What it be, What it be?

annafl

annafl

Esteemed Member
2,243
24/02/13
567
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Sarasota, FL zone 9b/10a United States
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I don't remember where I got this one. Might have been Burnett's in Bradenton last year. I think it was sold to me as ADF#7. Is that right? Thanks.

Ana
 
Thanks Moose! I love the coloring on this one. I am partial to pinks and oranges and this has a color inbetween the two if that makes sense. Very different. Truthfully, I use very little fertilizer. I think I might have thrown a little palm fertilizer its way last year, but mostly I use organic stuff (manure, alfalfa pellets) or nothing at all. I don't amend the soil, but I do pile a lot of oak leaves, and when I have them, recycled wood chips on top of the soil as mulch. This one is a slow grower so far.

I see nervia is on your wanted list! Can I make you a plant? This plant is very short (less than 18 inches, but I can make you a small one). I am going to try hard to come to the April 28th meeting and I don't have a lot to offer since I have few plants and mostly common ones, but I'm so happy to have one someone wants! Please let me know. Thanks.
 
annafl said:
Thanks Moose! I love the coloring on this one. I am partial to pinks and oranges and this has a color inbetween the two if that makes sense. Very different. Truthfully, I use very little fertilizer. I think I might have thrown a little palm fertilizer its way last year, but mostly I use organic stuff (manure, alfalfa pellets) or nothing at all. I don't amend the soil, but I do pile a lot of oak leaves, and when I have them, recycled wood chips on top of the soil as mulch. This one is a slow grower so far.

I see nervia is on your wanted list! Can I make you a plant? This plant is very short (less than 18 inches, but I can make you a small one). I am going to try hard to come to the April 28th meeting and I don't have a lot to offer since I have few plants and mostly common ones, but I'm so happy to have one someone wants! Please let me know. Thanks.
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Anna - thank you for your generous offer. If it is only 18" tall, let it grow - I'll take you up on your offer after it gets more size. Mulching with the oak leaves and wood chips will amend you soils as it breaks down. Adding beneficial organic material. Being in Sarasota, I assume that you have sandy soil. The more organic material in your soil, the longer moister retainage occurs around your roots. A postive about sandy soil is that your soil Ph should be lower, crotons flourish best in a soil that has some acidity. The famous Miami croton hybridizer Ralph Davis was a huge proponent in the use of oak leaves for crotons.

I would strongly encourage using more fertilizer around your crotons. Dr. Frank Brown's has suggested a light monthly application of granular fertilizer during the growing season. Fertilizing should cease as of Sept. 1st to start your crotons to "harden off" for the winter months - shorter daylight hours and cooler temperatures. After Sept. 1st, I only apply K-Mag (22% potassium, 11% magnesium). Randy (Palmisland) introduced me to this. It appears to help harden off all my plants for winter. IMO it seems to aid in adding more vibrant colors to the crotons during the late Fall season on into the winter months.

If you are heading to the Flamingo Gardens croton tour, I would be happy to bring you a small Gloriosa if you would like. It appears you have been bitten by the infamous "Croton Bug". We all started with just a couple of cultivars. My first two were Norma and Thanksgiving.

It is very nice seeing your active participation on this forum. :cool:
 
Hi Ron, thanks for all the advice. We have been collecting oak leaves for our yard for years and it has really improved our soil a ton. Our soil pH started out around 7.5-7.7 and I don't know what it is now, but things tend to grow and do better since we've added literally tons of organic material to our yard. Thanks for the tip on K-mag, I will look for it and try it.

As for the nervia, yesterday I put an air layer on it! My first! It will definitely be small, I'm afraid, but I had to try. When I bought this plant it had three sticks (plants) in each pot and I got two, so if I lose it I have others, so don't worry. I would love a small gloriosa! Thank-you. I really hope I can make it to the auction. Thanks again for the warm welcome. I have definitely been bitten by the bug. I've always loved crotons, but it's been impossible to find unusual cultivars in this area and I make it down to south FL so rarely that it dampened my enthusiasm to collect them. I'm going to make a real effort to travel more.
 
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