why are some crotons happy and others not?

[redbeard917]

My friend moved into a new home recently, and I'm helping her spruce up the yard a bit. It's a pretty cool spot that backs up to a lake, is sort of sheltered by large trees, and the previous owners have planted a diversity of tropical foliage plants. My goal is to improve it without changing the feel too much. So I'm going to remove the invasives (Brazilian pepper and camphor seedlings), weed and mulch the beds, and deal with some underperforming plants either by hard pruning, giving them what they need, or just removing them.

Which brings me to this bed in the photos. It has crotons that look pretty good and some that barely have a single leaf. Any guesses as to what's wrong? Should I prune them back or just delete them?

Soil is pretty organic matter rich and moist compared to other central FL locations, probably because of the lake. There is overhead sun exposure in this area, although less so currently as the low winter sun angle creates shade from nearby trees. Orlando area.

[redbeard917]

Here's a closeup of one of the underperforming crotons and a view looking the other way.

[Looking Glass]

These are established, so if you like the type, I would keep them.  Just start taking care of them, and they will grow when it warms up.  Here’s some from my yard.  

These are the two kinds you have there, I think….

Petra

Mammie…

Crotons like pretty rich, acidic soils and regular feeding and watering.  Most kinds feed pretty heavily, so they need regular fertilizer and rich amendments in the soil around them, along with frequent regular watering.  Over time they get a little more durable, but don’t ever really tolerate dry spells well.   These are not palms, so you can add fertilizer and amendments on them with relative impunity.  I’d clean up the area around them, and top with composted manure and peat for acidity, and add some high quality palm fertilizer mixed with a few handfuls of lawn nitrogen fertilizer.  Then top that with mulch to protect the area from weeds and dryness. 
 

They like to stay moist all the time, but not waterlogged.  So I’d hit them with water/irrigation fairly often as temps warm up in spring.  

Look for evidence of scale on them, especially croton scale.  This will be around the newest leaves when mild, and all over when severe.  They will cause leaf drop and eventually near death to death, depending.   Treat topically and systemically if present.   

They also don’t really enjoy cold or even cool weather, some will lose color and drop leaves as temps fall into the 50s or below.   Picasso’s Paintbrush hates even this warm winter….  Will color up in spring.  

 

Overall, crotons are great. I stick them everywhere I can.  Some love full sun, others need a lot of shade.  

I’m always on the lookout for colorful ones that catch my eye…  I found these baby, Bush-on Fires in the indoor section of Home Depot last week for $5!  Score!  First time seeing this one in person.  

 

 

Edited January 7, 2024 by Looking Glass

[redbeard917]

Thank you. Yours look great. Standard procedure for me is to mulch heavily with manure + larger stuff but I will also fertilize at your advice. Do you think cutting them back is ok? It would look a lot better in the interim.

[miamicuse]

Some are sun loving and some needs deep shade, and be careful when searching online on croton light requirements.  In many cases folks from the north says this croton needs "full sun" they meant putting it inside next to a window with sun exposure al;l day but not like the blazing south Florida sun we have down here.

I find that at times crotons need some careful editing to get them to look their best.  Some crotons tend to become leggy as they grow tall and drop the lower leaves, so do plant them in groups to get the spread and fullness you desire.

Some of my favorite crotons are:

Mosaic

Geisha Girl

Arrowhead

Magnificent

Raphael

Fish bone

I lost a bunch when we had the major historical flood back in April of 23, the river rose up and all my plants were partially submerged, and the water was kind of brackish.  I guess some of them are not too salt tolerant.

[miamicuse]

Forgot to add...and this happened to me last year.

I had a back injury and had difficulty in doing chores for a month or do, had trouble even bending, so gardening was out of the question.  So my wife hired a landscaper to come to service the lawn, and the landscaper went nuts with his weed eater.  He went to each of the planting areas to clear the weeds, and the weed eater basically stripped most of my plants at their ankles.

Here is a picture of what happened to a lot of my crotons.  The bark basically gone.

The Geisha Girl that was in deep red color dropped many leaves and turned pale after.

I dug it up and put it in a pot.  Four of my Irene Kingsley croton dropped all their leaves.  I cut them all back and have them in pots to observe if they will recover.  Two died, two recovered some but sickly looking.

So I would check your crotons to see if they may have been victims of weed wecker abuse.

 

[Looking Glass]

6 hours ago, redbeard917 said:

Thank you. Yours look great. Standard procedure for me is to mulch heavily with manure + larger stuff but I will also fertilize at your advice. Do you think cutting them back is ok? It would look a lot better in the interim.

I don’t know.   You could, but I’d be hesitant to trim any living tissue off of a sick plant.  If it were me, I’d wait til spring, and see how they declare themselves with good care and good temps.   Of course, hack away, when it comes to dry, dead twigs.  Mammie also likes a fair amount of sun.  It and its similar cultivars (yellow Mammie and such) are one of a few crotons that can handle true all day Florida sun.  Petra does with part sun.