Best high sunlight crotons?

[Richard]

Hello everyone. Rookie croton grower here. Can you recommend some crotons to grow in a high sunlight environment? My yard has no shade and catches hot afternoon south FL sun. I have a mammey that's doing great. Thanks a lot.

 

[fawnridge]

Many of the yellow/green varieties will establish well in full sun. Most popular of these is General Padget - massive oval leaf and easy to grow from cuttings. Yellow Excurrans is another one that will take the heat and sun all day long and even withstand a cold snap with minimal leaf drop. Gold Dust can, but usually you get a lot of blanched leaves.

For color, Dreadlocks rocks in the sun and is easy to find in the big box stores. Your Mammay looks great in the full sun, but it's easy to tell it's been there a long time. Most Mammay gets fried in the sun.

You can establish many varieties in the full sun, but it's going to take years and you'll have smaller leaves and less color during that time. The rule of thumb is "shade at noon."

 

[Richard]

Thanks. Yes, these guys (3 plants actually) are about 5-6 years old. I have more mammays in the back that the prior owner left that must be about 15 years old now. You're right, sometimes they do look wilted from a lot of sun. They get regular watering from sprinklers, and the good news is they snap right back when they get a drink.

 

[ScotTi]

A few more that do very well for me in full sun: Batik, Pappy, Bravo, Multicolor and Congo.

 

[Moose]

I would add Corkscrew, Picasso's Paintbrush, Ovalifolium, Lemon & Lime, Purity, Revolution, Ram's Horn, Robert Lavalois, Weismannii, Yellow Duke of Windsor, Lady Claire, Her Highness, Jean Francis Fascell, Heaven, Green & Gold and Lord Bellhaven to the list of cultivars that do very well in heavy sun exposure.