Pride of Winter Haven?

rpebinger

Active Member
Calling all relatives of camel or moose digits :D....you teased up the croton named for the pride of my digs on a certain palmy forum cuttings/air layering thread. Now you've peeked my interested, can you or anyone else show me a pic of the "Pride of Winter Haven"?

Much appreciation,

Rich
 
We had a Croton Society Holiday Social today in Ft. Myers. There was a cutting of one there. Let me see if I have some photos of mine somewhere. Welcome aboard, the people here are very friendly and helpful.

Ron. :)
 
Pride of Winter Haven from the Wiki pictures...
 

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Thank you Ron & Scott. Not an exceptionally brilliant or colorful specimen - but an attractive one none the less :cool:.

How did the holiday extravaganza go today in Ft. Myers?

What can anyone speak to with respect to crotons' hardiness to Old Man Winter and what has - despicably - become more of a trend than not here in the past few years? As I pull out tropicals that perish during cold spells - I am not inclined to replace these in kind. The hardier the merrier :eek:IMO.

I appreciate it,

Rich
 
Rich - Here are some old photos from Oct. 2009 when I got my Pride of Winter Haven. It is now over 4 ft tall and 3 ft. wide and very dense. Some leaves measure over 20 inches long. The wiki photo does not show nice coloration. Mine is very colorful at this time of year. I will try and post an updated photo tomorrow. This is the best I can do for now. :rolleyes:


FYI - Camels come from a different continent. LOL :p

Ron. :)
 

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Great looking croton Ron!

the more I dive into this (sub)tropical foilage & palm growing hobby - the more amazed I am with the diversity of species and variety of cultivars growing :cool:!

So many species to try and so little space. Not to mention - this unforgiving winter weather. It makes one feel as frustrated this time of year as it does make one feel proud come July/August.

If only $ were no object and a job did not dictate my living locale. I would love nothing more than to be in a zone 11+ location - never having to run out and try and cover and protect the tender stuff in the ground.

Tropical wishes and zone 11 dream,

Rich
 
Rich, This is the same exact plant as the WIKI photo. This pic was taken this week. It gets full afternoon sun & has colored up nicely. I was never pleased with the WIKI photo as an example of this cultivar.

Randy
 

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Randy,

Very nice coloration indeed! Does anyone know the lineage or reasoning behind this cultivar getting its name from Winter Haven? Not knowing enought about the croton species yet - I'm guessing that the ?? hybridizer ?? hailed from Winter Haven, FL?

I have a few I need an ID on....I'll start another thread.

Thanks Randy,

Rich
 
Rich - you are a palm person like myself. This will warp your noodle, all crotons are the same "species". There are just different variants and/or cultivars. They are genetically unstable and morph often. :eek:

I am unsure about the history of the Pride of Winter Haven cultivar. I am sure someone will chime in here. Ray are you out there? :rolleyes:
 
I recall that the original plant was found in a cemetary in Winterhaven, ergo the name. Thnere's a bit of variation from thin leaf to wider leaf cultivars, and lighting condition also affect the coloring.
 
Sorry about the delay. Here is what it looks like as of this morning. It has seen 37 F three times already this cold season, once on consecutive mornings. It is semi-protected from the wind as I have crotons lumped together. Third image shows from left to right: Dr. Frank Brown, Pride of Winterhaven, Green & Gold (dropping leaves like crazy again) and Queen Victoria to the far right.
 

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There should be a nice potted air layer of this croton available at the November Croton Tour Auction at the Searle homestead. It was not established enough to make the St. Pete trip unfortunately. :)
 
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