root rot on Codiaeum Variegatum
Quick answer
If your Codiaeum Variegatum has root rot, the most likely cause is: If the soil around Codiaeum variegatum (garden croton) is kept wet continuously, air cannot circulate around the roots and the roots suffocate and rot; growers commonly mistake the resulting drooping leaves for a request for even more water and compound the rot, even though the plant is described as needing a continuously humid atmosphere rather than saturated soil.
Start here:
- 1. Remove the croton from any standing water immediately and never allow the pot to stand in a saucer of water for more than half an hour, so the root zone can drain and air can re-enter the soil around the suffocating roots.
- 2. Restore moisture without saturation by spraying the croton leaves or plunging the pot in a moisture-retaining material such as peat, sand or moss, keeping the surrounding atmosphere humid while the damaged root system recovers from rot.
Why Codiaeum Variegatum gets root rot
codiaeum variegatum
If the soil around Codiaeum variegatum (garden croton) is kept wet continuously, air cannot circulate around the roots and the roots suffocate and rot; growers commonly mistake the resulting drooping leaves for a request for even more water and compound the rot, even though the plant is described as needing a continuously humid atmosphere rather than saturated soil.
How to reverse root rot on Codiaeum Variegatum
- 1
Remove the croton from any standing water immediately and never allow the pot to stand in a saucer of water for more than half an hour, so the root zone can drain and air can re-enter the soil around the suffocating roots.
- 2
Restore moisture without saturation by spraying the croton leaves or plunging the pot in a moisture-retaining material such as peat, sand or moss, keeping the surrounding atmosphere humid while the damaged root system recovers from rot.
Keep root rot off this Codiaeum Variegatum
Keep Codiaeum variegatum in a continuously warm, humid room free from draughts with plenty of light, but never let the pot stand in water; the brilliant-foliage croton prefers a humid microclimate around the leaves rather than a waterlogged root ball that suffocates and rots the roots.