Crotons are one of my favorite plants of all time because of their gorgeous kaleidoscope of colors. I love them, so I can understand your panic if yours is dying!
I have encountered a lot of the problems personally that I cover in this article. I combined my first hand exprience with thorough research to develop a method to diagnose what is the cause of your dying croton and created a step-by-step guide for how to save it!
In this article, I share with you all the tips and tricks that worked for me.
To sum it all up…
The reason for dying croton plants is usually because of underwatering, overwatering, transplant shock, or due to cold temperatures. Crotons are tropical plants and sensitive to cold temperatures. Temperatures lower than 50ºF cause the Croton’s leaves to drop with a dying appearance.
Crotons can show signs of stress, such as the leaves drooping, turning yellow, and losing their leaves in response to conditions that are contrary to their native environment (which, in my experience, is due to fluctuating temperatures).
To revive croton plants what we need to do is recreate some of the conditions of their native environment with consistently warm temperatures, evenly moist soil, relatively high humidity, and either partial sun or bright, indirect light.
Keep reading to learn why your Croton is dying and how you can revive it…
Why is My Croton Plant Dropping its Leaves?
- Symptoms. Leaves can droop downwards and fall off the plant either all at once or slowly over time. Leaves often turn yellow before dropping off.
- Causes. Under watering, Over watering, Temperatures cooler than 50°F (10°C), transplant shock after being moved from indoors to outdoors, or vice versa.
For us to be able to save our plants, we need to know how they grow in their native environment…
Croton are attractive house plants that are native to tropical and sub-tropical climates across Asia where they grow in consistently warm climates with moderately high humidity and in well-draining yet moisture-retentive soil with frequent rainfall.
To grow crotons successfully all we need to do is recreate some of these conditions in the home.
If your croton is dropping leaves, this is a sign of stress due to the conditions of your home being contrary to the preferred conditions of its native environment.
By far, the most common problem I see is due to temperature, as crotons are sensitive to cold temperatures, which can be a common cause of dropping leaves in the Winter months, even indoors.
In temperatures that are around 50°F (10°C) the leaves can drop.
What happened to me was my croton leaves were in contact with a cold window pane! It resulted in some of the leaves dropping off to my horror. I’ve heard that this can also happen croton is located in the direct air current of air conditioning which can sap moisture from the leaves and lower the humidity as well as potentially keep the temperature on the lower side of comfortable for your croton plant.
In some climates, I’ve read that crotons are often moved outdoors during the Summer months when the temperatures are more favorable (My climate is too cold for me to do this!); however, the sudden contrast in conditions is a potential cause of the leaves dropping from your plant.
There is quite a wide range of factors that can cause croton leaves to droop off that we need to be aware of, most commonly due to either underwatering or overwatering.
In my growing experience with them, Crotons require evenly moist soil that is also well-draining. If the roots are sat in boggy soil then the croton leaves drop and the plant can die of root rot.
We have to keep in mind that the soil can be too damp for croton plants due to overwatering, pots without drainage holes in the base, and the use of saucers, trays, and decorative pots prevent excess water from escaping.
If the soil and air are too dry then the croton drops its leaves to prevent losing more moisture through transpiration (water loss from the leaves) as a survival strategy. I’ve had this happen to my Croton due to my air conditioning in the Summer, when I was living in my apartment. Indoor heating in the winter also causes problems!
How I’ve Saved My Croton with Drooping Leaves or Losing its Leaves due to Underwatering
- Give the soil a generous soak so that excess water trickles from the drainage holes in the base. This ensures that the water has infiltrated the soil and reached the roots at the base of the pot. A mistake I see people make is that they water too lightly and this only moistens the surface of the soil and the moisture does not reach the roots where it is required.
- Water as frequently as required to keep the soil evenly moist (but not saturated). From experience, I know that how often you should water your croton depends on the climate and the conditions of your home. My method is to water my croton with a generous soak, then monitor the soil over a week to determine how long it takes for the top inch of the soil to feel slightly dry, at which point this is the time to water with a generous soak to ensure the plant has enough water yet to prevent problems associated with overwatering.
- Mist the leaves once every 3 days or so to create a humid micro-climate. The drier your climate is, the more often you should mist the leaves. This prevents dry air from sapping moisture away from the leaves and mimics the humid conditions of Croton’s native environment.
Pro tip: If you don’t want to mist every few days then 2 other methods I’ve tested and recommend are to move your croton to your bathroom (for the natural humidity) or to use a plant humidifier, which is what I prefer as I have a lot of houseplants!
I cannot emphasize enough the importance of increasing the humidity to prevent the leaves from drooping or dying. I prefer using the humidifier as I found (through extensive experimentation) that this is the best method for countering dry air from heating or air con. This is what has kept my croton looking its best.
If you feel the soil and it’s dried out completely, then what I like to do is place my croton in a basin of lukewarm water for 10 minutes. What I’ve found is that sometimes very dry soil can repel moisture off the surface without infilrtating properly. Placing you croton in a basin gives the water a chance to soak.
You can really feel the difference in the weight when the soil around the roots is actually properly hydrated!
I must emphasize the importance of using lukewarm water. Remember our crotons are tropical plants and cold water can cause shock! this can exacerbate the leaves falling off. I had to learn this one myself when I first tried to save another tropical houseplant,so please avoid this mistake!
These steps should ensure the croton can uptake the water it requires from the potting soil to reverse drooping or wilted leaves and prevent any more leaves from falling off due to drought stress.
In my experience, it may take some time before your croton fully recovers after improving the watering practices, but once you see new growth emerging, this is a good sign that the plant is recovering. Recover is, of course, much quicker in the Spring and Summer during active growth!
My Tips for Reviving Croton Dropping Leaves due to Overwatering or Boggy Soil
- Scale back the watering immediately. Let the soil drain properly if the root ball has been in boggy soil. Remember, our croton plants require moist yet well-draining soil so that the roots are not in saturated pots to prevent more leaves from dropping.
- Ensure that your croton is planted in a well-draining soil mix. Around 3 parts of ordinary potting soil mixed with 1 part perlite provides a good balance of moisture-retentive qualities whilst also still being well drained to prevent root rot.
- The use of saucers, trays, and decorative outer pots is useful to prevent excess water from spilling from the pot in the home but it can prevent water from draining from the bottom of the pot effectively. Empty anything that is underneath your pot of excess water regularly to ensure good drainage and to prevent the roots of your croton being sat in standing water which causes the leaves to drop and the plant to die back. I find this is especially important for crotons due to their sensitivity to too much moisture.
I have experimented with lots of different potting mediums for my croton plants, such as grit, sand, and pine bark, and I found that my croton was happiest in perlite. I theorized that this was because it has a larger particle size, which allows for good drainage and nicely areated, porous soil.
Once the croton has been re-potted in more suitable, well-draining potting soil and a pot with drainage holes in the base, the croton can recover, although the recovery can often be slow as it is more difficult to revive an overwatered croton than an underwatered croton.
Maintain a watering schedule so that the soil is evenly moist, and locate your croton in bright, indirect light whilst it recovers.
Through some trial and error, I find the brighter, the better in terms of trying to get your Croton to recover, so I actually put mine in a south-facing room with lots of light and used a sheer curtain to diffuse the direct light.
In my experience, this works better than just placing your plant in the shade, as your croton is going to need a lot of energy from photosynthesis to grow new leaves.
Hopefully, in the spring and summer, new growth will emerge from the plant.
However, from what I have experienced, if the croton has been in damp, boggy soil for a long time then it has likely developed root rot which can kill the plant, which is why good drainage is so important when growing crotons.
How I Revived My Dying Croton with Yellow Leaves Due to Cold Temperatures or Transplant Shock
If the croton leaves have fallen off suddenly rather than gradually, the cause is far more likely to be cold temperatures, the croton’s movement from one location to another, or disruption by repotting.
The leaves can also turn yellow and die back in response to cold temperatures and a sudden change in conditions.
As we discussed, our crotons are tropical plants, so we need to keep them in a location with fairly even temperatures, ideally between 60ºF and 85ºF (15ºC to 30ºC). Crotons tend to lose their leaves and die back in temperatures cooler than 50ºF (10ºC).
If the croton has suffered damage from cold, whether or not it revives depends on the extent of the cold snap in terms of both duration and how much colder than 50ºF the croton had to cope with.
My croton had its leaves in contact with a cold window pane. I had to relocate it away from the window, and I actually placed it in the bathroom because it had a nice warm temperature and high humidity. Creating the conditions that crotons helped my plant survive.
Where I used to live, my bathroom was very bright but the light was diffused by the frosted glass so I had the perfect croton rehabilitation room!
If the plant has a chance to recover, there should be new growth emerging in the coming weeks, whether in spring or summer (crotons can be dormant in winter with little to no growth).
Crotons often lose their leaves when they are moved due to a shock of the contrast between conditions, particularly from indoors to outdoors.
Usually, I’ve seen this is temporary, and the leaves can grow back as long as the croton is cared for diligently with moist, well-draining soil, regular watering and misting of the plant to maintain humidity, and the correct temperature range of between 60ºF and 85ºF (15ºC to 30ºC).
Do not add any fertilizer whilst the croton is stressed, as this does not help, and wait for signs of new growth to emerge. As I said, the best remedy in my experience is to put your croton in a bright room, then use some fertilizer to help fuel regrowth.
My Tips for Reviving Croton Leaves Losing Color
If your Croton leaves are losing color, this is often due to too much direct sun or not enough light.
So, we have to find a happy medium of bright, indirect light.
Crotons prefer bright, indirect light and can tolerate some partial sun. Again if we consider that they are native to tropical regions and often grow under canopies with bright light or filtered sunlight.
If the leaves are in direct sunlight, their attractive variegated foliage looks faded and dull and can turn yellow or brown. This can also cause problems such as drooping leaves.
However, if the croton is in a shaded area of the house this causes poor growth and can also cause the leaves to turn green rather than their original variegated color.
Whether your croton has been in too much shade or full sun, the plant can be revived by locating it in an area of bright, indirect light. As I said, you can place it in a bright room and use a sheer curtain to create the required balance of bright light, or you can use a grow light.
I used a grow light in the Winter for my succulents, but I’m sure it would work well for Croton plants, too.
I can assure you the colour should come back unless its been scorched by the sun, in which case I would wait until you can see new growth emerging and then cut back any socrched leaves to the base.
Do you have any questions or insights to share about Croton plant? If so, comment down below, as I’d love to hear from you!
Key Takeaways:
- Underwatering, overwatering, or cold temperatures are usually the cause of a dying Croton plant. Temperatures lower than 50ºF cause the croton leaves to drop and the plant to die back. Underwatering and low humidity can cause the leaves to turn yellow, die back, and drop off.
- Overwatering a Croton plant also causes the leaves to turn yellow and drop off as a sign of stress. Plant crotons in pots with drainage holes in the base and empty saucers or trays underneath pots to prevent water from pooling around leaves and roots.
- Too much sun can cause Croton’s leaves to scorch or fade in color. Not getting enough sunlight can also reduce the color of the variegated leaves.
- To revive Crotons, locate the plant in bright, indirect light, ensure that the soil is evenly moist yet well-draining, and mist the leaves regularly to create a humid micro-climate that emulates the humid conditions of the Croton’s native environment. Always keep the croton in a warm area, ideally between 60ºF and 85ºF (15ºC to 30ºC), and the plant can recover.