How Long?

[palmisland]

How long can an individual leaf live on a croton. Hey, I'm sure it's longer than i recorded & I'm sure it depends on the cultivar & conditions. I happened to take a photo of this Irrisistable leaf on Oct 2011 & noticed it was always there. This is the first one I've actually documented. The first photo was taken Feb 2012, #2 Oct 2013, #3 Dec 2012 & #4 Oct 2011. So how long will an individual croton leaf last

 

[Jeff Searle]

Randy,

Good question! And I'm sure there's probably never been any studies or test to see. It's interesting that you have shown how long some leaves are capable of staying on a plant though. I guess if a plant is really pushed with fertilizer, leaves might tend to drop off earlier because of the new growth replacing them. On the other end, maybe an old plant that just sits and doesn't grow much will tend to hold their leaves a little longer? Who knows.....

 

[annafl]

Randy, that is a very interesting question. I'm sure you're right that it varies widely in different types of crotons and in different types of environments with different types of care. Way too many variables to make any solid assumptions, I think. However, it's so interesting that you've documented this and you should keep us posted each year and when it finally falls off! I'm going to try to notice the same thing in a couple of my plants also.

I have another question. Many, although not all, of my crotons are dropping a few leaves recently. Not a lot, but a few of the older leaves become discolored and then drop. I don't know if this is a result of the cold (the coldest night here was 37 for a few hours only), or just a result of the season and investing the energy into new growth with this present warm spell and longer days. My yard is just starting to get significantly more amounts of sun in the last week or two. What is your experience in your yard with old leaf drop this time of year? Am I the only one seeing this in my crotons now? I'm asking all of you!

 

[Kingdavid]

Randy, that is a very interesting question. I'm sure you're right that it varies widely in different types of crotons and in different types of environments with different types of care. Way too many variables to make any solid assumptions, I think. However, it's so interesting that you've documented this and you should keep us posted each year and when it finally falls off! I'm going to try to notice the same thing in a couple of my plants also.

I have another question. Many, although not all, of my crotons are dropping a few leaves recently. Not a lot, but a few of the older leaves become discolored and then drop. I don't know if this is a result of the cold (the coldest night here was 37 for a few hours only), or just a result of the season and investing the energy into new growth with this present warm spell and longer days. My yard is just starting to get significantly more amounts of sun in the last week or two. What is your experience in your yard with old leaf drop this time of year? Am I the only one seeing this in my crotons now? I'm asking all of you!

No not at all we got one night that dipped to 31 for an hour or so not good ive had thousands of leaves dropping only on some of the plants not all tho. I had a large Bogoriense dropped hundreds of leaves . My Superstar and a lot others did the same to

 

[annafl]

Oh, David, so sorry to hear about your leaf drop. Yours was clearly from the very cold night, though, don't you think? Would they have dropped some leaves just from this time of year- meaning the new growth coming, more sun, etc? Tell me, will your bogoriensis recover completely? With its size I imagine this isn't the first time its seen cold. I remember seeing it in your photos in the past. As all your plants are, it was really beautiful.

 

[ScotTi]

No not at all we got one night that dipped to 31 for an hour or so not good ive had thousands of leaves dropping only on some of the plants not all tho. I had a large Bogoriense dropped hundreds of leaves . My Superstar and a lot others did the same to

David, Lets face it, Central FL (excluding the few warm micro-climate areas) are not ideal for growing all varieties of Crotons. My low this winter was 34f with no frost. My weather station recorded 10 mornings in the 40's and 8 mornings in the 30's. The total cold chill has taken a toll on some of my plants. I have a few that are nothing but bare sticks at this time and others that look great. I know I will see more leaf drop as temps warm and will evaluate and deal with those plants then. Here is a Jan. look from my personal weather station:

 

[Kingdavid]

David, Lets face it, Central FL (excluding the few warm micro-climate areas) are not ideal for growing all varieties of Crotons. My low this winter was 34f with no frost. My weather station recorded 10 mornings in the 40's and 8 mornings in the 30's. The total cold chill has taken a toll on some of my plants. I have a few that are nothing but bare sticks at this time and others that look great. I know I will see more leaf drop as temps warm and will evaluate and deal with those plants then. Here is a Jan. look from my personal weather station:

I think i just get spoiled when we have a couple of years of non freeze weather , its to be expected to get a sub 32 degee day one day ,and you never know which plants are going to be the one to take it the worst . Its all part of the croton life . we just prune shortly and move on . I like your weather station . ill have to check into that . I just hope we are done with the freezes . My fingers are crossed for us all. Thanks

 

[Moose]

Randy - Two years, sometimes three if conditions are good.