
• Nervia;
• Disraeli
• Holuffianaa.

Croton EXCILENT

Narrow-leaved crotons

This variety includes plants with long but narrow leaves. They are used in the design not only of residential premises, but also of offices.

The most optimal conditions for development are diffused light, warm moist air and moist soil.

This group includes:

• Mummy
• Sunny is old;
• Zanzibar;
• Splashes of champagne.

Croton mummy

Leaves usually have a length of up to 30 cm. Under favorable conditions, the plant can reach 1 m in height.

Bladed varieties of crotons

In this type of codium, the leaf plate resembles three-bladed varieties, but only it is whole.

The shape and dimensions of the sheet plate may also vary depending on the variety.

This type includes:

• Petra;
• Gold Sun;
• Mrs. Iston.

On sale you can also see the croton Variegatum Mix. In the case of the sale of mixed plants, it is proposed not a specific variety of the indoor flower croton, but a cluster of several varieties and hybrids of codiaeum, which can be difficult to identify.

Croton mix

Croton transplant after purchase in open ground

After acquiring codium, it is recommended to transplant the plant into another soil, because the substrate used for transporting seedlings is not always suitable for long-term cultivation.

However, the croton flower should not be transplanted on the same day that it was acquired. Landing can be started after at least 10 days. During this time, the plant acclimatizes and transfers the transplant easier.

For young bushes, a transplant is recommended every year, adults - no more than 1 time in three years (as the root system grows).

It is best to deal with bush transplants in spring or early summer.

What you need to plant a croton

For optimum growth and development, codiae need a light and fertile land. To prepare the substrate on their own, they take turf soil, fine sand, humus and peat in equal proportions. All components of the substrate are thoroughly mixed.

Additionally, some charcoal or ash can be added to the soil. This will prevent the spread of putrefactive diseases in plants.

For planting, you can purchase universal soil for indoor plants in a specialized store. Also, for transplantation, it is necessary to prepare a flower pot in diameter larger than the previous 3 cm, made of plastic or clay. An important condition is that it should have large drainage holes.

Choosing the best place

The best place to grow codium is a warm, sunny place, without drafts. With a lack of lighting, the leaves will lose their variegated color and become monochromatic.

Direct sunlight will not harm the leaves, but it is preferable that the light be diffused. It is best to place the flower on a window that faces west or east.

In order for the codeium to feel comfortable and develop normally, the surrounding air must be humid. Do not place the flower next to heating appliances that dry the air very much.

Step-by-step landing process

1. First of all, you need to prepare a flower pot.
2. Sterilized drainage is poured at the bottom. It can be crushed broken red bricks, expanded clay, polystyrene, etc.
3. Part of the soil mixture is poured onto the drainage, which is slightly tamped and moistened.
4. A plant is taken out of the pot. Be sure to monitor the integrity of the earthen coma. It must not be destroyed. It is better to use the transfer method from one pot to another.

Croton transplant

5. Inspect the root system. If rotted roots are noticed, then they must be removed.
6. Position the flower in the pot and fill the remaining mixture with the pot. In this case, you must ensure that there are no voids between the earthen lump and the walls of the pot. The container can be shaken periodically so that the earth evenly falls asleep in free cavities.
7. After transplanting, the soil is moderately watered, the leaves are sprayed with water and the pot is placed in a warm shaded place.

If there is no desire to grow a high croton flower, then transplantation is not necessary. If the ground is covered with white coating, then you can just update it a bit. To do this, carefully remove the topsoil (3-5 cm) and add new soil on top.

Croton propagation

A plant can multiply in several ways:

• cuttings;
• layering;
• seeds.

Propagation by cuttings

To obtain high-quality cuttings, lignified healthy shoots are selected. The cuttings are cut from the apical part of the shoot 7-10 cm long with 2-3 leaves.

A shoot of the shoot is dipped in a glass of water and incubated for several hours. Thanks to this procedure, the milky juice on the cut will not be able to dry. Then the stalk is taken out of the glass, the remaining juice is removed and placed in a container with a sand-peat mixture. Cuttings are placed in a bright place. The air temperature in the room should be at least + 25 ° C.

After about a month, roots form on the cuttings. After rooting, the plant begins to actively release shoots.

Propagation by cuttings

Propagating the flower with cuttings is better in spring or early summer.

Seed cultivation

Seeds are harvested on their own or purchased at the store.

Seeds are sown on the prepared sand-peat mixture and lightly crushed on top with the same mixture. They are pre-soaked in a Kornevin solution for better germination.

Then the container is covered with plastic wrap and put in a warm place. It is recommended that the greenhouse be aired daily. If the soil is dry, then the soil is sprayed. One month after sowing, seedlings appear.

Croton home care

Many beginner gardeners do not know how to care for a croton at home. In principle, it is not difficult, although there are some nuances.

Watering mode

Kodiyum is a tropical plant for which one of the important conditions for normal development is high humidity. It should be 70-80%. Therefore, it is important to regularly water the plant and spray the leaves with water.

In the hot season and in the heating season, the plant will greatly benefit from spraying with warm water from a spray bottle. Also periodically you need to wipe the surface of the leaves with a damp cloth.

For irrigation, you need to use warm, settled water. The soil of the flowerpot should be moist all the time, but not waterlogged. Usually, watering is carried out in the warm season 2-3 times a week, in winter - 1 time.

Top dressing

In the spring-summer period, croton is fed with a solution of mineral fertilizers, which is used for deciduous plants. The frequency of fertilizer application is 1-2 times per month.

In winter, top dressing is not performed or is carried out, but no more than 1 time.

Winter preparations

In winter, the daylight hours for the plant should be at least 12 hours. Therefore, it is necessary to organize artificial lighting. If you do not arrange the backlight, then the leaves will lose their mottled color.

Ambient temperature should not fall below + 17 ° С. Optimally, it should be in the range of + 18-20 ° C.

Flower pots should be removed from cold window panes and away from heaters.

Thus, caring for a croton at home is simple, you just need to follow some rules to make this beautiful and festive flower delight the household with bright colors.