Codiaeum, Croton 'Curly Boy'

This is supposed to be a z9 Croton. At the least it has a better chance here in the SF Bay Area then the wider leafed Crotons that are di...Read Morefficult to over winter here. Relentless winter rains can do more damage then a single cold night.
I have tried and I think summer in sun..and then put under some overhang in winter at least. Keep winter rains and direct frost off of the plants.
The best I've done is 2 and half years outdoors 24/7 with Mammy. I hope to top that with Curly Boy.

I love this plant, it thrives in full sun and I haven't had any problems with bugs or pests. I take cuttings twice a year. The pruning pr...Read Moreomotes new branching on the stock plant. New growth appears after about 3 days during the summer, about a week in the winter (FL winter). I dip cuttings into rooting hormone and place underneath a soda bottle dome. Roots within 2 weeks while showing new grows on the top as well.

I bought this plant from a department store about 2 years ago. At first it lost almost all of it's leaves. After leaving it in an east wi...Read Morendow, it grew beautifully until I tried to repot it in Miracle-Gro. I am now afraid to do anything to it. Hopefully I can post a picture of it and hopefully someone can advise me on what an what not to do to it!

This genus consists of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees native to southern Asia, the Malay region and Pacific Islands...Read More. One species, Codiaeum variegatum, has given rise to a large number of cultivars with highly colored and sometimes bizarrely shaped leaves. These are popular garden plants in tropical regions, and house or greenhouse plants in temperate climates. Where they can be grown outdoors, the larger-growing cultivars make good hedging plants. The small yellow flowers and tiny seed pods are quite insignificant-the plants are grown strictly for their magnificent foliage.
Cultivation: They will not withstand prolonged cold or dry conditions and prefer moist, humus-rich soil in sun or dappled shade. As indoor plants they are grown in a rich but freely draining potting mix, and watered and fed freely during the summer growing season. Propagate from tip cuttings or by air-layering.
Codiaeum variegatum:
This species occurs throughout the range of the genus, making a small tree with plain green leaves in the wild. Cultivated forms, though show enormous variation of leaf color and pattern with shades of green, red, yellow, orange and purple, sometimes on the one plant. Some cultivars can grow to 8' or more tall, with leaves up to 12" long; they must be propagated vegetatively, usually by cuttings, to maintain their floiage color. 'America' has green, red, orange, and yellow leaves, the variegation following the veins and margins; 'Petra' is similar to 'America' but has more clearly defined margins; 'Imperiale' has yellow leaves with pink margins and green midribs; 'Interruptum' has yellow, recurved leaves with green margins and red midribs; 'Mrs Iceton' (syn 'Appleleaf') has elliptic leaves, metallic purple at the edges, yellow to rose in the center.
Zones 11-12