Read information about leaf markings and height in the commented Croton profile here. How to properly care for a miracle bush. Variety tips for the beautiful houseplant with colorful leaves.
How do you properly care for a croton?
To properly care for a croton, the plant needs a bright to sunny location, regular watering with lime-free water and high humidity. Fertilize every 14 days during the growth phase and repot the plant every two years.
Profile
- Scientific name: Codiaeum variegatum
- Family: Spurge family (Euphorbiaceae)
- Synonyms: Croton, miracle shrub
- Origin: Southeast Asia
- Growth type: shrub
- Growth height: 100 cm to 300 cm
- Leaf: evergreen, rich in shapes
- Leaf color: colorful
- Flower: white, inconspicuous
- Toxicity: poisonous
- Winter hardiness: not hardy
- Use: houseplant, summer balcony
Growth height
You can't tell from a croton in the garden center how much growth power it has. The popular decorative foliage plant comes on sale at a modest 30 to 40 centimeters. Over time, the growth takes on expansive dimensions with a tight, upright height of 150 to 200 centimeters. In its tropical home regions and under the ideal conditions of a botanical garden, a miracle shrub stretches up to 300 centimeters in height.
Leaf
The most beautiful decoration of a croton plant are ornamental leaves with artistic leaf drawings in blazing colors. The following list provides an insight into the multifaceted leaf properties:
- Leaf structure: petiole and leaf blade.
- Leaf shapes: narrow-lanceolate to sword-shaped, roundish-oval to ovoid, entire to lobed or deeply cut.
- Sizes: 5 cm to 30 cm long, 0.5 cm to 8 cm wide.
- Leaf drawings: distinctively veined, distinctively spotted and dotted or artfully marbled.
- Leaf colors: green-yellow, orange, red or purple-pink in a variety of color compositions.
- Texture: smooth, thin-leathery
Admire a representative example of the beautifully shaped and picturesquely colored ornamental leaves of a Croton plant in the following video:
Video: Croton - The miracle shrub with a tree look for the living room
Toxicity
Codiaeum variegatum is a poisonous beauty because all parts of the plant are permeated by a colorless, toxic milky sap. Even simple skin contact can cause annoying to painful swelling and inflammation. Intentional or unintentional consumption is punished with nausea, vomiting and other distressing symptoms of poisoning. The miracle shrub is not recommended for family households or as roommates with pets.
Winter hardiness
The central habitats of the croton plant extend across Malaysia, the Philippines and the Sunda Archipelago in Indonesia. There is a warm, humid rainforest climate all year round with an average annual temperature of around 20° Celsius. In the tropical belt of our planet, the miracle shrub is a common sight in parks and gardens. Because it is too cold for a croton outside at 15° Celsius, the rainforest beauty is used as a houseplant in our latitudes.
Planting Croton
Most indoor gardeners buy their first croton miracle bush in the garden center. One mother plant is sufficient for the propagation of additional specimens, which spread a cozy jungle feeling in living rooms, winter gardens and offices. The following sections explain in a compact and comprehensible manner how you can successfully propagate a Croton plant and plant it correctly:
Propagate
Vegetative propagation guarantees that the magnificent properties of the mother plant are passed on to the offspring. The easiest way to propagate a croton is through head cuttings. How to do it right:
- The best time is in spring from January to March.
- Put on gloves to protect yourself from the toxic latex.
- Cut 10 cm to 15 cm long head cuttings with disinfected scissors.
- Allow the cuttings to bleed in a bowl of lukewarm water.
- Pour a mixture of coconut soil and sand into cultivation pots.
- Plant a head cutting in each pot, water and spray with low-lime water.
- Let the cuttings root in the heated propagation box at 25° to 30° Celsius.
The first roots sprout after six weeks in a bright, humid location. After five to six months, a young croton will have completely rooted through its growing pot. Now you can repot your pupil and care for it like an adult miracle bush.
Plant in a pot
Plant a croton in reduced-peat, compost-based potting soil. Use a bucket with holes in the bottom so that excess water can drain away. With the right pot size, two to three fingers fit between the ball of soil and the wall of the container. To protect against waterlogging, cover the bottom of the pot with broken clay, expanded clay or grit. Ideally, you should place an air and water permeable fleece over the drainage before filling in the substrate.
Two criteria determine the correct planting depth: There is a distance of 3 cm to 5 cm between the edge of the pot and the root disk as a watering edge. The previous planting depth in the nursery pot or purchase container remains largely unchanged. Water the freshly planted miracle shrub thoroughly. Pour away any water that has accumulated in the saucer after 10 minutes.
Location
The right location is crucial for the beautifully shaped croton leaves to display their glowing autumn colors. The following overview informs you about all the important conditions for a wonderful shrub worth seeing:
- Light: bright to sunny all year round with shade against the blazing midday sun in summer.
- Temperature: at least 15° Celsius at any time of the year.
- Humidity: ideally at rainforest level, but at least 60%.
- Exclusion criteria: drafts, shadows, rising cold from the floor (stone floor).
Excursus
Decorative air freshener for living and working spaces
With its attractive foliage, a croton makes a valuable contribution to refreshing, he althy indoor air. The magnificent leaves tirelessly filter pollutants from the air. During the day, enzymes located there immediately break down the harmful gases. At night, pollutants such as cigarette smoke, formaldehyde, carbon dioxide and benzene are transported into the roots. There, busy microorganisms receive the environmental toxins as a welcome source of food, which they break down and render harmless.
Care for Croton
The miracle bush is a grateful and easy-care houseplant. Apart from slight modifications, care can continue as usual all year round. How to properly care for a croton:
Watering and humidity
The mainstay of the care program is continuous moisture in the soil and air. Water the Croton plant abundantly and regularly without causing waterlogging. The best way to determine the watering requirement is to use your index finger. Insert your finger into the substrate. If you don't feel any moisture from a depth of 2 centimeters, the miracle shrub needs to be watered. Water more sparingly in the winter months than in spring and summer. Please use room temperature rainwater or stale tap water as irrigation water.
Catapult the local humidity to rainforest levels by spraying the leaves two to three times a week. Fill the coaster with expanded clay and water. Treat your miracle shrub to a nourishing water shower every six months. Beforehand, cover the potting substrate with foil. The shower is also an effective prevention against spider mites, aphids and other annoying pests.
Fertilize
During the growth phase, administer a liquid fertilizer for green plants every 14 days (€6.00 on Amazon). In autumn and winter, a croton stops growing and does not require any additional nutrient supply.
Cutting
Regular pruning care is not necessary. A croton develops its tightly upright silhouette without any shape or maintenance pruning. Occasionally the miracle bush gradually withdraws one of its beautifully colored leaves. Give this morbid fading free rein as valuable nutrients are transferred from the leaf to the roots. If the affected leaf is completely dead, cut off the dried parts of the plant on the petiole.
Repotting
Growth will stay strong if you repot a croton every two years. The best time is in spring, shortly before the new shoots begin. Use a container that is 20 to 30 percent larger than the previous pot. More space for the roots accelerates the rate of growth. Furthermore, increased substrate volume can absorb more water, so that waterlogging does not form as quickly.
Solve problems
If a croton weakens, location problems, care errors or pests are the cause. The following table provides information about typical damage patterns and gives tips for effective countermeasures:
| malicious image | Cause | Countermeasure | How exactly? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Croton loses leaves | Waterlogging | repotting | remove wet soil, plant in dry substrate, do not water for a week |
| Colors fade | Lack of light | Change location | place in a sunny place with protection from midday sun |
| Croton leaves hanging | Drought stress | water more abundantly, spray regularly | Keep the ball of soil slightly moist, spray twice a week |
| Webs, speckles, rolled leaves | Spider mites | shower, spray | shower with lukewarm water, spray daily |
| Miracle bush no longer grows | Growth depression, lack of space | repotting | relocate into a 20% larger bucket |
Popular varieties
The following selection introduces you to beautiful croton varieties with colorful decorative leaves for an exotic jungle feeling in living spaces:
- Codiaeum variegatum 'Petra': majestic wonder shrub, ornamental, colorful leaves, growth height up to 3 m.
- Aucubifolium (Codiaeum variegatum var. pictum): Premium variety with elliptical leaves and green-yellow-dotted leaf markings.
- Bruxellense (Codiaeum variegatum var. pictum): boasts broad, sword-shaped, bronze-colored, later red leaves.
- Fascination (Codiaeum variegatum var. pictum): impresses with lanceolate leaves and magnificently variegated leaf markings in green, red and orange.
FAQ
Which houseplant has colorful leaves?
Ask a master gardener this question and the prompt answer is: Codiaeum variegatum; in German Croton or miracle bush. The colorful foliage plant from Southeast Asia is a decorative hit as a houseplant. There are a variety of leaf shapes to admire, from narrow-lanceolate to broad-oval. Breathtaking color compositions in warm autumn colors impressively round off the furious appearance.
My croton is losing its leaves from below. What to do?
The damage described indicates that the floor is too cold. If a croton is placed in a pot on a stone floor, the houseplant will suffer from cold feet in winter. Drafts can also cause the lower leaves to fall off. Place the pot on an insulating surface, such as wood or Styrofoam. Avoid tilted windows in the immediate vicinity of the miracle bush, especially during the cold season.
Is the miracle shrub suitable for hydroponics?
The pure species Codiaeum variegatum as well as all varieties of the variety Codiaeum variegatum var. pictum are suitable for hydroponics. Indoor gardeners appreciate that a croton in an expanded clay substrate only needs to be watered once a week in summer, and even less often in the winter months. The best thing to do is to buy a young hydroponic plant straight away. Changing the roots from soil to inorganic substrate is a little tricky for the tropical Croton plant.
The colorful croton leaves turn green in a sunny location. What to do?
Colorful Croton plants are cultivated forms of the variety Codiaeum variegatum var. pictum. If green foliage sprouts instead of the colorful leaves, the wild species wants to assert itself in growth. You can put a stop to this unwanted process. Consistently cut off all green leaves. In the long run, the Pictum properties gain the upper hand again.
