You could have a much worse addiction than that! Hey, if it makes you happy then keep doing it. It sounds lovely, anyway.
Cheers,
Dee.

Thanks Dee. While I appreciate that its better than an addition to alcohol, nicotine or hard drugs, my fear is that I will become the very thing I periodically rant about - the eccentric collector.

Whilst having a single specimen of every croton on earth would be an achievement, I dont believe that it would result in a restful, harmonious garden. My intent was always to use crotons as accent plants with a very narrow focus, not as feature plants (my tree ferns and cycads fill that role in the understorey, at least in that part of the garden).

For all my protestations, its always a delight to see something new and spectacular, particularly when its unexpected. Some of the Cordyline Fruticosa hybrids which make their way to Rocky are just gorgeous, yet my friend sees them as 'horrible sticks with a few pretty bits at the top'. Hmmm - that could very well summarise my opinion of *roses* !

Horses for courses, Dee, and we all know what horses produce - fertiliser :)

Funny you should mention roses Artie. I struggle a bit with that one. I never have grown roses before but have taken to growing some recently (mainly for cut flowers) The problem is that I adore the flowers but hate the bushes! The purists seem to grow beds of only roses but I am only happy with them if I can secrete them amongst other foliage to hide what I consider their ugliness. I think the same goes for the cordlylines. They need the soft growth below to accentuate the 'pretty bits'. I hope no one from the Rose forum is going to read this and if they do....no offence meant!
Cheers,
Dee.

Hi Dee The eyes and ears of the Roses Forum are everywhere, but thats what these forums are all about and freedom of speech is so we can voice our opinions ( but sadly I think that we are loosing it )...I have Crotons too Artie love the colours, trouble with me I am not addicted to one species I seem to like most plants but roses would be the plant I have the most of only 39 and Dee I agree with you I grow most of them for the vase and they are the "Queen of flowers" though the bush itself it not the best so I don't have many most of mine are Standards and yes I do grow things under them, my other roses are carpet roses, climbers and ramblers I only have three bush ones mind you on the roses Forum some don't seem to care for Standards at all...

Artie don't you think that too much of one thing is a trifle boring, "You know variety is the spice of life" and what you say sounds good to me would love to see some photos of your garden do you have a digital camera......Cheers...MM.

Sorry MM - garden is still too young for photos :)

As for roses being the 'Queen of Flowers', I know that I am probably alone, but I think there are better choices in the hot and humid East Coast:

Grevilleas
Camellias
Gardenias

Not sure about some of the more exotic options such as Plerls, but then I've never been much for plants which are maintained primarily for their flowering display. The big advantage of something like a Gardenia is that it has really attractive foliage - the sight of rows of thorny, severely pruned rose bushes in Winter beds is the antithesis of what I want in a garden. I know that this approach isnt necessary for all roses, but it does seem to be widely used to reinvigorate the plants each season. I can take a third off all of my Grevilleas (again, good practice with the tropical varieties) and it will still be an attractive bed - the lack of scented blooms is a price that I am willing to pay.

Getting back to the Cordys, I find the bare stems quite appealing : the rings which define the plant's successive leaf drop become more pronounced as it gets older, and this particularly pronounced on the darker specimens. As I said, horses for courses :)

Does anyone know of a croton nursery that has a good range of the newer varieties? I am also willing to trade gingers/heliconias for crotons and cordylines I don't have. Thanks, Ann

Hi Pogo,

By 'FNQ', I am assuming that you are in Cairns or T'ville - not sure how economical it is to have plants freighted up there when you must have local breeders who can turn out any of the different Codiaeum hybrids.

Failing that, I am doing the rounds of the nurseries here in Rocky tomorrow, and I'll make a special effort to check on their croton stocks.

Cheers,

Artie

Thanks Artie! I'm in El Arish and local nurseries don't have a very exciting range. Tropical gardening is mostly practiced by newcomers to the area. I live in one of the wettest places on earth and you will find 30 times more Dahlias entered in the local show than gingers, go figure!!
Ann

Hi Pogo,

Sorry to hear that nurseries up there seem to have lost the plot :)

OK, I am a tad frustrated at not being able to find more info online, but the new varieties seem to be marketed under the 'Colours of Afrika' and 'HN' labels, but pumping either into Google doesnt give me what I want - contact details. Punching in the names of various hybrids ('Carnival Clown', 'Rio Carnivale' etc) is equally fruitless, so all I can suggest is that you ring Neil Fisher at Fisher's Nursery:

Fishers Nursery Garden Centre
425 Rockonia Rd North Rockhampton 4701
(07) 4928 2440
Fax (07) 4928 2999
Mobile Service 0408 282 440

Neil is frequently sidetracked due to his workload, but when he told me that he is off to a conference with some serious croton collectors, I believed him. He may very well know someone in your neck of the woods who can help you out - as he points out, some of the best croton hybrids have been developed right here in Oz, and a lot of the knowledge is found in backyards rather than nurseries.

The crotons I bought from Neil have been an excellent addition to the garden - they are the varieties with the thin, 'shredded paper' style leaves that look decidely weird in the pot but awesome in the garden. Its amazing how much these plants have lifted a couple of spots which were in danger of becoming a little ho-hum :)

Happy collecting,

Artie

Artie, I saw one in Cairns when I was there at this time last year, in a commercial garden which had leaves that were almost entirely white, with just a thin green band on the edges - a fairly large leaf from memory. If you spot anything like that in your rounds, could you please let me know?

Hi Liatris,

When I see something that startling, I really have to ask myself if I am looking at a healthy plant. I have a Dieffenbachia which resembles the plant that you describe, but it shouldnt look like that - it has simply had way too much sun !

My own paranoia aside, I'm sure the breeders have achieved some stunning effects over the years.

Cheers,

Artie

Thanks Artie! I will follow up.

Speaking of crotons; I too have many in my garden and was wondering what is the best fertiliser to use to achieve the best leaf colouring. Like Artie, I planned to have only a few to break up the green but now have them everywhere. They look a bit gordy in isolation but are just great nestled amongst the foliage.
Ron

Hi Ron,

I suspect that crotons will make the most of almost any feed that they are given, but I tend to stick with the milder organics simply because I dont want to damage any of their neighbours. Neil Fisher has turned up some absolute crackers recently, and I'm happy to report that several of them have found a place in my garden. I've gone from looking at crotons and wondering if I could find a spot for them to looking at green foliaged plants and asking myself how well they would set off my crotons :)

Cheers,

Artie

A foliar feed of zinc really helps Crotons .