Find Your Ask The Expert: My croton has a long feathery vine growing out of it. There appears to be sap on these vines. he leaves have also gotten something on them that looks like a white hair. What is this? Do I cut the vine? Do I cut and plant the vine? Marsha
Flower Shop Network Plant Expert Reply:
When I first received this question, I was a little puzzled. I asked Marsha to send a picture.
Although the picture is a little dark, I believe the vine is the flower stock of the croton.
I found the croton bloom picture on flickr. It was taken by CameliaTWU. As you can see the bloom has a long stalk that looks like a vine. The flowers are fuzzy and white.
Personally, I have never seen a croton bloom. I have a feeling that you need just the right plant and conditions for this to happen.
If you find the blooms unattractive, you can follow the stalk down to its base and cut it off. Or, you can let the plant flower and when the flowers are spent cut the stalk off. Either way, the plant will be happy.
Oklahoma City florists hope this flower identification question was helpful.
Sharon’s Photos
This was helpful. I have had my croton for about a year and a half and this is now the 2nd time mine has bloomed (both times in the fall once I turn the heat on in my apartment). Last year I removed the stalk since I didn’t like the way it looked and I was making a bit of a mess on my windowsill as the flowers fell off but then my plant was very unhealthy all winter. I wasn’t sure if it became unhealthy because I removed the flowers or if it was simply because Seattle winters don’t exactly offer the optimal sunlight for a tropical plant. I hoped it was the latter, but was nervous to remove the flowers again this year. Good to know it won’t harm it to remove it again. Thanks!
What is the actual name of this plant? Someone bought this plant as a gift for our family for our Grandma’s funeral… I am looking for care information on it. It is fairly large and has 3 stalks to it. I was wondering if I would be able to split all the stocks and plant them in separate pots so other family members can have part of the plant.
Thanks Amanda P.
Attached Image: House plant.jpg
Amanda your plant is a type of Croton. You can go to our Croton Houseplant page for care instructions.
We received a Croton when mother-in-law passed away several years ago. We recently moved into a house where it is at an East facing window and over a heat vent. It must REALLY like it’s new home because one of the stalks is now BLOOMING! So pretty!! I would post a picture, but I don’t see an option to do so.
Sharon,
Can you email me the picture? jadams@flowershopnetwork.com
I just emailed you 2 pictures from my phone
Thanks Sharon. I inserted your pictures above. The bottom picture is an awesome shoot of the bloom.
My Croton continues to bloom on the same stalk! Little nodules continue to appear that turn into flowers. My question is this: Should I trim the stalk so it doesn’t get so long and it breaks off, or should I cut it off completely? I don’t want to take a chance of it not flowering anymore.
There are at least 4 large branches, but only 1 has a flower stalk on it. Will the others bloom as well?
My daughter in law was given a plant and the tag information says it is a Dragon Tree. The leaves are all twisted and turn in all directions. When I google Dragon Tree, it says it is a Dracena – but none of the pictures look anything like her plant
Sharon,
The dragon tree has many variations in leaf sizes, leaf colors and different trunk types. If you have a picture of the plant you can send it to rachel.brantley@flowershopnetwork.com. I can try to identify the plant for you.
Sharon,
Yes, trim the long croton stem back to the same height as surrounding stems. Remove only one-third of the total stem height at a time though to allow the plant to sprout new growth before continuing to reduce the height. Is your plant outdoors or indoors? This plant will not get enough light indoors to really thrive and bloom. The solution is to make sure that the plant never dries out. Hope this helps.
I think you misunderstood my question. The Croton IS blooming. The “flower stalk” is what I am asking about. Is it ok to trim it or should I just leave it alone? My plant is indoors. I have had it for about 3 years and it just started blooming this year. Pictures of it are included on this site
Sharon,
Yes you should trim the flower stalk. I wouldn’t cut it back by more than one-third, as this can stress the plant too much and stunt future growth. It sounds like you are taking good care of your Croton. Keep attending to it and hopefully the other branches will bloom as well.
Hi all, I have a 16-year old Croton that blooms like crazy! However, the blooms also bring a very sticky sap that gets all over my floors and windowsills/blinds…..would my plant get angry if I trim the entire flower stalk off? Thanks!
Jen,
You can follow the stalk down to its base and cut it off. Or, you can let the plant flower and when the flowers are spent cut the stalk off. Either way, the plant will be happy as long as you continue its normal care. Hope this helps.
Mine continually blooms on the same stalk, over and over and over!!
My ENTIRE Croton plant is now blooming!! 3 of the major stalks of the plant have long flower stems growing from the top center of each. The 3rd one is only secreting a sap-like substance, So far, it doesn’t have any little nodules on it like the others do
Sharon,
That’s great! Thank you for sharing the news! Keep up the good work and enjoy your Croton plant!
My croton has been flowering for 4 months now. It has 2 different types of stalks. One got feathery white flowers, the other got sap coming out of it. I figured that one must be the “female”, the other the “male”. As my plant is indoors and doesn’t meet any bees, I experimented and put some of the pollen from the flowers on to the sappy bits. A few of them started to grow, but they fell of one by one, only one remained. And after a month or so growing, now I got my own croton seed… Only I don’t know what to do with it?
Hajnalka,
That’s great. You can now grow a new plant from the seed. The article that I have linked below has great information. Scroll down until you see the section titled, “Planting, Growing & Cutting Croton: The Basics.” It will give you important facts on soil requirements and other information for growing a croton plant from seed indoors. Hope this helps!
I would like to send you another picture of my Croton. The 2nd flower “stem” has TRIPLED in length and has lots of the little flowering nodules on it. The original flower “stem” continues to get new nodules all the time. We received this plant in 2013, but it only started blooming when we moved to our current home and placed it in an East facing window.
Sharon,
That is great news! It sounds like your Croton is doing excellent. You can send a picture to rachel.branltey@flowershopnetwork.com. Thank you for sharing!
Can anyone identify the plant for me?
The plant in this article is a Croton. You can learn more about them here!
our croton has string like things coming from the flowers and encases the plant.. other crotons that we have that don’t flower do not have this stringy substance.. can you tell us what it is ?
Can you send me a photo? jamie.woods@flowershopnetwork.com
Mine just done the same thing.
Is the sap dangerous in any way
Hi Al,
Yes, the sap is dangerous. It’s not going to be fatal for dogs, cats, or small children, but it should not be ingested.