My plant died. Help me find his brother

[ds]

Hey all,

I moved recently and nobody took care of my plant before i could get back to get it. Therefore it died. It was sad day.

So i want to replace it but i cant remember the name. I thought i knew it but i guess not. So ill tell you what i thought the name was and if anyone knows what it is.. that would be great.

I thought it was called a croate or crote.. or something like that.

Its leaves would be green when young .. but depending on the light it got they would change from black to yellow... very nice.

Any ideas?

Thanks in advance

[Charles]

there is a plant called a croton.

[Cereus-validus]

It would be a much better idea to keep you as far away as possible from any more plants you could kill.

You need to learn the basic skills for taking care of plants first.

Croton are tricky to grow and not a plant for rank beginners.

[Cereus-validus]

So enlighten us on how easy they are, Rico.

Tell us all how you grow them so well.

[Ricky]

"Cereus-validus" jokes

Ha, ha, ha! What could be easier?

[Joe]

I used to grow crotons by putting cuttings in the ground outside. I thought they were rather tough.

BTW, did your plant ask for his brother as the last moment approached. Or do you just want to notify him?

Try alt.genealogy.croton 8)

[B & J]

You're right, Ricky. I threw out a four year old plant last summer because it was too large but took cuttings before sending it to the compost pile. The three cuttings I took are now colorful six inch plants with leaves that spread over a foot and a half..

After they rooted, I planted the cuttings in high humus soil to which slow release fertilizer was added and never allow the soil to become completely dry. I keep the croton in a sunny southeast window because they require a lot of light. One problem I've encountered with crotons is with spider mites, but the mites can be quickly evicted with sharp blasts of water. Another downside is that they flower at least twice during each spring and summer and have messy flowers.

Last summer I purchased a second variety that has long narrow, twisting leaves that change from green and yellow to dark burgundy with orange veins as they age. I don't know the variety's name, but it's a plus that it doesn't grow nearly as rapidly.

John

[Ricky]

Crotons are what we call "quick stick". Just stuff the cuttings into some acidic, organic soil and water. 90% or more will root and grow. I grow 150 different varieties in a small mist bed here in S. Florida.

[Cereus-validus]

Sure they are easy to grow where it is tropical and you can grow them outdoors year round in full sun.

However, in cold climates where you must grow them in pots in far less than ideal conditions in poor light, crotons are very difficult to grow well, or even keep alive, especially over the winter. They can be kept in a greenhouse but they make very bad houseplants.

The person who killed their plant was trying to grow one as a houseplant under less than ideal conditions.

[Ricky]

No. Full sun is very bad for crotons. They will get small leaves and blanch out all their color. Crotons do best in partial shade. I had one in New Jersey in pot for 10 years and last year I brought one to my daughter who lives in an apartment in NYC. It's still alive. They're actually much easier to grow than you think, even in a pot indoors.

[Cereus-validus]

I now have serious doubts that we are even talking about the same plant.

[Ricky]

[Cereus-validus]

Provide a link to a picture of what you are calling croton so that we can be sure to which plant it is you allude.

[Ricky]

My garden features 150 different varieties:

[Cereus-validus]

You mean 150 cultivars not varieties.

Sure looks like you are indeed growing most of them in full sun. Your interpretation of shade is still far more light than most northerners get.

Anyway, that amount of sunlight is not something you can do in a house or an office, dude.

Still, we may never be able to locate DS's plant's next of kin to notify it of it sibling's untimely passing. The funeral is already long over by now. Any debate at this point is moot.

[Ricky]

A cultivar is man-made. A variety is naturally occuring. Only 2 of my crotons are cultivars, the rest are varieities.

The stuff on the south side of the garden does get more sun than the rest of the crotons. The yellow varieties can tolerate more sun than the other colors.

That's for sure!

RIP.

[Cereus-validus]

Time for you to brush up on your botanical nomenclature. That is not the definition for botanical variety. A botanical variety is a discreet wild population and a subset of a species.

A cultivar is a clone selected by man for its aesthetic horticultural or agricultural merit and can be made artificially (man-made), from plants appearing spontaneously in the garden or even selected from plants occurring in the wild. A cultivar is not representative of the wild population of the species, subspecies or botanical variety and can even be of hybrid origin.

All your croton are cultivars.

[Cereus-validus]

So you are saying that you are aware of the definition of cultivar but you just don't comprehend what it means?

[Ben Blackmore]

I think that is a little harsh! He said he moved and was probably expecting someone to look after them for him. Not his fault really!

Ben

[Salty Thumb]

"Ben Blackmore" wrote in news:407e5c53$0$611$ [e-mail]:

saw a bunch of crotons for sale at home depot yesterday.

(as well as a $5 hoop for holding paper bags in place while you fill them, for whoever asked about that)