Lucha

[annafl]

Not too long ago, VeroKarl posted the photo below for Lucha. I have heard the name in the past and it is an empty page in the wiki. Does anyone else have this croton or any information about it? Can anyone verify the id? I'd like to enter the photo if we can get confirmation. I am a little confused with all the white forms like Tamara, Andrew, etc. Thanks.

 

[Phil Stager]

I suspect a lot of these names are from enthusiastic nurserymen for the same basic plant which has a blotched form and then one like the above pics and sometimes both on the same plant. Remember: It's a croton!

 

[ScotTi]

In the end I think White Eburneum is the correct name for Andrew, Lucha and Tamara. I have grown all four of the names and in the long haul they look the same at some point in time. I ended up moving them all last year to a single planting spot and I can see no noticeable difference.

 

[Kingdavid]

They are all the same plant . My oldest Ebuneum has at least 4 colors on one plant .....

 

[Native son]

Yes it is an example of the plant namer gone wild. The growth manner does not follow Pink Eburnum, I wonder if it is a sport or not.

I type the above then I go out and take the last picture ;-(. This is an air layer I took about 6/7 months ago.

 

[Native son]

This is a much better Pink

some of the leaves are 3.5X9 inches

 

[VeroKarl]

In the end I think White Eburneum is the correct name for Andrew, Lucha and Tamara. I have grown all four of the names and in the long haul they look the same at some point in time. I ended up moving them all last year to a single planting spot and I can see no noticeable difference.

I have White Eburneum as well and it is dramatically different in appearance and much faster growing then the plant I purchased as Lucha. I have had Lucha for nearly 3 years and it has put on a total of maybe 10 inches at best (probably due to lack of chlorophyll). It has not produced any of the stronger green leaves seen on the White Eburneum. It certainly may have originated as a sport of White Eburneum, but so far has remained different in appearance and growth habit for me.

 

[annafl]

Interesting. Crotons are so interesting, as Phil alluded to above. I think mine looks like Karl's Lucha above, but like White Eburneum below. It's raining now (yay!!!!!), but later or tomorrow I will try to take a photo and notice it more closely. I think mine looks like Lamar's last photo of his White Eburneum, with the Lucha look above, and the White Eburneum look below. I bought mine as an Andrew. Anyone else have one that looks like Karl's? Could it be a sport of White Eburneum?

 

[VeroKarl]

I believe my "Lucha" came from Mark Peters at one of the plant sales. I will double check when I get home. One of many plants I need to propagate in the future.

 

[Marie Nock]

We grow Lucha, Tamara and White Eburneum and to me they are different crotons. The Lucha never shows any green whereas the Tamara will throw entirely green sports and grows three to four times as quickly as Lucha. My Philippine croton book, "San Francisco: Ornamental Plants in the Philippines" identifies Lucha as Ben Vergara. San Francisco is what croton cultivars are called in the Philippines. The author states that Lucha was likely a sport from Charmer.

 

[Native son]

Yes Marie I have that little book also, a great picture on the front cover of Benito (Ben Vergara). They also show Andrew, Eburneum on page 26.

 

[ScotTi]

I went out and took close up shots of my "four" with the names they were purchased with.

 

[annafl]

Well, as usual, I have become even more confused than before. I do see differences in some of them, especially Karl's Lucha, but the question, as Scott said, is whether at some point they all exhibit the same look. Karl's seems to be the only 'pure' whitish one, where the others seem to get the White Eburneum look eventually? Marie, will you show us the ones you have, especially if one is like Karl's?

 

[annafl]

Here is the one I purchased as Andrew several years ago. It kinda looks like the Lucha in the new growth, then reverts to the White Eburneum look. I like it.

 

[Kingdavid]

 

[Kingdavid]

Both from the mother white eburneum ... super slow

 

[Moose]

Its all in the eye of the beholder. The Tamara, Lucha and Andrew cultivars have never really wet my whistle. I do prefer Eburneum and especially the pink form. I may change my mind in the future when I will need small, slow cultivars for heavy shade when I'm all planted out. That time is rapidly approaching, but not yet.

 

[annafl]

So David, is yours completely like Karl's Lucha? Did you mean that you airlayered the white part away from a White Eburneum mother or was it always completely like Karl's?

 

[Kingdavid]

Airlayers from eburneum , mayb 5 different on one plant will try to post all

 

[ScotTi]

We grow Lucha, Tamara and White Eburneum and to me they are different crotons. The Lucha never shows any green whereas the Tamara will throw entirely green sports and grows three to four times as quickly as Lucha. My Philippine croton book, "San Francisco: Ornamental Plants in the Philippines" identifies Lucha as Ben Vergara. San Francisco is what croton cultivars are called in the Philippines. The author states that Lucha was likely a sport from Charmer.

Marie, My Tamara put out the green sport a few years ago. After removing the sport the plant changed its appearance and no longer shows the odd shaped leaves and slowed down in growth. I was at my local Ace this week and they had a few Tamara, so I made the choice to give it another try. Here is the new Tamara for the garden. Last photo shows the new Tamara sitting in front of my original Tamara.