Codiaum is often called croton in indoor floriculture. These plants belong to the same family, but, strictly speaking, Croton is a wild "brother" that is used in medicine and cooking as a spice. That which is grown in apartments and is called everywhere croton is motley codiaum.
Croton (codiaeum) is a plant from the genus Codiaeum, to which 17 species of herbaceous plants, shrubs and trees belong. All of them are from the Euphorbia family. And only one species - variegated codiaum and some of its varieties are grown at home. The plant is valued for the decorativeness of the leaves. But few managed to see its flowering.
The homeland of the representatives of the codiaum family is East India, they grow in Malaysia, the Sunda and Moluccas. For the first time in the West, this plant became known at the end of the 19th century. Since then, this "guest from India" has become widespread in indoor floriculture.
What Croton is valued for
The leaves of different plant species have a wide variety of colors: yellow-green, green, red-brown with yellow, orange, pinkish veins. Codiaums are used to create interiors, compositions, decorate winter gardens and are simply grown on the windowsill. The leaves of the plant are very beautiful: young ones are lighter, adults are darker and often of several different shades.
Codiaums are certainly not valued for the decorative effect of flowering. They bloom with inconspicuous and inconspicuous yellowish-white or pinkish small flowers, collected in carpal panicle inflorescences. Florists most often simply cut off croton inflorescences so that they do not take away strength from the leaves of the plant. With a lack of nutrition, as well as in low light, the wonderful croton leaves lose their color brightness. The variegated codiaum requires more sunlight and nutrients than the green one. But it should be protected from direct sunlight.
What Croton loves
Codiaea love high temperatures, quite uniform. In summer it is + 22 ° C, and in winter - not lower than + 18 ° C. In the room, it is better to keep the plant in the warmest place, but at the same time ensure high humidity (at least 70-80%). Codiaum is very fond of daily spraying, wiping the leaves with a wet rag and a weekly shower, any water procedures are shown to him.
Throughout the year, to maintain the decorative effect of the leaves, the plant should be fed every two to three weeks with a weak composition of mineral and organic fertilizers.
The plant is transplanted in the spring into a larger pot with a new fertile substrate. After transplantation, the codiaum may bloom, but, as already noted, it is better to cut off the flowers in order to continue enjoying the beauty and high decorativeness of the leaves.
