Thursday, October 29, 2009

Crotons: A Blaze of Glory for Fall Landscaping


One of my favorite fall plants is the Croton. Its dazzling gold, orange, and red leaves are sure to add a blaze of color wherever you plant it.

I bought two crotons last week and put one in an urn in a flower bed and the other one in a planter in our courtyard, where, even on rainy days, their spectacular colors seem to add a touch of sunshine outside our windows.


Crotons prefer bright light, and the sun really brings out the colors. They do well in the cooler fall temperatures here in Mississippi, but won't tolerate a freeze unless protected.

If crotons are hardy where you live, I think you would enjoy their beautiful display of fall colors, at least until Thanksgiving.

7 comments:

Stacey said...

They are beautiful! I hadn't ever really paid any attention to them and then we had some landscaping done a couple of years ago...they put some in around the backside of our pond. It gets very cold (teens and 20s) here for short spurts in the winter but they do survive. :)

Tonja said...

I think they are so beautiful! This is the first year I have ever tried to use them, but have admired them and their colors!

It's like God just made this plant so we could have fall color wherever we wanted it!

The Quintessential Magpie said...

I like these. We had them in our flower beds, but they took a beating last year for some reason. I guess it got cold for more than two days. ;-)

I also decorate with mine on my goat cart, but I have been lax getting my fall things out this year. Maybe I'll do it yet. MAYBE.

Love yours and love that urn...

XO,

Sheila :-)

Pat@Back Porch Musings said...

This is beautiful, Janie!

I've truly enjoyed your Canton series. Absolutely wonderful!!

Linda S H said...

Beautiful plants Janie! Great photos too! Happy Fall!

9405018--Pat said...

This is a beautiful plant...thanks for sharing...Pat H

Merisi said...

Janie,
your post title made me laugh out loud:
There I was, looking at your header image, trying to remember the name of the plant. Trying, but not succeeding. Well, I thought, I shall ask Janie, scrolled down and then, voila, the first word of your title, the name spelled out right there! *giggles*

Some years ago, we rented a house on Barbarados' west coast, with an extensive book collection in the library. In one of these books I read a legend about the reason croton has such showy leaf colors. Something about a love lost, I forgot the details, unfortunately. I searched unsuccessfully for the story online. I found this article about old crotons in Florida instead: http://m.naplesnews.com/news/2004/jul/03/ndn_searching_for_sparks/

Good luck with your crotons! :-)