Pride of Winter Haven?

[rpebinger]

Calling all relatives of camel or moose digits ....you teased up the croton named for the pride of my digs on a certain palmy forum cuttings/air layering thread. Now you've peeked my interested, can you or anyone else show me a pic of the "Pride of Winter Haven"?

Much appreciation,

Rich

 

[Moose]

We had a Croton Society Holiday Social today in Ft. Myers. There was a cutting of one there. Let me see if I have some photos of mine somewhere. Welcome aboard, the people here are very friendly and helpful.

Ron.

 

[ScotTi]

Pride of Winter Haven from the Wiki pictures...

 

[rpebinger]

Thank you Ron & Scott. Not an exceptionally brilliant or colorful specimen - but an attractive one none the less .

How did the holiday extravaganza go today in Ft. Myers?

What can anyone speak to with respect to crotons' hardiness to Old Man Winter and what has - despicably - become more of a trend than not here in the past few years? As I pull out tropicals that perish during cold spells - I am not inclined to replace these in kind. The hardier the merrier IMO.

I appreciate it,

Rich

 

[Moose]

Rich - Here are some old photos from Oct. 2009 when I got my Pride of Winter Haven. It is now over 4 ft tall and 3 ft. wide and very dense. Some leaves measure over 20 inches long. The wiki photo does not show nice coloration. Mine is very colorful at this time of year. I will try and post an updated photo tomorrow. This is the best I can do for now.


FYI - Camels come from a different continent. LOL

Ron.

 

[rpebinger]

Great looking croton Ron!

the more I dive into this (sub)tropical foilage & palm growing hobby - the more amazed I am with the diversity of species and variety of cultivars growing !

So many species to try and so little space. Not to mention - this unforgiving winter weather. It makes one feel as frustrated this time of year as it does make one feel proud come July/August.

If only $ were no object and a job did not dictate my living locale. I would love nothing more than to be in a zone 11+ location - never having to run out and try and cover and protect the tender stuff in the ground.

Tropical wishes and zone 11 dream,

Rich

 

[palmisland]

Rich, This is the same exact plant as the WIKI photo. This pic was taken this week. It gets full afternoon sun & has colored up nicely. I was never pleased with the WIKI photo as an example of this cultivar.

Randy

 

[rpebinger]

Randy,

Very nice coloration indeed! Does anyone know the lineage or reasoning behind this cultivar getting its name from Winter Haven? Not knowing enought about the croton species yet - I'm guessing that the ?? hybridizer ?? hailed from Winter Haven, FL?

I have a few I need an ID on....I'll start another thread.

Thanks Randy,

Rich

 

[Moose]

Rich - you are a palm person like myself. This will warp your noodle, all crotons are the same "species". There are just different variants and/or cultivars. They are genetically unstable and morph often.

I am unsure about the history of the Pride of Winter Haven cultivar. I am sure someone will chime in here. Ray are you out there?

 

[Phil Stager]

I recall that the original plant was found in a cemetary in Winterhaven, ergo the name. Thnere's a bit of variation from thin leaf to wider leaf cultivars, and lighting condition also affect the coloring.

 

[Moose]

Sorry about the delay. Here is what it looks like as of this morning. It has seen 37 F three times already this cold season, once on consecutive mornings. It is semi-protected from the wind as I have crotons lumped together. Third image shows from left to right: Dr. Frank Brown, Pride of Winterhaven, Green & Gold (dropping leaves like crazy again) and Queen Victoria to the far right.

 

[Moose]

There should be a nice potted air layer of this croton available at the November Croton Tour Auction at the Searle homestead. It was not established enough to make the St. Pete trip unfortunately.