Where to buy crotons on west coast Florida?

Brenton Cloud

Brenton Cloud

New Member
9
03/03/18
0
1
Sarasota
I’m looking for unique crotons. I don’t want the ordinary run of the mill crotons. I don’t mind driving a little but would like to stay on the west coast if possible.
 
Welcome to the group. If you want rare crotons, you have to travel - probably over to the East Coast for events like the Searle sale and the upcoming croton meeting on 3/31. There are no exceptional croton nurseries on the west coast - or at least none that I've found. Peters Croton nursery travel to some events over here. See his ad banner for more info.
 
Welcome,please come to the croton tour/auction on Mar 31.Between both gardens you are guaranteed to see at least 400-500 different varieties plus the auction always brings out the best plants.
 
Bullwinkle said:
Welcome,please come to the croton tour/auction on Mar 31.Between both gardens you are guaranteed to see at least 400-500 different varieties plus the auction always brings out the best plants.
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Cool. Where and when? What kind of sizes do they sell? Any idea how competitive the pricing tends to be? Thank you!
 
Brenton Cloud said:
Cool. Where and when? What kind of sizes do they sell? Any idea how competitive the pricing tends to be? Thank you!
Click to expand...

Date is for garden tour and auction will be Mar 31.We should have the final plans set by next week but there will be at least two gardens .As far as the auction goes there will be good plants from 5 bucks and up .There are also usually some plants for sale outside of the auction .Please see the thread Croton event to get updates
 
Brenton Cloud said:
Cool. Where and when? What kind of sizes do they sell? Any idea how competitive the pricing tends to be? Thank you!
Click to expand...
Welcome to the Crotonheads. The plants are usually 3 to 7 gallon and ready to make immediate impact in the landscape. There are some smaller, but 3 gallon would likely be the most common size pot with plants typically 2 to 4 feet tall depending on the variety. Excellent place to get your hands on some rare plants and definitely worth the trip. Bidding can sometimes get competitive, but doesn't usually get much above $50 (granted some highly sought after plants can go for well over $100 with the right bidders). You can still find very reasonably priced plants that you won't find in any of the garden centers. Not sure how much Jeff has left, but he had some pretty unusual crotons going for $10 to $20 and that will be going on this weekend. Check first before you drive out to see what he has left at his nursery, but I always find at least 10 crotons that I really want and I am at around 300 varieties. Add the auction and tour to your calendar, it will be worth the drive just to meet all of the other people who are passionate about crotons (including many of the people who have created/named some of the nicest recent varieties).
 
Go to the other thread called "Croton Event ??" and Mike should provide details like that soon. I have not been down to visit these gardens yet so don't have the address for either of them. Mike (Bullwinkle) always brings amazing plants to the auctions so his gardens must be spectacular (and the photos he has posted certainly would support that).
 
You can do the rounds of the local nurseries and occasionally you get lucky. I know of one nursery which has quite a number of Crotons and isn't too far over the Skyway into St. Pete. It is Jansen's Nursery, and you should call ahead to make an appointment, 727-867-6063

I found that in auctions I just couldn't compete with the guys with deep pockets, so I had to find another way to collect rare and unusual Crotons.

That other option is to reconnoiter the neighborhoods in your area , especially the old, affluent ones. Bradenton could be productive because that is where Reasoner's nursery was located, many years ago. If you see an interesting Croton, you can ask the owner for permission to get cuttings. First, of course, you will have to learn how to root them, which is easy, and if you peruse the back issues of the Croton Society newsletters (posted elsewhere on this site) you can get some tips. You should wait to collect until the nighttime temperature is consistently 70 degrees or higher, which could be next month or early May. Good Luck!
 
I am not doing well at auctions also, and now I do not see a point (since the crotons cannot be an ancor of the landscape here). Do you have anything that you want to sell? ...well... give away...privately?;)
 
Pix said:
I am not doing well at auctions also, and now I do not see a point (since the crotons cannot be an ancor of the landscape here). Do you have anything that you want to sell? ...well... give away...privately?;)
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Unfortunately, I'm no longer propagating...nothing to spare. We plan to sell our home later this year, and there goes the collection. Sorry!
 
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