Assumed Batik

[ScotTi]

My mother in Va has had this Croton plant for years. On my visit up there this past June I thought it looked a bit diffrent (leaves smaller, curley and color diffrent) from my Batik I have growing in the garden. She took cuttings in June and I received the rooted plants in the mail this week. Here is a pic of her plant on left my Batik on right side for comparison. Is it Batik ?

 

[Moose]

It does look different. Yours is Batik. Your Mom's cultivar is ........?

 

[Crazy for Crotons]

Scott, the other plant resembles Candy Cane. How about a closeup of the leaves?

 

[Marie Nock]

Does anyione remember Tiki Louie? It was around years ago and was very similar to Batik. We lost ours many years ago so I can't offer a picture, but it's a possibility.

 

[ScotTi]

Scott, the other plant resembles Candy Cane. How about a closeup of the leaves?

How about this shot? Can not get a good closeup. Ray it looks a lot like the pic (pg 112) of Candy Cane in the Crotons Of The World. Just darker and no red on leaf edge, but that may come from being grown up in VA.

 

[Crazy for Crotons]

The color isn't right for Candy Cane but it could be the Virginia thing.

 

[ScotTi]

Update: Its a Batik! Pic taken today...

 

[ScotTi]

Well I still do not know if it is a Batik. I planted with a group of Batik's this spring. The plant stands out from the other Batik's now. Lacks the orange that the Batik's show in full sun. Pic #1 side by side.

 

[Crotonologist]

Probably still a Batik...
When I worked in the tropical foliage industry in Florida back in the 1970's I observed large blocks of the same cultivar (pick a type of plant) from two different sources like one block from Honduras and another block of plants from Puerto Rico for example, and up close all the plants looked correct for that cultivar when observed with their neighbors from the same source, yet when standing back looking at the two different blocks they looked different from each other just like your two Batiks appear different...
As I recall it had something to do with repeated propagation of the same plants over a long period of time, resulting in genetic drift or trait drifting or something like that...
The same thing happened in tissue culture programs, if I remember correctly.

 

[Jeff Searle]

I agree this could be a possibility Peyton. One thing for sure, it's not Candy Cane. I don't know the Tiki Louie plant.

Jeff

 

[Crotonologist]

Most of the Batiks that I see in stores around here look more like the 2nd photo in post #8.