Croton Transplant Shock

Crotons are beautiful houseplants. They come in a variety of colors and shapes. Their leaves are known for their vivid colors and patterns. Their spectacular foliage is no doubt what makes them popular for plant lovers. However, these plants are known to be a bit dramatic. They aren’t the easiest houseplants to care for, and therefore are prone to transplant shock when their environment changes. Below I’ll discuss signs of transplant shock, its common causes, and what to do about it.

Signs of Croton Transplant Shock

Leaf Drooping

One of the most common signs of Croton transplant shock is leaf drooping. Crotons can have a flair for the dramatic and will droop their leaves as a sign of shock. This is more evident on Crotons with bigger leaves like the Croton Petra, versus a Croton with smaller leaves like the Gold Dust Croton. This makes sense, the heavier the leaf, the more dramatically it will droop.

Leaves Turning Yellow

A Croton experiencing shock may throw out some yellow leaves as well. This may be in combination with drooping leaves or not. Yellow leaves can be normal, so it’s a matter of determining whether it’s shock or normal. If there are more than two or three yellowing leaves, then you’re probably dealing with shock. If it’s just a few leaves and they are lower to the base of the plant or stem, then it’s more like just older leaves dying. Yellow leaves will not return their color and become healthy again. You can either, pull them off or let them fall off by themselves.

Leaf Drop

Another sign of transplant shock is leaf drop. This is a sudden drop of multiple leaves. In some shock cases the leaves can even fall off of the plant before they even yellow and dry out. If your plant is doing this, it’s a severe case of shock.

Causes of Croton Transplant Shock

Repotting

The most common cause of transplant shock is from repotting. Crotons do not like to be disturbed and repotting your Croton is quite a disturbing event. It can be disruptive for a lot of reasons you’re pulling it out of one pot, messing with the roots, and then putting it into a new pot with a bunch of soil. The leaves and roots can get jostled around in the process and make your plant unhappy.

You can follow along in another post of mine where I repot my Croton Petra. However, the important things to do to avoid shock when repotting are to:

• Keep everything clean and sterile.
• Do not repot your Croton when it has just been watered or if it needs to be watered. A good time is a day or so after you have watered.
• Minimize the amount of handling you do of the leaves and roots.

Change in Light

A change in the light that a Croton receives can also cause transplant shock. So transplant shock isn’t all about repotting. If you drastically change the amount of light the plant is receiving, then it can exhibit signs of shock. An example of when this might happen is when you first bring your Croton home from the store. It can even happen if you move it within your home depending on the light difference. It can easily happen if you move your Croton outdoors in the summer and then back indoors in the winter. Crotons require pretty bright light in order to maintain their showy foliage.

Change in Temperature

A change in temperature can also cause your Croton to exhibit transplant shock signs. I’m thinking mainly if you move your Croton out for the summer and then back in for the winter. Crotons do not deal well with low temperatures. They definitely cannot withstand frost. Even inside, if the temperature change is abrupt enough, it can cause shock. This may happen if it’s near a window or door during a cold time.

Change in Water

This isn’t so much a transplant issue, but an underwatered Croton will exhibit most of the signs of transplant shock. Leaf drooping, yellowing, and drop. Crotons like moist soil and are pretty particular about it. Personally, my Crotons are my least forgiving plants when it comes to watering. Generally, their earliest sign for thirst is that they droop, and so it’s easy to keep an eye on. I also love using a soil moisture meter to help me figure out watering. Especially for Crotons, because of how picky they are.

How to Fix Transplant Shock

The best thing you can do to try and fix transplant shock is to do your best to recreate whatever environment it was in:

• Same amount and intensity of light.
• Same temperature.
• Same level of humidity and moisture.

Light

Light is very important for Crotons, so whether you’re bringing it home from the store or bringing it inside for the winter, you need to change the light exposure gradually. When moving a plant to a spot with a big different in light, you can do it gradually by moving it about a foot or so a day from its old spot to its new spot. If you’re bringing it home from the store for the first time, then just try to start it in a spot in your house that’s as close to the store’s light as possible and then gradually move it where you want.

If you’re moving it out and in for the summer and winter, then you need to do that gradually as well. The most common advice for this is to start with one or two hours a day of exposure to the new light level. Then each day increase it by another hour or two. I personally think this sounds like a pain, and it’s why I don’t move my plants outside for the summer.

Temperature

This is pretty straightforward. Try to keep the temperature around your Croton on the warmer side. In addition, avoid anything that would cause large fluctuations in temperature even if they are short.

Water

The main point I want to make here is that you don’t necessarily need to water your Croton just because its drooping or yellowing. Those are also common signs for underwatering. You have to make sure the soil actually feels dry, then you can water. Crotons like to be more consistently moist, rather than drying most of the way in between waterings.

Comment below if you have any other questions regarding Croton transplant shock.