LSU Garden News: Colorful crotons are perfect for autumn decorations | House & garden


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Chrysanthemums aren’t the only plant that can add a gorgeous color to your fall decor.

Consider a tropical plant called crotons.

Crotons have bright, multi-colored foliage in orange, red, yellow, and green, which makes them a perfect choice to decorate with.

Like poinsettias, crotons belong to the Euphorbiaceae family. The species is native to Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia, and the western Pacific Islands, where it grows wild in the forest.

Only in the tropical or coastal areas of the United States will crotons survive outdoors. You will see many of them in Florida, where they do well in full sun and partial shade.

For the rest of us, crotons are grown as houseplants or in outdoor containers that can be sheltered from frost and frost, which harms the crotons, although they recover quickly.

Petra Crotons are most commonly grown indoors, in rooms with maximum light and warmth so that they keep their light color. The color will fade in low light and the lower leaves may fall off.

One precaution: the juice from crotons can be irritating and toxic if consumed, so keep children and pets away. The juice can also color.

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Most plants grow to be 2 to 6 feet tall and wide. They produce an inconspicuous white bloom.

But flowers are not what this plant is about. It is valued for its glossy, coarse, and colorful foliage.

Crotons like high humidity, so only water when the top inch of the potting soil starts to dry out. Excess water can promote fungal disease on the roots, and plants will drop older leaves if left too wet.

No serious insect or disease problems are associated with crotons, but watch out for dandruff, spider mites, and mealybugs. Treat heavily infested plants with horticultural or neem oil as needed, carefully following the label.

Plants can be fertilized both in spring and in summer. You can apply a liquid fertilizer monthly to encourage faster growth. Again, follow the directions on the label.

There are more than a hundred varieties of crotons with different colors and leaf shapes from large, coarse leaves to slender, twisted leaves. Some of the most popular varieties of this colorful plant are:

  • Petra – green leaves with red, orange and yellow coloring
  • Gold Star – green leaves sprinkled with bright gold stars
  • Eleanor Roosevelt – thin leaves of a wide range of colors, mottled with bright yellow spots
  • Mother and Daughter – exotic looking leaves that are long and narrow with pointed leaflets
  • Foliage – deep green speckles with small yellow or ivory splashes
  • Oakleaf – Oak leaf-shaped dark green or bronze leaves with veins of yellow, orange, and red
  • Zanzibar – very narrow leaves in green, purple, red, yellow and orange.

Plants can be found in most garden centers or flower shops at this time of year.

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