Tropicals & Tender Perennials: Mo crotons, mo crotons mo crotons!, 0 by Eclipse

Eclipse wrote:
Nan, to my knowledge no one sells croton seeds.They need to be hand pollinated up north here. I take several flower clusters from different kinds and bundle together to pollinate the female flowers.Then as I see seeds pods forming I cover them with a tube of cheese cloth or netting to keep the seeds from falling and scattering.These plant belong to the euphorbia family, along with castor beans. the seeds themselves look like tiny castor beans.they come from a three lobed seed capsule with one seed in each section.The seeds can take a long time to mature and when they do the pods explode like castor beans.I soak the seeds overnight to remove the growth inhibitors on the shells.Then plant and wait for them to come up. These plants are too diverse in genetic makeup to come true to form from seeds.Thats why there are so many varieations in form and markings. this is a pic of the female flowers