If you’re like me, you may have bought your first Croton because it was a compact plant packed with vibrant, variegated foliage. Also, like me, you may have noticed that after having it for some time, your Croton has started to look a little ratty and far less stunning than when you first bought it. What can you do to fix if your plant has become leggy, spindly, and stretched out?
Crotons become leggy mainly due to an insufficient amount of sunlight exposure. You can typically fix this issue by moving your plant to a location that receives more light. Crotons also need regular pruning to maintain their compact, bushy shape, so regular pinching can help avoid scraggly growth.
Crotons are known for their bushy, variegated growth, but leggy growth is a very common issue with these plants. Although low light conditions are the most likely reason your plant is getting leggy, a lack of proper maintenance pruning can also be a contributing factor. Once you recognize your plant is putting out weak growth, there are a few steps you can take to encourage your Croton to produce new, stronger stems to return the plant to its former glory.
What Does “Leggy” Mean?
“Leggy” growth typically refers to the type of growth your houseplant pushes when it is in search of more light. In an effort to secure more resources, your plant will stretch out, making itself spindly, and will often have bare plant tissue (or stem) as a last-ditch effort to find a new light source. The scientific term for this issue is called etiolation.
Etiolated growth is commonly very weak, thin, or stretched growth with little to no leaf structures. The leaves that are present are often very small and pale in color, even growing in yellow. In terms of Crotons specifically, leggy growth often looks like spindly branches and stems stretching up from the plant with smaller, often sick-looking leaves near the tips. The plant begins to lose its bushy appearance, and the leaves lose their variegation.
What Causes Crotons to Become Leggy?
The short answer to this question is that Crotons like lots of bright, indirect light to thrive, so when they are denied that, their growth turns leggy and weak as they fight to secure enough resources to survive. Plants use photosynthesis to create food for themselves, and then the energy they collect from sunlight is used to turn carbon dioxide and water into carbohydrates for the plants and release oxygen as a byproduct of the process.
When there is an abundance of resources, healthy plants can put a lot of energy into producing new, strong, and compact growth. However, if a plant isn’t getting enough light, it will alter the way it puts out that new growth in an effort to keep the photosynthetic process churning. The plant is forced into a sort of survival mode where any new growth it produces is created in an effort to stretch out to find more light and therefore grows spindly, stretched, and without many leafy structures.
Often, the issue of insufficient sunlight comes down to where the plant is placed in your home. A tropical plant like the Croton often needs lots of ambient light to keep it happy. So even if it looks good in your dim hallway or bedroom with low exposure initially, you’ll likely see your healthy plant turn leggy within a matter of weeks in those darker spots.
What To Do When You First Notice Your Croton Becoming Leggy
If you’ve noticed that your plant is looking a bit spindly, unfortunately, some damage has already been done. But, don’t worry…there’s still hope for your beloved Croton! As long as you act quickly, your plant can resume normal growth with just a small change to its placement in your home.
Like I mentioned above, Crotons love lots of bright, indirect light. They can handle a few hours of direct sun, but it’s best to put them in a spot that gets filtered sunlight throughout the day. When you notice leggy growth on your Croton, it is important to immediately move the plant to a sunnier spot.
Crotons aren’t wild about big changes or fluctuations in their environment, so be mindful not to move them from a dark room to a spot with lots of direct sunlight. Instead, aim for a place that receives plenty of dappled or filtered sunlight and protect the plant with a sheer curtain during times of full sun exposure.
As your Croton adjusts to its new digs, it will eventually be able to handle an hour or two of bright, direct light, but introduce it slowly by being mindful of pulling the curtain during the hottest hours of the day. If your placement is right and the light levels please your Croton, you should see healthy growth resume within a few weeks.
One other thing you should be paying attention to is how variegated your Croton’s leaves are. A healthy plant has highly variegated, almost hyper-colored leaves. However, in low-light situations, these leaves lose their variegation and color, turning a solid green as the plant tries to ramp up chlorophyll production to keep photosynthesis running efficiently.
If you see your Croton losing its variegation, think of that as an early warning sign your plant isn’t getting enough light. Even if you haven’t seen it yet, leggy growth is probably not far behind.
I Know My Plant Gets Enough Light. What Else Causes Leggy Growth?
While true “leggy,” etiolated growth is caused by low light exposure, there is another reason your Croton might be looking scraggly and sparse. Crotons require a certain amount of maintenance to look healthy and bushy through strategic pruning. (Read all about pruning Crotons here.)
Crotons will generally push their new growth vertically, with minimal branching when left to their own devices. These plants are also pretty sensitive to changes in their care and environment, so any unfavorable swing in temperature, humidity, or light exposure can cause otherwise healthy leaves to wilt, wither, or discolor, and in some cases, drop off the plant altogether.
Coupled together, these two attributes can result in a spindly, unhealthy, and diseased plant. This is where some strategic cuts with your pruners can come in handy. By periodically trimming back bare or spindly branches and pinching growth tips on your Croton, you will encourage the plant to produce new healthy branches and leaves, while controlling the plant’s size and bushy shape.
What If My Croton is Extremely Leggy and Bare?
In some instances, Crotons can become so leggy and leafless that even new growth from the top of the plant can be too little, too late for such a bare, spindly plant. If this is the case with your Croton, you may consider giving your plant a hard prune to restart growth lower on the stem.
In many cases, pruning back a Croton’s stem far down towards the base of the plant, even below the lowest leaves, can jumpstart the plant to produce new branches and leaves just below the cut line.
While it can be considered a drastic move, it may be just what you need to do to save an otherwise unhealthy, unattractive specimen. To do this, I would suggest looking over your Croton plant and cutting off any healthy stem tips that you can salvage for propagating new plants. After that, determine how high up the stem you’d like to see new branches and leaves and make a straight cut with sharp, clean pruning shears.
It is important to give your plant proper care during this time, so place it in a warm spot that has plenty of light, and be sure to water it properly, keeping the soil damp but never overwatering. If all goes well, you should start seeing significant new branch growth below the cut and new, healthy leaves emerging from the growing tips over several weeks or months.
Final Thoughts
If you find your Croton is in a sorry state and has gradually become leggy, spindly, or bare, you should first make sure your plant is receiving enough light. Move your Croton to a brighter spot in your home that gets lots of ambient or dappled sunlight.
You may also need to incorporate more maintenance pruning or pinching into your Croton care regimen to ensure the plant stays bushy and compact while simultaneously giving it more opportunity to push healthy new growth. If you do these two things, your Croton will bounce back quickly and start thriving once more!