Croton - breeding at home

An unusually colored plant can be in the form of a bush or even a tree. They love croton, or codium, for bright leaves and a palette of colors - from yellow to raspberry-burgundy. The leaves have an interesting shape, dense and shiny, with bright veins that look like a picture on the sheet.

Croton: breeding at home

At home, the cultivation of this lover of warm islands is done by experienced breeders and flower growers. The reputation of this exotic is bad because of his character. Florists need to know what the croton loves and does not like, how it propagates, how it is trimmed, what soil is needed, so that it grows fully. The plant requires a lot of attention:

• with a lack of light, it will lose the decorative color of its foliage;
• in bright sunshine, leaves get burns;
• drafts and temperature changes make him drop leaves;
• the soil should not dry in a pot, and humidity is necessary 60%.

This bush has absorbed the whole mood of autumn

A gentle croton propagates in several ways, it requires patience, since this flower itself does not grow too fast. This exotica can be propagated by seeds, cuttings, leaf, air layers.

How to propagate croton seeds

Croton seeds can be purchased at the flower shop, or you can collect them yourself. From the experience of breeders, to collect seeds of domestic crotons, you need to have two plants of both sexes and pollinate them. Seeds without such manipulations have poor germination, because this method is not successful.

Seeds obtained at home retain their properties throughout the year. But it is better to sow them immediately after ripening. Before sowing, it is important to carry out treatment against fungi and infections, for example, epin. It protects the seed from pests and diseases, and also provokes growth. Soak for two hours, and then immediately into the soil.

Lay the soil in layers - expanded clay, then the earth (you can peat), and on top of the sand. Sprinkle the seeds on top of the sand and put in a warm place. Watering exclusively in a pallet way. The heating should also be from below, from above, cover the pot with film or glass, but ventilate every day.

After the first shoots, the time for ventilation should be gradually increased so that the sprouts get used to the natural conditions of growth.

In a couple of days it will be possible to evaluate the seeds for germination, as they wake up and begin to open. The first leaves will appear only a month later, after the third leaf you can plant the sprouts in separate pots. The size of the cuttings of 10 cm will be no earlier than after 4 months.

Croton grows slowly and already from the first days of the birth of life in the seed requires daily attention

Leaves

If you tear off the croton leaf from the stem and put it in water or in the soil, it will take root. But this will stop the breeding process. A new shoot will not be released, as this requires a kidney.

Therefore, to reproduce the leaf, a small part of the shoot and a kidney are needed, from where a new life will grow. The only difference from simple cuttings is that such a piece for reproduction does not have to be the tip of the shoot. Using this method, several plants can be obtained from a single cuttings.

It is imperative to leave one leaf and bud on the cut stem, the size of the stem is about 4-5 cm. Wipe the juice that has stood out on both sides and allow the stem to dry for two hours. Then put in warm water, keeping the temperature until the roots appear at 25 degrees. If there are temperature fluctuations, the roots will not appear.

Planting seedlings is necessary when the roots grow in water by 3-5 cm.

How to propagate croton at home with cuttings

Cuttings already have a folded stem, in contrast to leaf propagation, where you need to wait for the awakening of the kidney. The roots do not appear so fast, but the plant will be stronger and stronger.

It is necessary to cut off the top of the stem 10-12 cm long

Step-by-step preparation of the cuttings for planting:

1. The cut must be done in one motion with a sharp knife.
2. Treat the cut-off place on the mother plant with charcoal, trimming will give an incentive to branch the shoot.
3. On the cut cuttings, the cut site is washed with water and treated with charcoal.
4. For two hours, the stem should be in the air after cutting.
5. We remove the lower leaves, and cut off the upper ones by half, so that there is no expenditure of force on these sheet plates.
6. We place the handle in a glass of water and maintain the water temperature at 25-27 degrees.

The cuttings can be immediately rooted in a mixture of sand and peat in equal proportions. How to root croton as comfortable as possible for him - in a package. The made greenhouse will accelerate growth and create the necessary humidity conditions. The flower with the pot should be placed in a bag with holes for fresh air.

Air lay

Reproduction of croton at home with the help of air layers is most effective. Such a method may seem complicated at first glance. In fact, this is a quick way to get a strong and healthy plant, since all the forces to develop the root system are taken from the mother's flower. When the root system is fully formed, the flower painlessly transfers the separation from the mother trunk and continues to actively grow foliage.

For rooting by air layering, an escape is chosen, which has already acquired a solid bark. A site two centimeters long must be exposed from the roughened crust with a sharp knife, but without harming the white center.

Treat a bare gap with a growth stimulator, wrap sphagnum with wet moss and fix this air structure with a bag or film to keep moisture inside the hanging pot. The top of the package must be fixed with the possibility of additional moisture during growth.

Roots will appear from bare areas in a month, but you need to wait for their intensive growth so that the plant after pruning can independently continue to grow

A more convenient way is to put a cut-off glass or a plastic bottle on the exposed section of the barrel, fixing it with tape or film. They fill the cups with peat and wait for the roots to appear.

Also, air layers can be obtained by digging a bare section of the trunk in the soil. To do this, lower the shoot and fix it in the ground with a separate pot.

Adult transplant and toddler seating

After acquiring a croton in a store, it is important to transplant it as quickly as possible. An adult plant is transplanted once every 2-3 years. A young plant requires a change of soil every year. Cuttings with the appearance of roots up to 5 cm in length require rooting in nutrient soil.

Substrate

The soil for croton needs loose and light, since the plant does not like moisture, but will not tolerate stagnation of water in the soil. Earth must be nutritious. A good combination can be obtained by mixing in equal parts:

• humus;
• turf land;
• sheet earth;
• sand
• peat.

A universal substrate is also suitable, in which you need to add a third of the sand. Before use, the soil must be treated with potassium permanganate and dried.

Pot

Croton refers to those plants that are in a large pot occupied by root growth until they braid its entire area. Therefore, the pot should be small, however strange it may look in comparison with the size of the bush growing from it.

The size of the pot should contain freely all the roots of the flower + 1 cm of free space around for the soil.

Clay and plastic pots are suitable for coding. It is important that there is a drainage hole, stagnation of water is the cause of death.

After transplanting, it is necessary to place the pot in a warm place, maintain humidity and watering mode.

The croton transplant is difficult to transfer, so during this period you need to provide him with the most comfortable conditions

To the question of how to transplant a sick croton, the answer is quite obvious. Experienced flower lovers are advised to cure it, and then transplant it.

How to cut a croton so that it is fluffy

A handsome man grows in the form of a bush or a tree, over time, on his shoots, the old leaves dry and fall, the shoots stretch out and lose their decorative effect. And the flower itself does not grow so actively and densely over the years. Pruning is done, first of all, to stimulate growth, gaining new forms of the bush, updating shoots and cuttings.

To make the codium branch, you need to pinch all the shoots

The formation of a full crown in this tree should be done in phased trimming:

• at 1.5 years old, pinch the plant to awaken the lateral buds and create new shoots;
• at 2 years, partial pruning is done, regulating the growth of new shoots - adjusting the growth of shoots will help to form a beautiful and desired crown shape;
• at 5 years old, a full pruning takes place: here the emphasis is not on the formation of the crown, but rather on stimulation of growth, since at this age the flower begins to slow down the growth process.

Croton trimming should be done with a sharp processed tool in one motion for each slice. The places of cuts should be treated with charcoal several times after the procedure. After pruning, give the plant peace, put in partial shade, reduce watering.

Proper care of any plant guarantees a healthy and beautiful appearance. Croton will respond with gratitude with a palette of bright colors of his amazing leaves. It is important to approach plant care with love in order to create warmth and comfort in the house.