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I have a potted plant that started growing some new shoots. However, I think they died. Should I just leave them alone, or try to trim them, remove them, etc? The plant is a croton.

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Niall C.
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bdeonovic
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  • Couple of queries - is there a hole in the bottom of the pot for drainage? Because the soil looks soggy and the plant looks as if its suffering from overwet conditions, and possibly fungal infection. – Bamboo May 25 '15 at 17:26
  • I've recently re-potted the plant to a pot without a drainage hole, I took this picture just after watering. – bdeonovic May 25 '15 at 17:27
  • Okay, that explains that... – Bamboo May 25 '15 at 17:34

1 Answers1

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Looking at your plant, it looks pretty sick - you say you've only just moved it into this pot, and it doesn't have a drainage hole. This is not a good idea, you need a pot with a hole in the bottom to enable excess water to drain away freely. These plants should be watered when the surface of the compost is just dry to the touch, and when you water, do so until there is excess running out, then empty the outer tray or pot after 30 minutes.

I can't really tell what type of Croton its supposed to be, but if the leaves were very brightly coloured and highly variegated when you bought it, it needs plenty of bright light. They particularly don't like changes in temperature or draughts - temperature should never fall much below 60 deg F.

I suggest you find an alternative pot for it, with a drainage hole, in a good potting compost, clip off the dead and dying parts, give it as much sunlight as possible, keep it away from heat sources and draughts, and feed monthly with a proprietary houseplant food. They do also like high humidity, and this plant looks as if its on a desk or something near a computer, which may be emitting some heat - that means the humidity will be low, so you may need to find somewhere else to put it, or use a pebble tray to keep the air around it humid. (Pebble tray - a tray larger than the pot you use, filled with pebbles, with the plant sitting on top of the pebbles, and you keep the tray half filled with water, but not so the bottom of the pot is sitting in the water).

Or maybe buy a different plant that isn't quite so demanding...

Bamboo
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  • Thanks for the answer, I will get a better pot for it and clip off the dead parts. I actually just put it on my desk to take the picture, its usually on the windowsill. – bdeonovic May 25 '15 at 18:32
  • Oh good (so long as there's not a radiator beneath the window) – Bamboo May 25 '15 at 18:47