A prominent representative of the Euphorbia family is Croton. Croton - photo, reproduction, how to care, plant species, transplant, pruning, Croton disease narrow-leaved care

One of the most popular plants among flower growers - croton, when caring for home conditions, requires a special attitude. Consider the main rules for creating comfortable conditions for a flower, as well as the problems that arise during its cultivation, and optimal ways their solutions.

Basic rules of care

One of the disadvantages of croton is considered to be an increased demand for growing conditions. The plant is very moody - it can get sick only due to the fact that its leaves are dusty. When growing it, it is necessary to carefully monitor the microclimate of the room, to prevent movement from place to place, to protect it from cooling, drafts and drying out of the soil. An obligatory element is the formation of the crown contour. Foliage decorativeness and well-being are preserved with increased care and careful adherence to all maintenance regimes.

Location and lighting

Croton grows well on east and west windows - here the optimal proportions between brightness and the amount of sunlight are provided. Croton Mammy reacts positively to the abundance of evening sunlight. Plants of the north side additional lighting is required fluorescent lamps. On the southern windowsills in the summer noon hours there is a danger of burning the leaf plates by direct sunlight, so a little shading is required.

Sufficient lighting is the key to the well-being of the bush and the decorativeness of the leaves - the more bright, but diffused light, the more colorful the pattern and richer in color... With a lack of lighting, the juicy shades fade, the leaves turn green, losing their motley color. The weakest light has the most negative effect on the Petra variety, which requires significant illumination during the winter rest period.

When using artificial lighting, you should use LED-type lamps with a warm spectrum of radiation (ordinary incandescent lamps lead to burns on the sheet plates). Narrow-beam light sources that are located at a sufficient distance from the plants are preferred.

Temperature regime

The heat-loving croton is conservative and requires maintaining temperature indicators at a certain level, without sudden fluctuations and drops.

The ideal summer temperature is +20 - 25 ° C. With an increase of more than + 27 ° C, the plant looks depressed, additional spraying is required to increase air humidity.

Temperature indicators in the winter months should not fall below 17 ° С (optimally +18 - 20 ° С). To prevent cooling or sudden temperature fluctuations, keep the plant pot away from window glass and heating appliances.

For fear of drafts, the flower should not be placed near an open window. For the same reason, in the summer it does not need to be taken out onto the balcony or garden. The plant should be in one place with a constant microclimate.

Air humidity

The main requirement – high humidity air (ideally 70 - 80%) throughout the year. To create tropical conditions in an ordinary apartment different ways can be applied:

Use decorative fountains, air humidifiers or vessels with water;

Apply the "double bottom" principle - fill the space between the pot and the flowerpot with moss and water it constantly;

Place a container with a flower in an additional tray with water on large pebbles;

In the summer heat and in winter with dry air due to heating, spray the plant twice a day with a fine spray, so that no burns occur from sunlight on drops of water;

Arrange a warm shower in the summer months, while covering the pot itself with a film to prevent excess moisture;

Wipe the leaves regularly with a damp sponge.

Irrigation mode

A moisture-loving plant with large leaves evaporates more moisture and therefore requires constant and abundant watering, does not tolerate even a slight drying of the soil in a pot. Insufficient watering can result in leaf tips drying up and subsequently dropping.

During the active growing season (spring - summer) watering should be done daily or every other day, depending on the air temperature... The soil must be moistened, but the water in the pot must not be allowed to stagnate. Excess moisture leads to decay of the root system. To prevent unwanted consequences, there must be a drainage layer at the bottom of the pot.

In the cold season (autumn - winter), watering should be reduced to 2 - 3 times a week. There is a principle: the lower the temperature, the less watering.

Water for watering should be warm - Croton is afraid cold water and can shed the leaves. Chlorinated water must be defended.

Suitable soil

Croton grows well in loose soil, rich in nutrients, with a slightly acidic environment. This may be a store-bought mix, but is good for young bushes. When planting adult plants in it, it is worth adding a little leafy soil - this will increase the density and ensure better moisture retention.

The soil substrate can be prepared independently by mixing sod soil, coarse sand and leafy soil in equal amounts (for adult specimens, the third component is taken in double size).

Decontaminating the mixture will help provide the charcoal with fine particles. The finished substrate can be calcined or spilled with potassium permanganate - a safety measure against pests and diseases.

Rules for caring for a plant bought in a store

The acquired croton is placed in a designated place and left for 2 weeks in a calm environment for acclimatization. Transferring from a store to an apartment is quite stressful for the plant, so an immediate transplant cannot be carried out. If the bush looks good after the due date, and there is no apparent reason to replace the pot, then the procedure is not necessary. Further, the plant should be looked after according to the usual rules for it.

Feasibility of flowering

An indicator of proper croton care is its regular flowering, which is of no interest in terms of decorativeness: axillary inflorescences consist of small yellowish flowers. But this process requires a large expenditure of energy and nutrients from the plant, therefore it is necessary to remove flower buds and forming inflorescences.

The need for transplant

For young, actively developing plants, transplanting is carried out annually, since the roots quickly fill the volume of the pot and become bare, protruding from the soil. The flower receives insufficient nutrition, its leaves decrease in size and lose their decorative appearance.

Older specimens are transplanted as needed, trying do not bother them more often than once every 2 years... The last croton transplant is considered to be planting it in a pot with a diameter of 25 cm.Further, the top layer of earth should be removed annually and a new one should be added to the previous volume.

It is imperative that a drainage layer (at least 3 cm) be formed at the bottom of the pot, which will protect the plant from stagnant water and root rot. It should be transplanted with extreme care - the slightest damage to the roots is fraught with a long rehabilitation period. Therefore, the transfer method is used, when a plant with an earthen lump is moved from pot to pot.

After transplanting and watering, the plant is placed in a place protected from bright rays, where it recovers with constant spraying and watering as needed.

Personal hygiene rules

Croton's milky juice is quite poisonous - it can cause severe skin irritation or poisoning if accidentally ingested. Therefore, any contact with a plant requires accuracy: it is better to work with gloves, and then be sure to wash your hands with soap. Keep the plant away from small children and pets.

Top dressing

To ensure sufficient nutrition and preserve decorativeness, Croton needs regular feeding. At the same time, the complex mineral fertilizer for ornamental plants and organic additives. The composition of fertilizers plays an important role - the doses of individual elements should be adjusted. The brightness of the color of the leaves, an important indicator of decorativeness, increases from the presence of potassium and decreases from the presence of nitrogen. The variegated foliage of the crotons Mammy and Excelent especially suffers from an overdose of nitrogen.

Feeding mode

Croton follows fertilize between early April and late November, once every two weeks , and winter dressings are reduced to 1 time per month with a mandatory half reduction in the summer rate.

Together with top dressing and according to the same scheme, it is useful to use various growth stimulants (Zircon, Epin), which improve the condition and increase the vitality of the plant. Their solution can be watered or sprayed with bushes.

Feeding rules

Any dressing must be carried out after thorough watering - this method will save the root system from chemical burns.

It is forbidden to feed newly transplanted or diseased plants - this will increase their stress state and cause significant harm. In addition, the fresh soil contains enough nutrients, and excess fertilizer will lead to overfeeding.

Fertilizers can be dissolved in irrigation water.

Pruning as a way to form a bush

One of the problems when caring for croton is pruning, which is neglected by some growers because of the toxicity of milky juice. Pruning has three functions - shaping the aesthetic appearance of the bush, preventing plant depletion due to lack of nutrition for all shoots and carrying out hygienic procedures (dry and damaged branches are cut off).

Pruning rules

The toxicity of the plant should not serve as an obstacle in the formation of the contour of the plant - work must be carried out with gloves, and the juice itself helps to tighten the slices as soon as possible.

The procedure should be periodic - when the required height is reached, all stems are pinched or cut off at the end, which leads to the formation of a dense lateral growth. The photo clearly demonstrates the result of cropping.

To form the decorative effect of the bush, two methods are used: on young crotons - pinching, on adults - cutting.

After each stage, the bush can be sprayed with stimulants and placed in a mini - greenhouse.

The pruning process removes inflorescences and flower buds. The flowers do not adorn the bush with their modest appearance, but a lot of effort is spent on their formation, which threatens the health of the foliage.

Pruning and forming process, depending on the variety, has its own characteristics. To increase the splendor of the bush of the not very branching Peter Croton, it is possible to plant several plants in a flowerpot. When creating a composition, each plant is formed separately, taking into account the needs of its neighbors.

Trimming scheme

Crown formation in young plants should begin in early spring, before the start of the active growing season.

At the moment croton reaches a height of 15 cm, the first pinching of the upper growth points occurs. Then all the shoots are sheared every time they are 20 cm long. This scheme awakens the lateral buds and promotes active branching.

The scheme for the formation of a bush includes a regular rotation of the plant relative to light sources to prevent one-sided crown.

In adult plants, the cut sites are treated with charcoal powder. The cut off shoots are used for grafting.

Possible problems and how to solve them

Any problems arising in croton appear only when gross mistakes in care. To eliminate them, it is necessary to thoroughly study the negative signs of damage, analyze the conditions of detention and possible violations, and then start treating the plant, adjusting the methods and modes of care.

Croton's leaves dry and fall

When the leaves at the bottom of the trunk dry and then fall off, a natural aging process takes place. There is no reason to worry, as all the other leaves are in excellent condition.

If the process begins with dry tips of the leaves and ends with their dropping - this is sign of low air humidity indoors - a tropical plant dries from lack of moisture.

The low temperature when croton is kept in room conditions is expressed by the drying edges of the leaf plates, as well as the appearance of brown spots - the flower suffers from the cold and soon reacts to this with leaf fall. The same picture occurs when the plant is in a draft.

A prolonged period with insufficient watering leads to mass drying and shedding of leaves. In this case, the roots do not receive enough water and cannot provide moisture to the entire plant.

All these problems can be eliminated by adjusting temperature readings, watering and spraying schedules, or removing the flower from a draft.

The leaves have lost their elasticity

The problem arises from excessive soil moisture - frequent and abundant watering, which does not allow the soil to dry out a little. Sometimes at the same time rotting of the stem is observed, there is a danger of rotting roots. Elimination of the trouble is possible by revising the irrigation schedule and observing the dry regime for several days.

Why does croton grow very slowly?

Poor growth or its complete absence may indicate a low illumination of the room - sunlight for a tropical bush is a fundamental link in the life cycle. It is necessary to rearrange the pot to a lighted area of \u200b\u200ba window or room.

Dropped leaves

The problem arises if the plant itself or its roots are frozen (drafts or temperature changes) - Croton is not able to drink. It is necessary to adjust the watering and rearrange the flower in a warm and quiet place.

Another cause of foliage hanging may be a significant lack of moisture in the pot. When the soil is dry, immediately water the plant with warm water and spray the leaves abundantly. Frequent bringing the flower to "wilting" is fraught with complete leaf fall and death.

Dull young foliage

Young shoots that are not too bright and have no decorative effect are a natural phenomenon for Croton. New leaves have a dull green or yellowish color. With age, the color acquires tones of red-brown, becomes bright and variegated.

Sudden leaf fall

A sharp and massive fall of leaves occurs as a result of watering with cold water. Plant roots prefer room temperature water. Need to follow correct watering and heat the water if necessary.

The decorativeness of the sheet plate changes

The opposite reasons can lead to such a result:

A small amount of sunlight leads to a change in bright, contrasting color to pale, green tones - Croton should be removed from the shadow.

Too bright rays of the summer sun can burn the leaves, brown spots of burns will appear on them - you need to control the lighting and shade the flower in the midday hours.

Fluffy plaque on the aerial part

Watering with hard water with a high salt content leads to the appearance of a white bloom of a fluffy consistency on the leaves and stems - salts are released through the pores. To prevent such a phenomenon, croton should be watered with settled water.

Leaf ugliness and loss of variegated color

The need to monitor the regimen and composition of mineral dressings is due to the influence of certain elements on the beauty of the leaves. A large amount of nitrogen leads to a loss of color. Too frequent fertilization results in deformed leaf blades. Lack of nutrition is also the reason for the formation of ugly leaves, but they are small in size. In any case, adjustment of the feeding schedule is required.

The appearance of pests

On a poisonous plant, various pests can appear only if its condition is unfavorable due to poor maintenance.

Elimination of the problem is possible by washing with a soap and tobacco solution, wiping the leaves with a sponge with vegetable oil (effective against scale insect larvae) or treatment (in advanced cases) with insecticides. At the same time, it is necessary to adjust the conditions for keeping croton.

But it is better to prevent defeat than to eliminate its consequences. Therefore, plants must be regularly inspected for pests.

Croton disease

They arise as a result of errors in the care of indoor growing.

Improperly selected soil with low acidity is dangerous for the development of root rot. With her, the leaves look pale, gradually turn yellow and fall off. The roots soften, the plant may die.

With abundant and frequent watering, spots of a red-gray tint appear on the leaves. This is a characteristic manifestation of a fungal disease - anthracnose. Over time, it affects all aboveground parts, disrupts the supply of nutrients and threatens the death of the plant.

For any disease, the plant is separated from the rest, the care regimes are adjusted and treated with fungicides.

Caring for croton requires careful attention to it and adherence to all growing rules. The result is healthy, vibrant and ornamental plant in the apartment.

Croton is a beautiful ornamental evergreen plant. It is appreciated for its beautiful shape and original coloring of the leaves.

The origin of croton

Croton, or codiaum, is native to the tropical and subtropical regions of Indonesia, Southeast Asia, India and some of the Pacific islands. In Europe, it first appeared in the first half of the 19th 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, the leaves extend immediately from the root.

Croton

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

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

Important! In the house, the codiaum is located in places where animals and children cannot reach.

How the houseplant croton blooms

The flowering period is late February-early March.

The flowers are white with a yellowish tinge and are rather inconspicuous. Formed in the leaf axils of the plant. Collected in a medium-sized panicle, which is located on a dense peduncle. Bright sunlight stimulates the appearance of flowers.

Flowers are dioecious. Usually, female flowers appear first, then male ones. The flowering period is about a month.

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

Croton leaf descriptions

The perennial has tough and leathery leaves that look like ficus leaves, located on the petioles. Depending on the species, they can be ribbon-like, curled, narrow, wide, large and small, have a shape from three-toed to oval, smooth or slightly wavy edges.

The color of the leaves can also vary by species. There are plants with pink, dark green, olive, chocolate, raspberry, red leaves.

The relief pattern is clearly visible along the veins.

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

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

Types and varieties of croton

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

Dragon look

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

This resin is used in the manufacture of varnishes as well as in folk medicineas it has good antiseptic and analgesic properties. It is used in the treatment of various kinds of ulcers, for wound healing. Preparations with resin are prescribed for low immunity.

Croton Cascarilla or Euteria

In 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, therefore it is used for skin inflammation. In cooking, it is used to make a perfume for liqueurs.

Prickly 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.

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

Laxative Croton

The homeland of the plant is Asia. It can grow as a shrub or small tree, depending on conditions.

Seeds are a valuable raw material for pharmacology. They produce oil, which has a laxative effect.

The oil is used in homeopathy, cosmetology, medicine. It is used to treat eczema, herpes and constipation. However, Croton laxative seed oil 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, many different varieties and hybrids of crotons as indoor plants were bred for growing at home.

Leaves can be of 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.

Three-bladed crotons

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

The leaves themselves are large, tough, leathery. The color is combined of green, yellow, red, brown, burgundy and other colors.

This type includes codiaums:

• Exilent;
• Nervia;
• Disraeli;
• Holuffianaa.

Narrow-leaved crotons

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

Leaves are usually up to 30 cm long. Under favorable conditions, the plant can reach 1 m in height.

Lobed varieties of crotons

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

The shape and dimensions of the leaf plate may also differ depending on the variety.

This type includes:

• Peter;
• Gold Sun;
• Mrs. Aiston.

You can also see Croton Variegatum Mix on sale. In the case of the sale of mixed plants, it is not a specific variety of indoor croton flower that is offered, but a cluster of several varieties and hybrids of codiaums, which can be difficult to identify.

Croton transplant after purchase in open ground

However, the croton flower should not be transplanted on the same day it was purchased. Planting can be started after at least 10 days. During this time, the plant is acclimatized and transplant is easier.

It is best to transplant a bush in the spring or early summer.

Attention! You can not transplant a croton flower during the flowering period.

What you need to plant croton

For optimal growth and development, codiaums need light and fertile soil. To independently prepare the substrate, take sod land, fine sand, humus and peat in equal proportions. All components of the substrate are thoroughly mixed.

Additionally, you can add some charcoal or ash 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 with a diameter of 3 cm larger than the previous one, made of plastic or clay. An important condition is that it must have large drainage holes.

Choosing the best place

A warm, sunny place, without drafts, is best suited for growing codiaum. With a lack of lighting, the leaves will lose their variegated color and become monochromatic.

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

In order for the codiaum to feel comfortable and develop normally, the surrounding air must be humid. You should not place the flower next to heating devices that dry the air greatly.

Step-by-step planting process

1. First of all, you need to prepare a flower pot.
2. Sterilized drainage is poured at the bottom. It can be crumbs of broken red brick, 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 shouldn't be destroyed. It is better to use the method of transferring from one pot to another.

1. Inspect the root system. If rotten roots are noticed, then they must be removed.
2. Place the flower in a pot and cover the pot with the remaining mixture. In this case, care must be taken to ensure that no voids remain between the earthen lump and the walls of the pot. The container can be shaken periodically so that the earth evenly covers the free cavities.
3. 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 tall croton flower, then there is no need to transplant. If the ground is covered with a white coating, then it can simply be updated a little. To do this, carefully remove the top layer of soil (3-5 cm) and pour new soil on top.

Croton reproduction

A plant can multiply in several ways:

• cuttings;
• layering;
• seeds.

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

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

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

Propagate a flower by cuttings better in spring or early summer.

Growing from seeds

The seeds are harvested on their own or purchased from a store.

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

Then the container is covered with plastic wrap and placed in a warm place. It is recommended to air the greenhouse daily. If the soil is dry, then the soil is sprayed. A month after sowing, seedlings appear.

Croton home care

Many novice flower growers do not know how to care for croton at home. In principle, this is not difficult, although there are some nuances.

Watering mode

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

During the hot season and during the heating season great benefit the plant will be sprinkled with warm water from a spray bottle. Also periodically you need to wipe the surface of the leaves with a damp cloth.

Attention! Dry air and dry soil will cause leaves to fall off. In addition, dry air favors the reproduction of weevils and spider mites - plant pests.

For irrigation, you need to use warm, settled water. The soil of the flowerpot should be moist at all times, 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 fertilization is 1-2 times a month.

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

Preparing for winter

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

The ambient air temperature should not fall below + 17 ° С. Optimally, it should be within + 18-20 ° С.

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

Thus, caring for croton at home is not difficult, you just need to follow some rules so that households are pleased with this beautiful and festive flower with bright colors.

Croton (sometimes called codiaum) belongs to the Euphorbia family. Despite the fact that it includes many inhabitants of the rainforest, the ornamental plant croton also belongs to it.

Growth opportunities in the tropics and at home vary greatly, so if in the wild these plants can grow up to 3 m, then at home, with careful care, Croton can reach a height of one and a half meters. Nevertheless, the effort expended will undoubtedly be worth the room decoration that Croton undoubtedly is.

All types of these plants are distinguished by individual leaf shape and variegated colors. The shape of the leaves is distinguished by the greatest variety - they can be either laurel, or lobed, ribbon or even twisted.

Description of croton

The plant croton (lat. Croton), it is codiaeum (lat. Codiaeum) or "Joseph's cloak", belongs to the genus of the Euphorbia family. Nobody knows for sure what the name "Croton" means, which gardeners liked more than the scientific "codiaum", translated from Greek as "head". Maybe this name comes from the name of a city in southern Italy, in which Pythagoras once founded his school, or maybe in some dialect this word means "bush" ...

The homeland of wild croton is the islands of the Pacific Ocean and Northern Australia, India, as well as Southeast Asia. The number of species in the genus varies from 17 to 1200, but in indoor culture croton flowers are represented only by variegated croton and its hybrids. Croton flower is one of the most beautiful decorative deciduous indoor plants, which serves as a wonderful interior decoration and, as a rule, does not take up too much space. In some countries indoor plant Croton is considered to be the keeper of the home, protecting the house from bad energy.

As already noted, in the wild, Croton grows up to 3 meters in height. And at home, this houseplant usually grows up to 1 meter, and almost all of its species, with the most careful care, do not grow above one and a half meters.

This flower is very beautiful and decorative. It can become a decoration not only for our home, but also for the lobbies of hotels, schools, medical institutions and various offices. Its leaves, of extraordinary color and shape, always catch the eyes of people. Croton has the shape of a small tree, although one should not hope for the rapid formation of a beautiful crown. In order for the flower to grow neat and beautiful, it must be trimmed, thereby forming a lush bush.

Codiaum is a flowering plant. With a rare bloom of croton, an arrow appears with small nondescript flowers of light yellow color. These flowers do not have much beauty and decorativeness, but Croton spends considerable energy and nutrients on their flowering. Therefore, flower growers usually remove these arrows immediately.

Croton varieties

When buying crotons, keep in mind that some of them grow quite large (Petra, Excellent, Norma) and take up a lot of space (at least 1.5 - 2 cubic meters) in adulthood, not to mention already about the windowsills. These varieties are characterized by a standard "traffic light" color, which can persist even in medium light, therefore they are successfully grown in spacious office premises, halls, greenhouses, where they are formed in the form of multi-tiered bushes and palm-like "trees".

Medium and undersized (from 40 - 50 cm) crotons are more demanding on light and humidity, so they acquire their characteristic size and color only under suitable conditions.

Nevertheless, in comparison with tall ones, they differ in a richer palette of colors (red shades often go into an almost black burgundy) and leaf shapes, which is why they are no less popular.

Particularly noteworthy among them are varieties with narrow short ("Gold Finger", "Banana", "Mora", "Gold Star") and long drooping ("Mascarena", "Franklin Roosevelt", "Colorado", "Pictum") leaves , as well as varieties with twisted ("Golden Bell", "Mammy") and wavy ("Colorado", "Curly Boy") leaf blades.

The most capricious among crotons are considered to be very rare "white chimeras", in the color of which there is a cream (almost white) color - varieties "Eburneum" and "Andrew". At home, the first of them has creamy green young leaves with age become dark pink-green, and the second - white-green with a wavy edge, gradually turning into a solid green. But in greenhouse conditions (in bright light and very high humidity) in the first grade pink color acquires a deep burgundy, almost black hue, and the young leaves of the second grow completely white with small green specks and expressive corrugated edges.

Please note: many spectacular varieties (especially the Dutch ones) can be marketed under the "purely symbolic" same names, which often confuses collections.

Buying Croton

When choosing croton among the copies on sale, you must definitely pay attention to the healthy state of the plant and its "compatibility" with your home conditions. A healthy croton should have elastic, tough leaves with a bright juicy color and no traces of damage by pests (scale insects or spider mites).

It is better to refuse to buy a specimen with sluggish leaves, because during the time of adaptation to new conditions they will still fall off (if the cause of wilting was overdrying), and in the worst case, the plant will die altogether (if the wilting was provoked by root rot). If you are purchasing Croton for the first time, give preference to young specimens, as they are more flexible and adapt faster to new conditions. Alternatively, take a cutting from a healthy plant you like from neighbors or friends for rooting.

Croton flower - features of growing

The indoor flower croton is a bush with leathery leaves of various shapes: asymmetric, oblong-lanceolate, pointed or obtuse, whole-edged, three-lobed, notched, broadly ovate, etc.

Young leaves, usually of lighter yellow-green hues, acquire richer green and burgundy colors over time, so your home croton flower is colored like an elegant autumn forest. A common feature for leaves of all varieties and varieties is a pronounced venation. The bloom of croton will not cause you delight, since it is a hanging axillary carpal inflorescences of nondescript cream flowers.

The home flower croton has earned the fame of one of the most capricious plants. What are the features of croton care?

• Croton juice is poisonous. It causes diarrhea, vomiting, contact dermatitis, so all work with croton must be carried out with gloves.
• Croton at home needs not only spraying the leaves from a spray bottle, but also wiping them with a damp sponge. Give Croton a warm shower every month in the summer.
• Croton does not tolerate cold watering and drafts!
• Sometimes, at the beginning of the growing season, croton leaves take on strange shapes. How this is explained, no one knows, but croton has a high degree of mutability, and therefore it became possible to breed many varieties and hybrid forms of this plant, and they differ only in how the leaf of one or another croton variety looks.
• The nondescript bloom of croton takes a lot of energy from the plant, and if you are not going to engage in breeding experiments, it is better to remove the flower buds or flower stalks immediately.

Croton care at home

The flowers of the Croton plant are of no particular value as they do not shine with beauty. This is one of the reasons for removing flowers when they appear, and it also increases the vitality of the entire plant.

How to care for croton

Croton loves bright light, but he can take baths from direct sunlight only in the morning or before sunset, so in the summer the sill of the northern window is suitable for him, and in the winter, when the sun shines, but does not warm, the southern one. If you have the opportunity to take out croton in the summer to fresh air and bright diffused light, do not neglect it. The most comfortable temperature for croton in summer is 20-22 ºC, in winter - at least 16 ºC.

Watering croton it is necessary such that the earthen lump is always slightly moist, but at the same time, so that moisture does not stagnate in the roots and does not cause the danger of rotting.

Immediately, we note that only a settled, softened and necessarily warm water. The main thing is that the water needs to be filtered or at least defended. Air humidity for croton has great importance, so you will have to regularly spray or wipe the leaves with a damp washcloth, and in the summer season, once a month arrange for him a warm shower, but so that water does not flow into the pot.

Spray the plant daily and wipe the leaves on both sides with warm water using a soft cloth. It is not necessary to place the plant next to equipment that radiates heat, since croton is hygrophilous, and most of its diseases are a consequence of dry soil.

Fertilize Croton with a solution of complex mineral fertilizers on a pre-moistened soil from April to November twice a month, in winter once a month is enough. To form a beautiful crown in croton, pruning (for an adult plant) and pinching (for young crotons) are used. Plants that have reached 15 cm in height are pinched, and then every time the shoots grow 20 cm.

In adult plants, after pruning, the cuts are treated with sulfur or charcoal powder. It is advisable to remove flower buds or young flower stalks that have appeared, because flowering, which has no decorative value, exhausts croton, and this affects the health and beauty of its leaves.

Illumination requirements

Great attention should be paid to the lighting of the plant, since it is it that forms the individual motley coloring of its leaves. With a lack of light for croton, its leaves have the usual green color.

The croton lighting regime should be changed depending on the season: in winter, provide the plant with direct sunlight, and in spring it is, on the contrary, undesirable; at this time of the year, diffused sunlight is favorable for croton.

Temperature regime

Considering that under natural conditions croton grows in a relatively constant heat all year round (without a sharp cold snap and heat), at home it is optimal for it to maintain the air and soil temperature within 18 - 25 ° C. Due to low temperatures, drafts and even watering with cold water, the edges of the leaves of the plant turn brown, and with prolonged hypothermia, the roots begin to rot. In order not to expose an exotic handsome man to tests in the form of a sharp drop in temperature and humidity, because of which he can shed leaves, it is strongly not recommended to take him out to the balcony or garden, even in summer.

Of course, it is difficult to maintain the humidity of the tropics for home croton. Ideally, it is necessary to ensure almost constant soil and air moisture, but at the same time adjust them also with temperature indicators. Water this plant with warm, settled water should be after light drying of the upper soil layer (1 - 1.5 cm) - not less often, otherwise its leaves will begin to brown and fall off; but not more often, so as not to provoke the appearance of gray rot (fluffy mold on leaves and shoots).

Note: short-term overdrying / overflow of the root ball for croton is not too critical, but prolonged maintenance in inappropriate conditions seriously disrupts the operation of its conducting system and one can not even hope for its restoration. It is optimal to set the watering frequency in accordance with the air temperature in the room - more often in summer, and less often in winter.

To ensure air humidity next to crotons, you should always place pallets with wet expanded clay, peat or just water, wipe large-leaved specimens with a wet sponge on both sides every morning (!), And spray small-leaved varieties and plants with "curly" leaves. From time to time, you can arrange crotons and a warm cleaning (from dust) shower, but be sure to cover the soil from waterlogging.

Pinching

In order for the plant to form a beautiful crown, it must be pinched regularly. This is done initially at a height of 15 cm. Side branches begin to develop, the flower becomes more bushy, beautiful. This procedure is repeated afterwards, along the entire length of the plant, every 20 cm.

Croton in winter

When the cold season comes, the croton is moved from the northern window sill to the southern one, watering is reduced, but they continue to adhere to the same principle: the earthen lump should be slightly damp.

Water procedures are also continued - spraying and wiping the leaves with a damp sponge, but this is not done as often as in the warm season, and it is better to forget about the shower until summer. You need to feed the plant no more than once a month, but some professionals are sure that in winter Croton does not need feeding at all.

Priming

Codiaum will grow well and thrive in loose, well-fertilized soil.

Purchased soil for beautifully flowering decorative deciduous plants is best suited for this. If you want to prepare the soil yourself - take equal amounts of sod, deciduous, peat and sand mixture. To exclude the appearance of harmful microorganisms and pest larvae in the soil, it must first be frozen or ignited.

To prevent rotting of the root system of a young plant, put some pieces of charcoal in the soil. Lay the expanded clay or pebble drainage on the bottom of the pot with a layer of 2-3 cm.

Pot

The pot for a young croton is taken medium, not deep, so that there is no extra space and the roots do not rot from excess moisture. Young plants, as they grow, should be transplanted annually into larger pots. It is enough to replant adult plants every 2-3 years. When you see that the roots are already peeking out of the drainage holes, it's time to transplant the croton. The new pot should not be much larger in volume than the previous one, and the diameter should be increased by no more than 5 cm.

• Before transplanting, the flower must be well watered. Then the earthy ball will not fall apart and the roots will not suffer.
• Add fresh soil to a new pot, try to keep the roots from touching the drainage layer, water abundantly and place in a bright, warm place.
• Croton transplant is best done in spring or summer.
• It is better not to transplant a flower bought in a store for 2-3 weeks, let the plant get used to new conditions and acclimatize.

Location

Croton is a thermophilic plant. It will grow and develop well at 20-25 ° C. Above 26 ° C and below 16 ° C. for the plant is detrimental. In a draft, the flower feels bad, so there is no need to put a pot under the window. Landing in the garden or on the balcony is contraindicated for him. In summer, it must be protected from direct sunlight to avoid leaf burns. The east or west side of the apartment will do. And in winter, you can put the flower on a sunny windowsill. Lack of light can affect the decorative effect of the flower - the leaves will lose their bright color, become uniformly green.

With prolonged low temperatures - below 14 ° C, the flower becomes sick, sheds all leaves and may even die. It is best to put the flower near the window, you can even near the heating devices.

Croton loves bright, but diffused light and high humidity. He likes to have his leaves wiped on both sides with a damp swab. Dust collects on them, which can lead to the appearance of pests or disease. In winter, he feels great if he is warm, light and watering enough.

And one more thing: once a week in the morning hours, it is advisable to spray croton with warm, settled water, it is even possible with growth stimulants such as zircon, epin-extra, or immunophytofit.

Croton transplant

Crotons are transplanted in spring or summer, in wide, shallow pots, placed in a container of gravel, in which a constant water level will need to be maintained. Be sure to make a 3 cm expanded clay drainage layer in the pot.

Make a preliminary hole in the ground and place the plant in it so that the root system does not come into contact with the drainage.

Young plants are transplanted every year, as already mentioned, in spring or summer. Adult crotons are transplanted when the root system fills the space of the pot. You should not choose a pot that is too large for transplanting, the optimum will be a container with a diameter of 3-5 centimeters wider than the previous one, free space filled with fresh soil.

You do not need to transplant croton without preparation, if you do not have the necessary skills, this is a rather delicate work, if done incorrectly, you can harm the plant and even kill the croton.

Croton grows in the form of a small tree, but the crown shape can be changed to the shape of a bush by removing the upper shoot. It should be noted that the shape of the plant changes slowly, mainly due to the fact that the growth rate of the lateral shoots is much lower than that of the upper ones.

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Croton reproduction

At home, croton is propagated by seeds, when it comes to growing hybrids, and stem or leaf cuttings.

By seed method

Croton seeds quickly lose their germination, so you need to sow freshly harvested seeds. It should also be borne in mind that the germination process takes a long time, and most importantly, that varietal traits are usually not preserved during generative reproduction. Before planting, large croton seeds need to be warmed up in water at a temperature of 60 ºC for half an hour and left to swell for a day.

Sowing is carried out to a depth of one centimeter, the temperature required for seed germination is 22 ºC. Until shoots appear, the soil in the seed container is moistened with bottom irrigation. When the seedlings have a third leaf, they are seated in separate pots with a diameter of 7 cm and looked after like an adult croton.

Vegetative way

The easiest way is to root an apical cutting 6-10 cm long, but if you need several cuttings, then the shoot is cut into pieces so that there is at least one internode with one healthy leaf in each segment.

• Lignified or semi-lignified cuttings take root most easily.
• The toxic milky juice flowing from the slices should be washed off with water and then allowed to air dry for three hours.
• On the upper part of the apical cutting, the leaves are shortened parallel to the veins in half, and the leaves are removed from the lower part.
• Then the cuttings are placed with a dried and treated root cut in a container with water heated to 23-30 ºC (in order to avoid decay of the planting material), and placed under bright diffused light for growing roots.
• When the stalk grows roots 2 cm long, it is transplanted into a substrate for croton.
• In the first decade after transplanting, around the cuttings transplanted into the ground, it is necessary to create increased air humidity through frequent spraying. You will learn that the cuttings have begun by restoring the elasticity of the leaf.

Croton pests and diseases

Croton is affected by mealybugs, nematodes, scale insects and spider mites, and more often than others, it is mites. It is difficult to say why croton is so attracted to them, but sometimes the struggle with them brings the owner of the flower to an extreme degree of irritation, and he, desperate to win this fight, simply throws out the croton.

But let me remind you: if you follow all the rules of care, neither insects nor diseases are terrible for your plants, and the appearance of ticks is explained by the fact that croton was rarely washed and irregularly watered, so blame yourself for this kind of trouble. You can fight the spider mite, worm and scabbard by wiping the ground parts of the croton with a tobacco solution with the addition of soap, which after an hour and a half must be washed off so that it does not get into the substrate.

Croton dropped the leaves

If the plant has dropped its leaves, then it cannot drink. This happens if the roots are cold. Move the plant to a warm, bright place, arrange the humidification mode, letting the earthen coma dry a few centimeters deep between waterings, stop feeding the flower, spray the leaves well and put a transparent bag or cap on the plant.

Croton dries

If only the lower leaves of the croton dry up, then there is no need to worry: the gradual exposure of the lower part of the stem is a natural process for crotons. Dry tips of the leaves indicate that the plant suffers from low air humidity, and for croton, a comfortable humidity of 70%. If the edges of the leaves dry and brown spots appear on them, it means that the room is not warm enough, and the croton is freezing. If the croton not only dry, but also fall off the leaves, then its roots definitely lack moisture.

Drops leaves

Often readers of the site ask the question of why croton leaves fall. The first two reasons are chronic insufficient watering and low air humidity - we have already named.

This also happens when the room temperature is too low, as well as from temperature fluctuations or drafts. What to do if Croton leaves fall? First, carefully re-read the rules for caring for croton. Secondly, analyze where and how you violated these rules. Thirdly, to correct your mistakes and not allow them in the future.

Typical plant problems

• Is Croton growing very slow? Not enough light, light is necessary for plant growth. For this reason, growth is much slower in winter than in summer.

Croton rarely gets sick, because it is poisonous, but insufficient care can lead to various diseases. It is advisable to get acquainted with some of his diseases.

• Anthracnose is fungal disease... It occurs with excessive watering with cold water. A sign of anthracnose is the appearance of reddish or grayish-ash spots on the leaves. The fungus enters the leaf veins and destroys the plant. The pot with the diseased plant is urgently isolated from the rest and treated with an antifungal drug. It is better to spray all plants in contact with it with biological products in order to avoid infection.
• Root rot - appears with low acidity
  soil. The leaves turn pale, dry and fall off. Have
  a diseased plant, the roots become soft,
  exfoliating, they rot. To combat root rot, broad-spectrum antifungal drugs are used.
• It happens that the tips of the croton leaves begin to dry - this is from a lack of moisture in the soil and in the air. It is necessary to water the flower more abundantly, spray its leaves. To increase the humidity in the room, you can put containers with water next to the pot.

• If brown spots appear on the leaves of the plant, this is from direct sunlight on the flower, especially in summer. Adjust the watering mode and remove the pot from the sunny windowsill - the croton will come to life again. And dry ends can be trimmed neatly.
• The appearance of a brown edge on the leaves indicates that the plant is cold, it is necessary to increase the temperature of the air surrounding the croton.
• If the leaves begin to fade, cease to be bright, colorful - the plant lacks lighting, move it to a lighter place.
• If the leaves fall off, the plant is most likely cold, not comfortable, lacking food and moisture.

• A spider mite may appear on diseased plants - a thin web on the stems and leaves of a flower. It appears due to a combination of two reasons - dry air and insufficient watering.
• If a light fluffy bloom appears on the leaves, it is a mealybug.
• Sometimes croton is affected by the scabbard - light areas appear on the leaves in the places where the pest feeds.

In all these cases, the pots with diseased plants must be taken to the bathroom and all the leaves must be treated there on both sides with soapy water. Then rub them with regular vegetable oil. If the flower is severely damaged by pests, it is treated with special preparations - insecticides, such as karbofos or actellic.

In fact, the appearance of pests and diseases of croton is caused by two factors - insufficient humidity of the surrounding air and improper watering of the plant. If you provide the flowers with these conditions, they will never get sick, and the pests will not disturb them.

Cautions

Croton is a poisonous plant. If the juice comes into contact with human skin, it may burn or develop contact dermatitis. If croton juice gets into the stomach, it will cause vomiting and diarrhea. If the juice of this plant gets into the blood, then the person may die - his poison is deadly. Therefore, before starting a croton, you need to weigh the pros and cons.

During any operations with this plant, you must be careful, after work - wash your hands with soap and water. It is not advisable for children to play next to croton in order to exclude the possibility that they will want to tear off a beautiful juicy leaf and take it in their mouth. If a child just touched a flower or stroked its beautiful glossy leaves, do not be alarmed, this is not scary - just wash his pens with soap. Croton does not emit toxic substances into the air.

Note!

Despite the fact that in the photo croton looks not only beautiful, but also a mighty, strong plant, it is one of the most difficult to care for and demanding of the conditions of its existence. It needs to be watered often, fed, sprayed, protected from drafts, diseases and pests. Croton requires attention to itself no less than pets. But if you decide to purchase this miracle, and you are not afraid of the difficulties of growing it, the time spent on it will pay off - a healthy croton of amazing beauty will create a wonderful atmosphere in your home.

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In the process of growth, almost all varieties of croton require crown formation. Young plants are regularly turned towards the light source, and when they outgrow the height of 10-15 cm, with the beginning of the growing season they are pinched, stimulating branching. In the future, with the help of pinching and pruning on adult specimens, they form the desired type of plant - compact, spreading, "palm-shaped", etc.

After the procedure, the cut sites must be sprinkled with charcoal, and the cut shoots (leaves) are used for reproduction (rooted). Please note: Croton, when pruned, emits poisonous milky juice, so the procedure is best performed with gloves and afterwards, wash your hands thoroughly with soap.

Under optimal conditions, Croton grows actively, blooms regularly and rarely gets sick. Errors in care (especially low humidity and temperature) cause pests, stains and plaque to appear on it. Usually, due to the bright color of the disease on variegated plants, it is difficult to detect, therefore, even outwardly healthy crotons should be periodically carefully examined for damage - the appearance of brown plaques on stems and leaves (scale), cobwebs on young leaves (spider mite) or white bloom on their back and on the stem (mealybug), etc.

• If pest control (increasing air humidity, wiping the leaves with soapy water, spraying with Akarin, Aktellik, etc.) is not carried out in a timely manner, the damaged plants will gradually lose color and leaves, and, in the end, die.
• Please note: experienced flower growers claim that the flowering of croton greatly weakens the plant (increases soreness), so if in the future you do not plan to seed reproduction or breeding new varieties, it is better to remove all flower stalks before the flowers form.

Many growers believe that the successful cultivation of this exotic handsome man can only be experienced craftsmen, so it is rarely recommended for beginners. But who does not take risks, he, as they say, will not be able to admire the beauty of Croton at home. Take risks, and may luck smile at you in this adventure!

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Consider caring for a specific type of croton - codiaeum excellence

Characteristics and features of home care

It is not for nothing that Codiaum Excellence bears its magnificent name, meaning "great".Its beauty and pride are bright variegated leaves of whimsical shape and color. True, flower growers use a different name for it - Croton excellence, but it erroneous and belongs to another, not so rare genus of the same Euphorbia family.

Description

In indoor conditions, this is an elegant bush with a height about half a meter... The leaves resemble oak with very bright veins. Their color changes from bottom to top. The older the leaf, the more red, pink and orange shades it contains. The young upper leaves flaunt mainly in golden yellow and green tones.

Extraordinary demanding on conditions of detention, codiaum excellent, nevertheless, does not lose its popularity among flower growers - they are ready to put up with his "whims" - he is very beautiful. Such types of codieum as: Motley, Petra, Tamara are also very popular.

Even the poisonous milky juice of codiaum, which can cause an allergic rash or contact dermatitis, does not scare away amateurs - it is not so difficult to put on gloves or wash your hands with soap and water after fiddling with the plant.

Temperature

So, codiaeum excellence! How to care? To begin with, an alien from the humid and hot wilds of Malaysia, a flower needs warmthand feels best in the range + 21-25 ° C. It will withstand + 18 ° C, but not lower - in cold soil its roots quickly perish.

For the winter, put it near the battery. Drafts are destructive for this sissy - just a little, he sheds leaves.This view is for real loves the sun, especially its morning and evening rays - the more light, the brighter and more variegated its foliage, only in the hottest hours of summer days openwork partial shade is acceptable. But you can leave the flower in the sun.

The main thing, do not spray at the same time, otherwise the plant will get burns. In winter, the codiaum should also receive as much light as possible.

Watering

In summer, codiaeum craves moisture, so you need soil in a pot keep wet (but not wet!)... When watering, everything that is glass in the pallet should be poured immediately, excess moisture causes root rot.Take water for irrigation directly from the tap can't - it should stand for at least a day and warm up to at least room temperature. In winter, watering is cut off, but the earthen lump should not dry out.

Air humidity

Codiaum needs stagnant humidity, like in a rainforest. You can arrange such a "bath" at home using a humidifier (especially in winter). Another convenient option is to place the flower on a damp pebble “pillow”. Spray daily - soft warm water. And also wipe the leaves from above and below with a damp sponge. Once a month make him "rain" under the shower, covering the ground with a film.

Fertilizers

FROM may to October codiaeum grows very quickly, sometimes in jerks, throwing out 2-4 leaves.

At this time, he needs frequent - once every 1-2 weeks top dressing. The best option is a liquid complex fertilizer such as Ideal, Oasis. Water the plant before feeding. In winter, growth is slower, and this handsome man needs additional nutrition - once every 3-4 weeks.

The soil

Codiaum loves alkaline soils with a pH of 6.5-7.4. The soil for it is prepared on the basis of peat, humus and coarse sand, taken in equal parts, and abundantly fertilized with humus.

Transfer (after purchase)

• The purchased codiaum must be transplanted from a store substrate, after having thoroughly cleaned the roots.
• The pot for him should be slightly wider than roots - he likes to grow up in cramped conditions.
• Put on the bottom of the dish more drainage... Calcine the soil well so that all pests die. You can add charcoalpreventing root rotting.

IN first 3-4 years the root system of the codiaum is growing rapidly. At this time, it needs to be transplanted. annually in the spring... An adult plant is rarely disturbed when the roots begin to protrude from the pot, the rest of the time they simply renew the top layer of the soil.

Reproduction

Codiaeum excellence at home is propagated in spring by cuttings taken from the top of the plant.

Large, 15 cm high shoots are chosen, cut from the stem and placed in water to clear the slices of toxic milky juice.

This must be done without fail gloved... Then the cuttings need dry... So that they do not lose moisture too much, the leaves can be rolled up and fixed.

Ready shoots are planted in pots with wet peat, covered with foil and placed on a warm radiator. In this hot mini greenhouse, plants in a month they will take root.

Theoretically, codiaeum can be propagated by seeds, but this method is mainly used by specialists when breeding hybrid varieties.

Pruning

• To give a beautiful shape to the codiaum, formative pruning can be carried out whenever there is a need for it. This procedure is not painful for him.
• If the plant is very elongated and partly has lost its leaves, in the spring the top should be cut by 15 cm (this stalk can be rooted) and then the remaining "stump" will start branching.
• The cut must be sprinkled with charcoal so that it does not run out of juice. Also, in the spring, young shoots are pinched - from this, the codiaum becomes more magnificent. You need to do the trimming with gloves.

Bloom

If you properly take care of this tropical sissy, it will bloom in the summer, but the small creamy flowers do not differ in their beauty, and the plant takes a lot of energy.

So it's better than them cut off immediately.

Life span

Codiaum - perennial, in the hands of an experienced grower he can live more than 10 years, but it is difficult for beginners to cope with it, and the life of a plant is often limited to one season.

Possible difficulties

Spider mite

A red, small mite settles on the lower part of the leaves and envelops them with a thin white spider web... White specks appear on the top of the leaves, then large light spots - and the leaf dies off.
On the codiaum, a tick can start if the leaves are rarely washed, and the air around is too dry.

What to do: wash the leaves, especially on the underside, with a mild tobacco solution and soap. After a "soapy bath" in 2-3 hours, the leaves should be rinsed with warm water. The codiaum should be sprayed with an insecticide. Akarin, Fitoverm, Vermitic will do.

Shield

What to do: you need a shield clean with a damp cloth or an old toothbrush, and rub the codiaum leaves with a swab dipped in vegetable oil - the larvae will suffocate under the oil film. If the lesion is large, an insecticide is needed. Suitable: Aktara, Biotlin, Apploud, Bankol.

Decay of roots

The decay of the roots of the codiaum can lead to stagnant water in the soil or pallet - it not allowed, and fungal infection. With it, the leaves lose their shine, turn pale, wither, the roots soften, exfoliate.

What to do: water the flower under the root with Alirin-B or Fitosporin-M.

The plant as a whole looks very robust, but it is actually a sissy - a greenhouse flower. For Codiaeum excellence, home care will require compliance with clear requirements and then it will be prettier from day to day.

Croton is a flower that is very popular among lovers of marvelous green pets. Experienced and novice growers appreciate the plant for its beauty and original foliage colors. Young leaves usually have a delicate light yellow tint. Over time, they become darker, acquire a rich green or even burgundy color. It is not for nothing that for many people an adult plant gives rise to associations with an elegant autumn forest.

Leathery leaves are distinguished by pronounced venation. Depending on the type of plant, they can be oblong, pointed or obtuse, whole-edged, three-lobed. But croton blooms or, as it is called otherwise, codiaum, is not very beautiful. Hanging carpal inflorescences replete with cream flowers appear on the bush. Flowering plant pretty nondescript.

In the wild, an amazing plant is found in the humid tropics of Oceania and Southeast Asia. In order for the flower to feel comfortable, caring for croton at home should maximally reproduce the natural conditions of its habitat. It is important to ensure the correct temperature level and sufficient lighting, take care of abundant watering and humidification of the air.

Flower varieties

In nature, there are about 10 varieties of croton. Only a few of them are grown at home:

1. Variegated codiaum in the wild, it can grow up to 6 m in length. When grown at home, this figure is much lower, although some individuals can stretch to the very ceiling. The leaves are variegated, have bright yellow, scarlet or green streaks, as well as edging. It can be wavy, spiral or twisted.
2. Croton Petra differs in branched, even shoots and huge leaves with numerous veins. The leaves are contrasting, dark olive. On the edges they are framed by a yellow edging.
3. Excelent flower - the owner of the original leaves in the form of blades. They have a greenish tint and yellow streaks. And on the back, the foliage is red with brown edging.
4. Croton Mummy - 1 more species with original foliage. The leaves are rather long and narrowed. They are slightly wrapped in a spiral. The colors of the foliage are also unusual: the bright, scarlet leaves with yellow-red veins look very beautiful and non-standard.
5. Codiaum Sunny Star - a bright and sunny specimen. Most of the foliage is deep yellow and has olive tops. Young beige leaves. As they grow, scarlet, yellowish and pink markings appear on them.
6. Mix View strikes with a variety of shades of foliage. One plant may contain leaves of red, pinkish, yellow and green colors. In length, some leaves reach 20 cm.
7. Croton Gold Star possesses rich green leaves with yellow veins. In height, beautiful plants reach 30 cm. This variety is one of the most whimsical, it requires the organization of competent lighting.
8. Codiaum Tamara bears the name of a beautiful English girl with whom the emperor was in love. To express his feelings to the chosen one, the ruler ordered the gardeners to develop a new type of plant and named it after the girl. The flower has long green-white leaves with spiral tips. The inflorescences are light, but at home this type of croton does not bloom.

Care for different types of codiaum is identical. In order for a plant to please with a healthy appearance, it is necessary to follow a few simple rules.

How to care for a plant?

1. Lighting... Croton is a great lover of light. He feels most comfortable on the window sills facing the west or east side of the world. Despite the photophilous nature of the flower, it is better to provide it with protection from bright sunlight. They can burn the leaves, cause them to dry out and fall off. A young or newly purchased bush should be accustomed to bright light gradually. First, put it on the windowsill for half an hour, and increase this time every day. If the plant does not receive enough light, the decorative foliage coloring is lost. The flower just turns green.
2. Temperature... The correct temperature regime plays a key role in flower care. It is important to ensure that even in the cold season, the thermometer in the premises of houses does not fall below + 16 ° C. The ideal temperature for winter is + 18 ° C. In summer, the pet feels great at 20-25 ° C. Green pet categorically does not tolerate drafts. That is why it should not be taken out into the street or balcony, even in the warm season.
3. Watering and humidifying the air... The indoor flower is very hygrophilous. If you notice that croton sheds leaves, then most likely it lacks moisture. This problem is especially relevant in the hot season, so in the summer the flower needs special attention and care. However, the moisture-loving nature of a flower is not at all a reason to flood it. The water must not stagnate in the sump. In hot summer, watering should be carried out daily or every other day. Alternation of spraying and soil moistening is acceptable. In winter, watering should be reduced, the optimal frequency is 1 every 3 days. Be sure to monitor the humidity in the room, try to keep the pot away from hot batteries. Otherwise, it is highly likely that the plant will be hit by the worst enemies - weevils or spider mites. Before watering, the liquid must be defended. Its temperature should be at least room temperature.

How to transplant and fertilize a plant?

Periodically, a beautiful plant needs to be replanted. The flower's new residence should be more spacious than the previous one. It is advisable to choose a container whose diameter is 3-5 cm larger than that of the previous one. Preference should be given to wide and shallow pots. Be sure to take care of creating a drainage layer. Its thickness should be at least 3 cm. Broken brick, small gravel or expanded clay are optimal for drainage. After replanting, it is recommended to place the container in a pallet with gravel. This is necessary in order to maintain soil moisture.

Croton transplants are usually done in spring or summer. A small hole should be made in the soil. In this case, the root system of the green pet will not come into contact with the drainage layer. You need to replant young bushes annually. More mature plants are moved to a new place if the old pot becomes small.

You can buy soil for plant transplanting at a specialty store or prepare it yourself. To do this, mix 4 components in equal proportions:

• sod soil;
• humus;
• peat;
• sifted sand.

Before planting, it is recommended to briefly freeze or anneal the soil. In this case, it is possible to eliminate the risk that the land will be infected with pathogens or pest larvae. And a few pieces of charcoal added to the soil will help prevent root rot.

What to do to make croton grow faster? Use fertilizers. The flower should be pampered with useful additives during the period of active growth. Complex and mineral fertilizers are optimal. Commercial mixtures for decorative deciduous plants are suitable. They should be introduced immediately after watering according to the schedule prescribed in the instructions.

After transplanting, the upper shoots of the plant can be pinched a little. This will get rid of old stems and give the croton the shape of a shrub, the shape of a small tree is natural for it. You should not count on the instant formation of a beautiful crown. The side shoots of the flower grow much more slowly than the trunk.

How to propagate codiaum at home?

There are 2 most popular and effective method plant reproduction:

1. Cuttings - the most simple and convenient way... With its help, you can get new bushes throughout the year. To use the method, the top of the stem must be carefully removed from the mother plant. Its optimal length is 10 cm. The cut point on the branch should be rinsed to remove milk juice. After that, the trimmed area is treated with charcoal, ground into dust. To accelerate the growth of roots, the use of growth stimulants is permissible. Cuttings are rooted in water or soil. If you chose option 2, do not forget to water the soil in time and periodically spray the leaves. To speed up rooting, take care to maintain the optimum air temperature. It should not exceed + 24 ° C. The roots appear in about 2 months. After that, the plants are seated in separate containers.
2. Multiply indoor flower and using sheets... To do this, you need to choose a strong, large and healthy leaf on the mother bush. It is carefully removed and immersed in clean water. It should remain in the liquid until all the juice has drained out. Then the sheet is taken out and treated with charcoal. It is better to root the leaf in a soil consisting of sand and peat. To accelerate root formation, it is recommended to make a mini greenhouse from a film. It should be opened periodically to allow the young plant to breathe. After the leaf has taken root and gave new stems, it is transplanted into a separate pot.

Choose the method that works best for you. If you follow all the rules, the flower will quickly give roots and take root without problems.

What diseases threaten the flower?

Croton is a fairly unpretentious plant. It is extremely easy to look after him. However, if you do not comply simple recommendations, a green pet can get sick and even die:

When leaving, you need to remember that croton juice is poisonous. If it gets into the digestive tract, there is a high risk of vomiting and problems with stool. And contact of the juice with the skin can provoke dermatitis. Therefore, you need to handle the plant very carefully.

This leafy succulent officially has two names: Croton or Codiaum. Some experts believe that this is the name of the same plant. Others consider Codiaum a domesticated flower, and Croton a wild variety from which medicines are made. Most likely, the difference in the name came from the different place of their growth in the wild. Evergreen shrub a native of the Pacific Islands, the Malay Archipelago and the northern coast of Australia. It has about 14 species and belongs to the euphorbia family. .

All the beauty and decorativeness of this home flower is in the leaves. They can be very diverse in shape: large and oval, with wavy edges; lanceolate, with a pointed tip; three-toed or fan-shaped. It differs in the color of the foliage, but usually the top is greener. With age, the leaves first turn yellow, then acquire a red or brown tint.

The color of the leaves is heterogeneous - some with pronounced spots, some are distinguished by different color veins. There are species with a marble pattern on the leaves. The leaf blade is very tough and resilient. When blooming, all species throw out an arrow with small nondescript flowers. Most often, it is removed so that the plant does not waste nutrients again.

It must be borne in mind that Croton juice is very poisonous, therefore it is not placed in children's rooms, and they try to make the plant inaccessible to pets. Given the wide variety of colors and shapes of leaves, Croton will fit into any office interior. Caring for Croton at home is not difficult, as many novice growers think. The main thing is to adhere to the advice given in this article.

Kinds

Motley codiaum ( Codiaeum variegatum) Variegatum

The ancestor of all cultural types of Codiaums. In nature, it grows either as a shrub up to 1.5 meters high, or as a four-meter tree with smooth branches and leaves only at the ends of the branches. At home, it grows up to half a meter.

It has large, up to 25-30 cm leaves, arranged alternately. Leaves are leathery, dense. Has a wide variety of colors. It grows slowly. With the help of selection, various species were derived from it, with in different shapes sheet. In this codiaum, they are initially oval in shape, the leaf plate is even.

Motley croton

Varieties of Codiaum the Motley:

• Genoin (genuinum) — leaves with smooth edges, flat, oval or lanceolate, at the base and at the tops are pointed. On the upper side of the leaf, along the central vein, golden patterns are noticeable. There are species with a reddish tint of the initially growing leaves;
• Painted (picturatum) - the leaves are narrower, closer to lanceolate, the color is about the same as that of the previous variety;
• Tortoise (tortile) - the leaf plate is heart-shaped at the base, further elongated with a pointed tip, twists slightly around its axis. The color is variegated: a red central vein and a golden stripe stand out against a green background. Irregular spots of the same color are located on both sides of the sheet;
• Trilobium (trilobium) - the base of the leaf is deltoid. The plate itself is divided into three parts. The color of the leaves is the most diverse - from stripes different color along the veins, to different color spots or a combination of both;
• Wrapped (volutum) - broadly lanceolate long leaves twisted to the base. The plant eventually takes on the shape of a ball and looks very original;
• Narrow-leaved (angustifolium) - Linear narrow leaves reach a length of 25 cm with a width of 0.5 to 1 cm. Veins, irregular spots located on the leaves can be colored yellow.
• Appendix (appendiculatum Celak.) – They stand out for their unusual leaf shape. The wide-oval plate narrows at the apex to a vein and then expands again, forming, as it were, a second leaf.

There are also bred varieties that have spread widely among florists and have had their own names:

Codiaum of Peter (Codiaeum Petra)

Green leaves with yellow veins. A compact shrub that grows up to 50 cm high. The leaves are large, directed upwards. The striking veins adorn the plant very much.

Croton Petra

Codiaum Excelent (Codiaeum Excellent)

The upper part of the leaf is green with yellow spots and the lower part is reddish-burgundy. The leaves are large, reminiscent of oak. The bush is quite compact.

Codiaum Mix (Codieaum Mix)

A whole group of succulents is called. Often, without knowing the exact name, this group includes species derived from Kodiyem Motley.

Coroton Mix

Codiaum Mrs. Aiston (Codieaum Missis Ayston)

in adulthood, it sweeps the shape of a tree. The leaves at a young age have an unusual creamy color, as they grow older, they first turn yellow, then turn green. On one tree you can see all the colors that leaves can have. Grows into a fairly tall tree, with proper care, all leafy.

Croton Mrs. Aiston

Codiaum Mummy (Codieaum Mummy)

They are distinguished by narrow leaves twisting in a spiral around their axis. The color of the leaves is orange-red with dark green stripes, except for the apical leaves. Very bright and decorative plant.

Croton Mummy

Codiaum Zanzibar (Cоdieaum Zanziebare)

It differs in thin (no more than 1.5 cm wide) leaves growing up to 40 cm long. The leaves are not uniform in color, but most of them are dark green with small yellow specks.

Croton Zanzibar

Croton Aucuboid ( Cоdieaum ucubaprominent)

Looks pretty unusual because has bright green lanceolate leaves strewn with yellowish specks. To maintain the bright color of the leaves, good lighting is needed, otherwise the croton can turn green all over, thereby losing its decorative effect.

Croton Aucuboid

Care

Watering

Codiaum (or Croton) is very fond of frequent and abundant watering. Watering should be done as soon as the top layer of the substrate has dried. But after a few hours, the excess water from the sump must be drained. Water suitable for irrigation must be soft - melt or rainwater, or it must be filtered or boiled.

So that the water does not sour in the substrate, the pot must be selected so that the roots completely fill it. The topsoil should be loosened as roots develop. Do not let it dry out for a long time, the plant will react very quickly and begin to shed its leaves.

Lighting

Loves good lighting, but is afraid of direct sunlight. Burns are formed on the leaves from direct exposure to the sun. So it is better to protect the plant from direct rays of the fabric. For location in an apartment or in another room, choose windows facing south-east or south-west. There will be insufficient lighting on the northern windows, and the succulent will quickly fade, all the beauty of its leaves will disappear. In winter, it is necessary to provide good lighting, artificial lighting is possible.

Temperature

The temperature of our standard apartments very suitable for this plant.

• In summer, Kodiem needs 20-22 degrees of heat;
• In winter, the temperature should not drop below 18 degrees. The best place in a succulent apartment near a central heating radiator;
• Codiaum does not tolerate drafts, so you should not take it out, even on warm, windless days, to an open balcony or loggia. If an adult plant is in your winter garden, you need to make sure that no drafts touch it;
• Temperature drops are also very harmful to the plant.

Humidity

Croton is a tropical plant, therefore it needs a high concentration of moisture. You can provide the necessary moisture by daily spraying. For additional moisture, you need to place containers of water between the pots of plants. You can shower the plant once a month. If, for any reason, make an artificial rain for Codiaum, then you can wipe it with a damp sponge. This will improve the look of the plant, cleanse the pores of dust and increase moisture.

The soil

It is better to compose the substrate for the plant yourself; you will rarely find a suitable one in store mixes for Codiaum. It is not very difficult to make it. For the composition you need to take:

• Leafy ground, preferably from under linden, birch or hazel;
• Garden humus;
• Peat (you can buy it separately at the store);
• Coarse river sand, thoroughly washed.

All components are taken in equal proportions. Add finely crushed charcoal and a little zeolite to this mixture. Then mix everything thoroughly. Charcoal is needed to suppress molds and bacteria. Zeolite absorbs fertilizers and gradually releases them, which is very beneficial for the plant.

When transplanting, all the old substrate must be removed from the roots. Damaged or starting to decay roots should be cut off and sprinkled with crushed charcoal.

Fertilizer

In order for the coloring of the leaves to remain bright, in addition to proper lighting, this plant needs mineral fertilizing. In a specialized flower shop, purchase a complex mineral fertilizer for succulents and cacti.

In the spring and summer, dilute it as written in the instructions and fertilize from spring to autumn once a week; in winter, dilute the fertilizer half as much as indicated on the label, and apply it once a month.

Reproduction

Seeds

Codiaum is a dioecious plant. Therefore, you need to have at least one male and several female plants for seed propagation. Since they bloom at different times, it is necessary that at least one pair coincide for artificial pollination. Basically, professionals resort to the seed method to get a new hybrid or variety. But if you bought seeds, they must be fresh.

• The seeds are disinfected in hot water or in a solution of potassium permanganate. Then leave in clean water for 24 hours to swell;
• They are sown in a container filled with a mixture of river sand and peat, and covered with a 1 cm layer of substrate. The soil should always be moistened, therefore it is better to cover the planting with film or glass;

When two true leaves appear, the seedlings dive into separate pots.

Cuttings

The most common and simple method of propagation by cuttings. You can cut through the whole year, but the most the best time - this is the period from February to April.

• The tops of the shoots are cut into cuttings, which remain with the planned formation of a beautiful crown. Do not forget that milky juice is very poisonous, so take precautions - at least protect your hands with gloves;
• Poisonous milky juice must be washed off with water, and fresh cuts must be sprinkled with charcoal powder. Some growers use heteroauxin (growth stimulant);
• For rooting cuttings, a mixture of river coarse sand and peat is used. The temperature for cuttings during the rooting period must be maintained at about 24 degrees;
• For rooting, you need to make a mixture of river sand and peat in equal quantities. You can root it, both in a common container, and in separate pots, filling them with the appropriate mixture;
• Rooting takes about a month or more. During all this time, it is necessary to spray the cuttings with soft warm water and make sure that the topsoil is moist;
• After rooting, the plants must be planted in separate pots with a fresh substrate, the same as for adult plants. The old substrate must be shaken off well before planting.

The pots are chosen with the smallest diameter. A good drainage layer must be placed on the bottom. Drainage can be medium expanded clay, fine gravel or broken red brick.

Layers

Some varieties with long branches are propagated by air layers. To do this, the bare parts of the branches are freed with a ring 1 cm wide and sphagnum moss is applied to this place. Everything is wrapped in film, tightly fastening from above and below. After a month, aerial roots will sprout in the moss and, having cut off the apical part with the roots, you need to plant it in a small pot.

Pruning

Codiaum needs timely pruning to form a beautiful and uniform crown. The first pinch is done when the plant reaches 12-15 cm, depending on the species. Then they are cut to the outer bud every 20 cm. The lateral branches are also cut if they protrude strongly along the perimeter of the crown. Then your plant will look well-groomed and neat.

Bloom

Croton is a dioecious plant. The male and female plant blooms in different ways. Flowers are left in the event that they want to get seeds and grow new hybrids. Usually flower arrows are removed because they do not look aesthetically pleasing (the arrow is high, pale flowers very small). The arrow is removed so that the plant does not waste nutrients.

Diseases and pests

Poor grooming of Codiaum, especially not following rules such as maintaining high humidity, not rubbing the leaves regularly, not observing temperature regime leads to disease. It also leads to the appearance of insect pests.

• Spider mite forms whitish spots on the surface on the leaves, if the necessary measures are not taken, the plant may die. Insufficient humidity contributes to the appearance of the red spider mite. To get rid of the pest, it is necessary to wash the plant well with either soapy water or tobacco solution, or use store-bought preparations: "Fufnon", "Fitoderm", "Derris";
• If you notice on the stems and leaves light brown dry plaques - means, settled on the plants shield... You can fight it with a mixture of soapy water, tobacco infusion and kerosene. The drug "Attelik" also helps well. It must be diluted as indicated in the instructions;
• In addition to pests, Codiaum can be subject to various diseases. Bright sunlight can form on the leaves burnsthat take long enough to heal;
• With insufficient air humidity, the plant first the tips of the leaves turn black and dry, then their edges. If the situation is not corrected, the plant will shed its leaves and die;
• Same sheds foliage Codiaum even if the air temperature is kept below 10-12 degrees for a long time. In this case, you can save the plant by moving it to a warm place;
• Bright color fadesif the plant lacks lighting. But this is not difficult to fix - provide the flower with the right lighting, and it will gradually regain its colors.

Signs and superstitions

• It is believed that Codiaum (Croton) is a very energetically strong flower. Many believe that he does not allow people with negative energy into the house. The flower senses people with bad thoughts and protects from them the people who live with it in the same room. Croton affects the order and stability in the house.
• He raises the efficiency of his owners, who are in indecision, despondency, pessimism. Codiaum gives self-confidence and removes all negative phenomena. People with speech problems communicate better in the room where the plant is located.
• For people in the arts, the flower is useful for new ideas and designs. It is also good to have a plant in the workplace to harmonize business relationships between employees.