heavy croton..

I just got a new croton from HD...and the pot is only ten inches and it weighs like 20 lbs!! the other ten inch HD potted indoor plant i have is a ficus and it probably only weighs 7-8 lbs... the croton is not excessively wet, and not very big, although it fits the ten inch pot.......I know i should let a new plant acclimate to the new environment, but is this soil too much for the plant already? or should i let it acclimate for a period of time first? and how long do i wait?

maybe youve got something weird down inside the pot? like a monkey? no, really, its been my limited experience that crotons from chain stores are just barely rooted. they cut them and stick them in and sell them before they have a chance to do much. i think i would leave it alone for awhile. i have also found that they do better in part shade with not much water for awhile. otherwise they rot and burn. just till the little guy gets going. i always keep my crotons in afternoon shade, but thats just me. debi

mine is in a pot......indoors...and thank you for the watering tip....how long do you leave it dry for before watering? a few days? a week? thank you for the advice!! much appriciated!

Hey Debi.....I didnt even realize who this was at first! sorry, how are you? I wonder, are yours in the ground? in Florida you can do that right? I would love that!! right now i have mine in a western window....but i was thinking on moving it to a eastern window, which would have morning sun, and afternoon shade......but it says indirect light, and in the eastern window it would get more direct light, unless.......{light bulb lights up over head}....I could put it in a corner of the bedroom, a little away from the window but still in bright light!! wow what a revelation!! thanks for your help!!

Hi back at cha!!! i will tell you the little i know about crotons. everywhere in south florida they are planted in all day full sun, so i did that too when i first moved to the keys. what i found was that they wilted and drooped every afternoon, but by evening were ok. i dont think thats good for a plant tho. too much stress. (different varieties behave alittle differently) anyway, i put mine in various places starting in pretty deep shade all the way to full sun.. the shaded ones looked better over all, but they say full sun for maxium color. now that ive moved to central florida i dont see too many crotons except in sheltered locations. the only one i brought with me was actually two that i dug up and put in a giant pot. they are still in it almost a year later sitting in the courtyard. they get about 4 hours sun a day and look great. they weathered some pretty cold days and nights up here, but are fine. i doubt i will ever put them in the ground. to answer your question i would say no more than once a week watering. what leaf shape are yours? there is always the possibility that yours is fully rooted too. can you look in the holes in the bottom and see anything? if you see roots and it seems pretty strong in the pot you could go ahead and repot to the kind of pot you want. worse case, even if the whole thing falls apart, just stick em back in a pot at the same level they came out of. i mark a red dot with magic marker on the stems when i repot. then i know for sure. how are your dogs doing? i should check in with irmaly and see how the puppy progress is going. ive been nursing a sick BF (oral surgery) and havent been on daves much lately. keep in touch and let me know how it goes with the croton! debi

I do not see any roots in the bottom.....I had the banana leaf one before this and it died! It started loosing leaves about a week after i bought it.....and I took it back and replaced it with this........thank you for your advice!! i will keep you posted....abbie

Hey, Suey

The weght of your pot could just be that that particular grower used a potting mix heavy with sand and grit. That would weigh a LOT!

Some plants do best in that kind of soil......

Hi' I have been wanting a croton but the one I've seen haven't look to good I'm in Milw ,wisc and wonders if anyone know where to get a nice healthy one?? .......Sharon

hey sassy, check out the growers on daves files. im sure there are plenty of growers around that could ship you one. there are dozens of different varieties.

I must have forgotten to post the pic....DUH!

scoob, one thing i forgot to say, your picture reminded me. if you see leaves all the way to the ground, chances are they did what i said, about cutting them and putting them in quick. crotons lose their bottom leaves as they mature. if yours are like that esp.kind of in the dirt, i would snip them off. they are going to die anyway and will further sap the plant while its trying to establish roots. debi

scoob, finally took a picture of my crotons for you. mine are the long leaf ones. the one on the left is almost black with a few yellow speckles, the other one is more crotony colored! debi

HI Debi, very nice. what is the name of the light leafed plant ooooin the lower right of your pic? (i was thinking during that bobo.) Dixie

oriole, you mean the caladium?

Oh I see that now. I have a houseplant similar to that and I thought it was the house plant. Yes I have a couple of the same caladium. I am not real impressed with them it took me forever to get them started in the greenhouse to the house on top of the register and I was expecting more of a showing than what I got. I do have a couple around my pond that are doing better(more shade) thanks dixie

Very Nice Debi!!! I didnt know that crotons rooted like that.......amazing!! sorta like a coleus huh? Thank you for your advice!!

probubly gitagal was right about heaviness being from sand. it helps them root better. but they arent as easy as coleus! debi

I dont think anything is as easy as coleus!! thank you!!

That's a nice one!

Just be careful with those big 10"-ers from WM, HD, etc.....they'll often feel quite dry near the top and a few inches down, and they'll be soaking wet near the bottom, which, of course, is usually where most of the roots are!

I had a Philo. Selloum such as that once, and would water it, thinking it needed it, when I was, in fact, drowning/suffocating the roots!

Sassygranng....have you checked at the nearby Wal Marts? I've noticed that one of the WM's near me has 10" Crotons and other plants for $5.97, and they have them outdoors in the garden center, not indoors where you might expect to see them.

Hi thanks will check went to walmart last weekend plants not so good . Will check again for new shipment ......Thank youSharon