This tree, that is now 10 feet tall, has been sitting gathering dust since the house was built 14 years ago. It generally gets ignored but hosed down occasionally to brighten up the leaves.
The leaves are thick and leathery and the variegation is unique to each leaf. Some mother-in-laws tongues hiding beneath it are now flowering with an attractive scent. While photographing them I noticed that "the tree" had produced an insignificant flower. I am now curious to know what it is.
The Flower
Looks like a Croton species.
Here is a hybrid croton>
Try this link.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/715/
It certainly is a Croton. A very popular plant in the US. My one is growing in a perfect environment in partial shade, completely neglected for 14 years. I wonder how it arrived here in the first place, I have never seen it anywhere else in the area. I will try some cuttings and see what develops.
Many thanks for the help.
John,
Croton cuttings can be a challenge. The nurseries here use misting systems to root them.
First you cut back the leaves, leaving about 1-1 1/2" of leaf surface and about 2-3" of bare stem. Total length of the cutting - about 8"-12".
Second scrap the bark on one side until you see heart wood, about 2" for the 'scar'.
Insert into a light potting mix.
Mist several times a day (no water needed at night), temps have to be warm for best results - 70-80 at night.
Bees love the flowers and birds eat the berries and drop the seed around.
They are easy from seed. Takes 3-5 years to know what the adult foliage color is.
From the description in the Guatemalan Flora my plant is a Codiaeum variegatum.
A shrub or small tree; leaves lustrous, on petioles 1-4 cm. long, exceedingly
variable in shape and coloring, ovate-oblong or obovate-oblong to elliptic,
spatulate, or linear, often shallowly lobate or crispate, penninerved, green or variously colored with white, yellow, pink, red, or purple.
This is part of the comment:-
This well-known ornamental plant of the tropics is abundant everywhere
in the Guatemalan lowlands, being much grown in hedges or
as an ornamental shrub. In the Pacific bocacosta there are many
long roadside hedges bordering the fincas and coffee plantations.
The plant grows easily and thrives with little or no attention. It
is sometimes found more or less naturalized, probably about the
sites of former dwellings. The shrub is grown commonly in the
warmer parts of the United States, especially in Florida, where it
is known by the name Croton, although it is not closely related to
plants of that genus.
This is the first time that I have noticed a very insignificant flower and certainly no berries.
My plant is a loner so there has been no natural propagation.
In view of the comments above no special attention was probably paid to cuttings. It is normal here to cut a piece of a woody plant and poke it into the ground and it grows. Living fences are created in this way.
Also my plant does not have an oozing milky sap like many members of the family. The sap is clear and quickly dries sealing the end of the cutting.
Thank you for your interest Dale.
