Applause

annafl

annafl

Esteemed Member
2,243
24/02/13
567
153
Sarasota, FL zone 9b/10a United States
I have not had any success with Applause. The last one died from over-exposure to sun/heat, although it received only the same morning sun I give lots of other crotons in my yard. This past Searle sale I got another one which was showing nice, strong growth so I could try again. The plant gets two hours of direct morning (9-11) sun and has already dropped several leaves and even on new growth. I remember Jerry once said they are very sensitive to sun. How much sun is ideal? Any sun at all or does it need to be only in bright shade or very filtered light? I think this is a beautiful cultivar and I'm so mad at myself for letting this one suffer too. Please let me know what type of light you're successfully growing yours in. Thanks!

On the same subject, Cornelius (my first) has also dropped a couple of leaves. What type of light does this one like?
 
Both plants have been tricky for me.My Cornelius gets evening sun also drops leaves but looks ok.My Applause is in deep shade and looks crappy
 
Both of mine are doing quite well in filtered bright light (if that makes any sense), i.e., shady but not too shady... An air layer from last year is muddling along in more shade than the parent.
 
I don't have Cornelius, but my Applause is planted in hot sun for a good portion of the day in a dry spot that gets missed by the irrigation and right next to my gravel driveway. It did not do much for the first year and a half, but took off last summer, putting on considerable growth and really taking on dramatic color. I got it from Marie when I stopped down at Ree Gardens a couple of years ago and filled the car with crotons. It has taken on a much darker color than I have seen in most of the photos with the mature leaves bright red and black. When I first planted it, the leaves looked more like the photos. I know I need to get out in the garden and start taking pictures and figure out how to post them.
 
Mike, I think we got the same plants last year. Small and not full. Mine still looks like that. It really has not grown at all, just put out a couple of leaves. Thanks for your experience. I'm on a mission to find the right spot for this one.

Phil, I remember your beautiful Applause. It was large and seemed vigorous. I spoke with Tim at the Ganza and he said his grows like a weed. Go figure. The one I got last year is in filtered shade with some direct very early morning sun. It is still not liking it. I will try to find a spot with less sun than that to try to match your experience. Do you have a Cornelius?

VeroKarl, that is amazing. Yours seems to be defying my experience! Maybe I just haven't given it enough tough love. Definitely take a photo and post it. It is really easy now with our new software on this forum. Just drag the photo to your desktop and then drag it into the post. Done. Now, get snapping!
 
Big Cornelius waiting for sphagnum moss to arrive to get air layer and little Cornelius muddling along in more shade. DSCN5997.JPG DSCN5998.JPG DSCN5999.JPG
 
had to go back to Croton Encyclopedia to check on differences - and much to my surprise, found a pic I submitted a while back on plain old Cornelius which seems to fbe a very variable plant even by croton standards.
 
Yeah, plain old Cornelius. You're right, Phil, I remember there was a discussion about this way back. The wiki has at least two plants in what people are calling Cornelius. Not only that, but Jerry appears to have what looks to me like an amazing blotched version or something! Intriguing. The fog is heavy on this one and I doubt it will lift any time soon. Mine is like the one in Jeff's garden, of course. It was beautiful when I got it, but it is not happy with the amount of sun it's getting. I am going to have to find a spot with less light.
 
Here is a picture of my Applause. The leaves were a bit damaged by the winter, but you get the idea of what it looks like in a sunny dry spot.
Applause.jpg
 
annafl said:
Karl, it's beautiful! I don't understand why I have so much trouble with it. Hey, so nice you learned how to post! We want to see more now.:)
Click to expand...
I finally have several of my photos on the computer so will try to find one of the discussions to share them.
Thanks,
Karl
 
annafl said:
I have not had any success with Applause. The last one died from over-exposure to sun/heat, although it received only the same morning sun I give lots of other crotons in my yard. This past Searle sale I got another one which was showing nice, strong growth so I could try again. The plant gets two hours of direct morning (9-11) sun and has already dropped several leaves and even on new growth. I remember Jerry once said they are very sensitive to sun. How much sun is ideal? Any sun at all or does it need to be only in bright shade or very filtered light? I think this is a beautiful cultivar and I'm so mad at myself for letting this one suffer too. Please let me know what type of light you're successfully growing yours in. Thanks!

On the same subject, Cornelius (my first) has also dropped a couple of leaves. What type of light does this one like?
Click to expand...

Your comments inspired me to plant mine. Ana - your Applause may be an issue to establishing its root system. It is probably devoting its energies towards the roots. Come July, I think you may notice a big change. Also, some crotons just sit for several years then start cranking. My Diane was very slow the first two years, jumped in growth the third, then jumped to monster growth the 4th.
 
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