Help Identify my Houseplant-It’s a Goldust Croton
Hello! I recently got this little guy, however I’m not sure what kind of plant it is or whether the yellow is normal for it or not, if you could help me that would be wonderful, thank you!!!
(it’s about 1 foot in height right now and I’ve tried to include a close up photo of the stem to help identify)
Hi Lucy,
Your plant is a Croton Goldust. There are many croton varieties and all have beautiful multicolored, hard, leathery leaves in red, yellow, green, orange, and black. The leaf shapes can be long, narrow, wide, and elliptical. The yellow variegation on your plant is normal. Crotons need bright light to maintain their colorful leaves. If there is insufficient light, new leaves are not colorful. Too much direct sun causes phototoridation, a condition that makes croton leaves gray and dull looking. Allow the top 25-30% of the soil to dry out before watering a croton. Crunchy leaves indicate over-watering. Leaves become soft and droop when your croton needs water. When a croton is severely over or under-watered leaves drop off. Fertilize monthly in the spring and fall and every two weeks in the summer with a basic houseplant food at 1/2 the recommended strength. If your croton is in a bright sunny spot, but the new leaves are coming in green, reduce the amount of plant food. Too much fertilizer also causes the leaves to curl. You can read all of my care tips for this plant in the Popular Houseplant section of the website. The picture is of a different variety but the care for all types of croton is the same.
https://www.houseplant411.com/houseplant/croton-how-to-grow-plant-care
These plants are poisonous and should be kept away from pets and children. Read more about common houseplants that are poisonous in Don’t Feed Me To Your Cat! A Guide to Poisonous Houseplants.
