Croton or codaeum is a decorative and deciduous plant. In the natural conditions of the tropics of Asia, India, the islands of the Pacific Ocean and Malaysia, they grow to 3 m, and in the room conditions - only up to 1.5 m. Thanks to the rich palette of colors and forms of leaves, this flower is very diverse. But the main form is a motley croton with a laurel-shaped leaf, and its hybrids have forked, ribbon, twisted, curved or lobed leaves.
For breeding Croton at home, you should know how to multiply the flower and do not forget that it refers to poisonous houseplants .
How to multiply Croton?
There are several ways to do this:
- apical cuttings;
- air outlets;
- seeds;
- sheet.
Croton - propagation by cuttings
For propagation in this way, one should adhere to such an algorithm of actions:
1. Preparation:
- in the spring cut off from lignified shoots with a sharp knife, making a straight cut, apical cuttings 8 - 10 cm long, it is better with 2 leaves and one kidney;
- place cuttings for a short time in warm water to wash out the allocated milky juice;
- place the cut sprinkled with crushed coal;
- to dry;
- lower part treated with phytohormones;
- to reduce the evaporation of moisture, the leaves are tied in a tube.
2. Rooting :
- fill a container 11 - 12 cm in diameter with sand or its mixture with peat soil and ground sphagnum;
- to plant several cuttings in this container, making in the soil a stick of grooves and inserting cuttings into them, the ground at their base must be compacted;
- in the summer you can simply put the cuttings in a bowl with water;
- container with cuttings put in a place where the air temperature is about 25 ° C and there is no direct sun rays;
- cover with a jar or a plastic bag, to create a greenhouse effect;
- Cuttings should be sprayed daily (2 times a day) and ventilated, accustoming to room temperature.
3. Planting:
only after a month and a half, when he takes root, every drop is planted in a separate pot.
Propagation by air layers
In a situation where the trunk of a croton or its branches are strongly bare, it is necessary to use multiplication by air layers. The best period for this is summer. There are two ways of such multiplication.
1 way:
- on a bare stalk or branch, retreating no more than 15 cm from the end, making a circular cut of the cortex about 1 cm wide (this is where the flower will produce roots);
- To process a cut by any rooting stimulator and wrap it with wet ground sphagnum or peat;
- from the dark film make a bag and put it on top of the cut: tie the lower edge with a string on the stem, and fix the upper one so that there is access for moisture;
- when from the pouch with the substrate there will be strong roots at least 5 cm long, somewhere in a month and a half, cutting under it;
- The resulting stalk is planted in a pot, covering it for the first time with a film to maintain the humidity.
2 way:
- bend down a lignified branch, attach it to the ground, and sprinkle it with earth;
- from the lower edge of the branch you can make a small incision, wipe the juice and process with a root;
- separate from the parent branch and transplanted into a separate pot, you can then, when new leaves grow, shoots or the process will take root.
Croton - reproduction by seeds
For domestic reproduction, this method is very complicated, so it is used very rarely.
To grow a croton from seeds it is necessary:
- for a few hours they are soaked in phytohormones;
- in February, sow, without covering the ground, in a container with peat, sand and moss sphagnum, covered with a film;
- Put the mini-greenhouse in a place with the same conditions as for rooting the cuttings.
- shoots should appear in a month.
Croton - leaf reproduction
When propagating a leaf, a positive result is not guaranteed, so it is used in extremely rare cases. The principle of reproduction is the same as when rooting cuttings.
Thanks to relatively simple methods of reproduction, you can successfully look after the appearance of the flower and replenish your collection of croton.