A shift in mood is felt by many of us as the days get shorter and the air gets crisper. Autumn blues are a term used to describe a calm, mellow feeling that seems to replace the summer’s vibrant energy. Although it’s a normal reaction to the changing of the seasons, we don’t have to accept it.
A straightforward method to improve your mood at this time of year is to add some color and life indoors. With its vivid, multicolored leaves, a plant like croton can have a startling impact. Croton, with its vibrant colors and patterns, brings cheer and coziness to any space, making even the gloomiest fall day seem brighter.
For families wishing to add a touch of nature to their home, croton is a great option because it’s not only gorgeous but also fairly low maintenance. Let’s investigate how adding a little sunshine to your autumn days can be achieved with this happy plant.
| Topic | Details |
| What is Autumn Blues? | A common feeling of sadness or low mood during autumn due to less sunlight and shorter days. |
| How Croton Helps | The bright and colorful leaves of the croton plant can boost mood and bring a touch of nature indoors. |
| Care Tips | Croton needs bright light, regular watering, and occasional misting to keep its vibrant colors. |
| Benefits | Helps reduce stress, enhances indoor air quality, and adds beauty to home spaces. |
How to choose a plant in a store
Look at the leaves of the croton you select in a flower shop; they shouldn’t be withered or drooping. The plant should have a vibrant, juicy color. Leaf veins are visible. If not properly cared for, croton sheds leaves. Refuse to purchase the plant if you notice remnants of lost leaves (which are tiny depressions that remain where the leaf is attached to the trunk).
When croton was introduced to Europe in the 17th century, gardeners were instantly enthralled with it due to its remarkably exquisite leaves, which had hues of reddish, purple, yellow, and even cream. The leaves featured different shaped dots, strokes, and edges. The humid tropical regions of Asia and Oceania are home to croton. Let’s make some inferences: the plant adores high humidity and sunlight.
A vibrant croton plant with its colorful leaves can brighten any room and lift your mood, adding warmth and life to your home during the colder months. The autumn blues can often bring a sense of gloom.
Where to put croton
A window that faces east or west would be the ideal location for it. Additionally, southern windows work well, but the plant needs to be shaded; otherwise, the sun will scorch and discolor the lovely leaves. Codiaeum is a heat-loving plant, which is also the name for croton. The ideal temperature in the room is between 16 and 18 degrees in the winter and between 20 and 25 degrees in the summer. A potted plant should not be placed next to cold windows or batteries for central heating. The plant dislikes drafts, extremely cold water, and abrupt temperature changes.
In the USA, the majority of varieties were bred. New hybrids appear annually. It has even been possible to breed a croton with nearly black foliage and a strongly corrugated leaf edge. Breeders strive to produce compact croton varieties that do not require continuous pinching.
How to water
In winter, water the croton sparingly and only after the top layer of soil has dried. Water the croton liberally from spring to fall. Avoid overdrying the plant as this may cause it to lose its leaves.
Air humidity is important for croton!
Humid air is necessary for the plant. The leaves are frequently washed and sprayed, if at all possible, every day. In any case, raise the humidity level surrounding the plant! Put it in a wide tray filled with gravel or expanded clay, and then pour in enough water to cover the stones by two thirds without getting any of the plant’s pot in contact with the water. In the space where the croton is growing, turn on a humidifier. Do not become alarmed if all of the croton leaves have fallen. This suggests that water treatments are desperately needed at the plant.
It is common knowledge that plants carry out photosynthesis – the process of absorbing carbon dioxide from the air with the help of light. They have such a unique ability due to the presence of chlorophyll in their tissues – an organic substance of green color. This is the main pigment that determines the color of the leaves. But besides it, three more pigments are present in the tissues of all plants – anthocyanin (red color), xanthosine (yellow) and carotene (orange). Under normal conditions, we do not notice this, since their amount, compared to chlorophyll, is very insignificant. But remember how impressive the leaves of many plants in our forests and parks look in the fall. What a range of colors opens up to the eye. And this is explained by the fact that under the influence of cold, the unstable chlorophyll is the first to be destroyed, and its fellow pigments are preserved for some time, coloring the leaves in the most unexpected colors. But after a few days they also die.
Approximately the same process occurs in the leaves of crotons. But for them, immigrants from the kingdom of the eternal summer, the impetus to the beginning of the destruction of chlorophyll is not cold, but the age of the sheet. The youngest upper leaves are almost completely green, t.e. their tissues are completely saturated with chlorophyll. And on the underlying (older) leaves, large areas of yellow color are clearly visible, in which chlorophyll has already partially collapsed, but xanthosine has become clearly visible. Very old leaves are in the lowest tiers. In many of them, there is no chlorophyll at all, and anthocyanin has come to the fore. But a leaf that does not have chlorophyll is simply good for nothing – it does not feed the plant. So we get a paradoxical thing – what attracts us to crotons is, in fact, dead, completely unnecessary for the further existence of the plant. Moreover, as a result of very long work, people managed to select individuals capable of preserving these, actually dead (useless), but outwardly attractive, leaves for many months. They became the progenitors of all those plants that now make many of us literally "shake" over them.
The colorful croton plant can infuse any space with color and vitality, particularly in the dreary fall months. Its eye-catching leaves and distinctive patterns act as a natural mood enhancer and room brightener.
A croton’s maintenance is quite easy, but it does need careful consideration of temperature, light, and water. This plant not only grows well but also contributes to a vibrant and upbeat atmosphere in your house when given the right care.
Taking a croton hug is a simple yet powerful way to beat the falltime blues. It brings a little bit of the beauty of nature indoors, offering a welcome change that may increase your sense of awareness of your surroundings.
