Viewing post #701100 by needrain

You are viewing a single post made by needrain in the thread called Croton (Codiaeum variegatum 'Petra').
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Sep 17, 2014 3:35 PM CST
Name: Donald
Eastland county, Texas (Zone 8a)
Raises cows Enjoys or suffers hot summers Region: Texas Plant Identifier
I do think you got 'Petra'. I got one as a funeral plant in late Feb. It didn't like the glass fronted porch. It appeared to be dying and I moved it outside. It thrived and grew, but didn't survive being brought inside for the winter. I enjoyed it outside, so I bought a small one to replace it and grew it outside. When winter arrived, I toted it into a bathroom for the winter and parked it in front of a south window and kept it sitting in a shallow tray. That tray did not have gravel and I pretty much kept water in it all the time. That year it got spider mites and then leaves began to drop. I put it under a pressure wash of warm water in the shower. I did that twice and it went back outside where it thrived and grew. It's now been here for three summers. It outgrew the small bathroom the first summer, so last winter it was put on a stool so it was in a south facing window. I kept the tray filled with water. It's in a big pot and the water in the tray disappears quickly, so it pretty much is refilled every day. It's really getting too big to handle inside for me, but I'll be trying again this winter. It's a lot bigger than the 12" plant it was when I acquired it. I think these are really prone to get spider mites when subjected to CA/CH inside. Warmth, humidity, not letting it dry out and controlling spider mites are what it took to overwinter it successfully. The new growth has to toughen up or the winter growth leaves will sunburn a bit if the transition from inside to outside is too abrupt and too sunny.
Donald
Last edited by needrain Sep 17, 2014 3:36 PM Icon for preview

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