Due to the wide colour palette of its leaves, this houseplant fits into almost any interior as there is always...
Due to the wide colour palette of its leaves, this houseplant fits into almost any interior as there is always one colour to match. This Wonder Shrub is from the Crotoneae family and is also known as the Spurge family.
Wateringthe Croton
The tropical Croton should always have a slightly moist soil without drying out between waterings. Make sure the soil is not wet, as this can cause root rot, which will not benefit the plant's health. We recommend watering the Croton in small amounts more often than a large sprout all at once. Watering once a week is sufficient in most cases. However, the amount and frequency of watering depends on a number of factors, namely: the ambient temperature, the light intensity, the size of the plant and the size of the pot.
Watering the Croton
Watering the Croton is necessary to prevent spider mites on the plant and encourage its development. The more often you water this houseplant the better, we recommend watering it at least once a week. In the winter months when the heater is on, we even recommend watering this eye-catcher twice a week.
The best location for the Croton
The wonder bush will keep its wonderful colours when it receives as much light as possible, but be careful with direct sunlight in the summer months! If you do give this houseplant a spot where it gets a lot of direct sunlight, you need to build it up slowly so it can get used to the amount of light. If you don't, its miraculous leaves will burn. If the Croton is placed in a spot with too little light, it will no longer produce new leaves and its colour intensity will decrease dramatically. In this case, move it and it will recover by itself.
This houseplant likes the necessary warmth: during the day the minimum temperature is 18 degrees Celsius and at night it is around 12 degrees Celsius. So the Croton is not really suitable for conservatories or garden rooms.
Help! The leaves of my Croton are discoloured
Despite the fact that you naturally do everything to keep the leaves of your Croton as colourful as possible, it is possible that they may become discoloured or less beautiful. This is often due to the care of the houseplant. The light intensity is very important for the colours on the Croton's leaves. When the leaves turn darker, we advise you to move the houseplant to a place with more light. The Croton may also develop dark edges on its leaves, a sign of too much water. When this houseplant drops its leaves, this is a sign of too little light or too much water.
Pruning the Croton
This houseplant is not a fast grower, but if it grows too tall, you can cut off its stem at the desired height. The best time to do this is in spring or summer so that the stem can sprout again. We advise you to cut away the shoots in early autumn, so the sunlight can reach the plant better during the winter period. During pruning, milky sap will be released, we recommend you immediately rub its ‘wounds’ with charcoal dust or cigarette ash. Apart from keeping the milky substance in, you also ensure that no bacterial infections can develop. After pruning, the Croton is susceptible to this.
Propagating the Croton
This houseplant can be propagated by means of cuttings, for which you need head cuttings of about 10 cm. Cut off this piece and put the ‘wound’ in cigarette ash or charcoal dust to seal the wound. Then remove 2/3 of the leaves that are on the stem and root it in moist soil. The best temperature for the cutting is around 23 degrees. We recommend putting a plastic bag over the cutting to increase the humidity and temperature. Eventually, this baby Croton will grow leaves as colourful as its mother.
Is the Croton a poisonous houseplant?
The Croton is a member of the Spurge family, the milk/juice that can be released during trimming is irritating to the skin. Also be careful with clothes as these juices can cause nasty stains. Furthermore, it is important to protect this colourful appearance from pets and small children as ingestion of the sap can be dangerous.
Repotting the Croton
The Croton is best repotted immediately after purchase or in spring. If you notice that the Croton is getting a bit too tight in its jacket, we advise you to take a pot 20% larger in diameter than its predecessor. Re-pot the Croton Excellent in the spring, which allows any damaged roots to recover better. A larger pot stimulates growth, increases health and creates a natural water buffer because the soil can absorb more water. This makes caring for the Croton a little easier.
Fertilising the Croton
If you want to give your Croton an extra nutrition boost, we recommend doing this only in the spring and summer period. During the winter period, the Croton Excellent is at rest, it hardly grows at all and consumes few nutrients. Never give your houseplant more than is stated on the packaging. Too much is harmful to the plant because these nutrients are often quite acidic and this can damage the roots.
The flowering of the Croton
As an indoor plant, it hardly ever blooms, and if it does, you probably won't even notice. The flowers of this houseplant are very small and white. If you do see them, we advise you to cut them away, as they do not add to the ornamental value of the plant and they take up a lot of the Croton Excellent's energy.
Croton diseases
The Croton can suffer from mealy bug when placed in a draughty spot. This houseplant can also suffer from spider mites, often caused by too dry air. Both pests can easily be controlled with a powerful water jet. Just make sure the spray is not too powerful and you damage the leaves. For a long-term solution, we recommend treating the Croton Excellent with a chemical or biological pesticide.