Over the Garden Gate: Add color to your garden with crotons
By Mary V. Clark, Master Gardener
Croton (Codiaeum variegatum) adds a bold splash of color to your indoor garden in winter or acts as an accent plant outdoors in summer and fall. This small woody plant with striking foliage can be green with splotches of purple, yellow, pink, orange, red or white in regular or random patterns. Markings along veins can vary on the same plant and leaf shapes can be long, narrow or oval, with smooth or lobed margins.
In their native habitats of India, Malaysia, and South Pacific islands, crotons can grow into small trees and shrubs with clusters of tightly packed, leathery leaves. In the United States, outside of zones 9 and 10, they should be grown in containers as annuals or indoors.
REBECCA KRANS
MARQUETTE Extension Master Gardeners contributed more than 1,000 volunteer hours in 2020 amounting to nearly $29,000 to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula communities.
Extension Master Gardeners from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula were recognized on Nov. 20 for their many volunteer hours and continued assistance with Michigan State University Extension’s public gardening outreach and educational efforts.
Although Extension Master Gardeners were not required to complete any volunteer hours during this past year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many opted to continue volunteering while following the MSU COVID-19 guidelines. No face-to-face volunteer efforts were allowed during 2020.
Despite these restrictions, Upper Peninsula Extension Master Gardeners volunteered over 1,000 hours with an economic impact of nearly $29,000 to communities. Volunteer projects focused on food gardening, gardening with children, improving communities through beautification and assisting MSU Ex
Jan 26, 2021
ESCANABA Extension Master Gardeners from the Upper Peninsula were recognized on Nov. 20, 2020, for their many volunteer hours and continued assistance with Michigan State University Extension’s public gardening outreach and educational efforts. Although Extension Master Gardeners were not required to complete any volunteer hours during this past year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many opted to continue volunteering while following the MSU COVID-19 guidelines. No face-to-face volunteer efforts were allowed during 2020. Despite these restrictions, Upper Peninsula Extension Master Gardeners volunteered over 1,000 hours with an economic impact of nearly $29,000 to communities. Volunteer projects focused on food gardening, gardening with children, improving communities through beautification and assisting MSU Extension with public education of the gardening public.
Maybe you’ve tried cyclamen in the past and had been unsuccessful or consider it too fussy and not worth the effort. But since we are staying home more, why not give this beauty another chance?