Crotons we snub

Crazy for Crotons

Well-Known Member
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29/06/09
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What crotons do you snub as "ugly" (this term is blasphemous as no croton is ugly) or too common? A well grown Petra is ubiquitous but no less beautiful because of this. We've just grown accustomed to seeing it everywhere and do not look twice. A transplant or first time Florida visitor from Minnesota might see the plant a bit differently. To them, it's an exotic looking colorful, tropical shrub they will most certainly try indoors back home. So what varieties do we see and turn up our noses? Petra perhaps or maybe the most cold hardy crotons, Stewartii and Yellow Excurrens. In the post freeze Tampa Bay area, I still see recovering Petra, Mammey, Punctatum, Yellow Excurrens, Aureo Maculatum, Van Buren, Stewartii, Yellow Excurrens, Bravo, Charles Rutherford and a small yellow oak leaf resembling cultivar Philadelphia, in many places. Have we grown tired of any varieties?
 
The only "ugly" Crotons I've ever seen are the Petra and Mammay that "landscapers" plant in parking lots, gas stations, and along highway medians. That having been said, I have 3 Mammay in the ground and several Yellow Petra in the garden.
 
I have an aversion to all of the above planted in clusters or baking in the sun. I guess Ricky and I are on the same page. I can appreciate them appropriately placed and in the right sun conditions mixed amongst other plants.
I will say yellow crotons are my least favorite & I tend to have the most of those due to my lack of canopy. IMO Crotons have the ability to look garish unless thoughtfully placed. Now that statement may be blasphemous to some! heh
 
I have an aversion to all of the above planted in clusters or baking in the sun. I guess Ricky and I are on the same page. I can appreciate them appropriately placed and in the right sun conditions mixed amongst other plants.
I will say yellow crotons are my least favorite & I tend to have the most of those due to my lack of canopy. IMO Crotons have the ability to look garish unless thoughtfully placed. Now that statement may be blasphemous to some! heh

Oops! I may be one of those. I love a wild profusion of color, and the brighter the crotons, the better - bring 'em on :D The crotons I especially love are those with brilliant reds and yellows. Gloriosa & Royal Flush are real favorites. But I have the same problem - not much canopy.

Ray, I agree with what you said
A well grown Petra is ubiquitous but no less beautiful because of this.
So I admit to still loving Mammey (except that awful name) and Batik, two that look good in sun.
 
Ray, What do you not like about Sunny Star?
 

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I will snub a sun grown Petra. They look 100% better in shade...
 

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It's the application, and not the croton, that should be snubbed. Because Petra and Mammey are so commonly available, their application is most frequently abused. I like Mammey when it is used in groups for a wide swath of color seen from a distance. My more intimate landscape doesn't call for it. When you think about how many increadible croton varieties are out there, it's no doubt some are passed over, for want of space. I will admit, however, I have no use for the all green or all purple, non-varieties. I'de rather use a native.
 
Reminds me of my conversation with Phil Saturday. I picked a dreadlocks up from Lamar. Killed several already. A common median plant in south FL. Here in the Tampa Bay area, you don't see them beautifully grown in our landscapes because they wimp out over winter.
 
I have seen some absolutely spectacular Nestors, but its another that gets snubbed. I'm guilty myself. There are plenty around the neighborhood so I'd rather use my space for something the neighbors don't have. I do have a Yellow Nestor growing out in the median getting hit with heavy sun.
 
I resemble garish and totally over planted, but that happens when you start down this road. My parents collected crotons and hibiscus back in the 50's. When I started I just got cuttings from all over then heard of the Society went to a sale at Univ. of South Fla. It has been a total down hill slide ever since.
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