Crotons Deliver a Blaze of Bold and Bright Fall Foliage Colors Year-Round

In Southwest Florida, we do miss the traditional fall colors during this time of the year. But thanks to crotons (pronounced crow-tons) with their burst of colorful foliage – we get a nostalgic burst of fall in the landscape.

Driving around Marco Island, there is hardly a landscape that does not feature one or two types of croton plants. Crotons offer an endless variety of colors, shapes, and sizes; some have spots, swirls, dappled with leaves twisted and curled. These unpredictable genetic mutations are what makes crotons special in the landscape. And there is a cult following to these plants with gardeners seeking out the most unique color combinations and shapes – like collecting living works of art.

The croton (Codiaeum variegatum) is a tropical, leafy plant, which seems to have it all: brightly colored leaves of orange, red, bronze, green, purple, ivory, copper, pink, yellow all mixed together in unique patterns with nearly limitless leaf structure. They do produce a flower but it is insignificant compared to the leaves.

Let’s start with the leaves: The most common is the broadleaf type. Some leaves have distinct lobes (like an oak leaf); spirals and twisted. Others are long, narrow, and drooping. Some resemble paintbrushes, others are curled and curved. 

A bit of history: They are native to India, Malaysia, and the South Pacific Islands, so they like heat and humidity. Croton plants made their way to Florida in the 50s and 60s as a unique and colorful landscape plant.

Crotons are very popular in the South Florida landscape. Donna Kay, a Calusa Garden Club board member, features at least ten unique varieties with fun names such as: Mother and Daughter, Dreadlocks, Fishbone, Banana, Pie Crust, Batik, Oak Leaf, Zanzibar and the more classic Mammy and Petra. Donna allows her crotons to grow naturally and only prunes when necessary and by doing so you get to appreciate their full leaf structure and color variations. For floral designers, the foliage of crotons make excellent material for floral arrangement.

Regardless of what you have in the landscape – have fun with it. Anything goes with croton plants.

Croton varieties easily available at most garden centers: 

Mammy Croton - common variety with leaves twisted and curled upward in shades of green, red, purple, and bright yellow.

Petra croton - large, slightly oval green leaves with various veining and variegations of bold reds, oranges and yellows. 

Sloppy Painter - displays green to purple long narrow leaves sprinkled with golden hues.

Dreadlocks Croton - the new leaves emerge in green and then change to bright yellow, bronze, burgundy, green tones with paint splattered or speckled yellow, peach, red and orange. 

Gold Dust Croton - has vibrant green leaves that look like they’ve been randomly splattered with golden yellow paint.

Zanzibar Croton - stands out from the pack with thin long leaves that are yellow, red, green, and orange and often resembling ornamental grass.

Mother and Daughter Croton - looking very exotic showing off long narrow leaves that end in a point giving the appearance of holding another small leaflet.

Oakleaf Croton - has tri-lobed leaves in shades of burgundy, red, green, orange, and yellow. 

Crotons are easy-to-care colorful shrubs and are low maintenance for any size yard. They add color to an all-green landscape and mix well with other flowering shrubs. You can plant in almost any light with some types preferring a bit more shade. As with all crotons, the foliage colors are intensified when grown in bright sunshine.

Crotons are easily propagated from cuttings, using a rooting hormone to increase its odds of success. If you like your croton or your neighbor’s croton, only a cutting can produce a plant identical to the parent.

If crotons produce shoots, these are most likely going to be different from the parent plant. This genetic unpredictability is what makes crotons unique and special, allowing for some really awesome varieties.

Caution: This eye-catching plant contains toxins that make them dangerous when ingested. Its sap can cause an allergic reaction, so best to keep them out of reach from pets or children and wear long sleeves and gloves when working with them.