Tips for Successful Croton Pruning

I have a pretty big Gold Dust Croton that I have grown from a wee little six-inch plant to over three feet tall (excuse the three-foot-tall toddler for scale in the background). It's actually three plants in the same pot, but not all of the plants are that tall. I've had a long-term goal of pruning these Gold Dust Crotons into more tree-like forms ever since I saw a giant Croton tree inside a pool atrium at a hotel. Pruning should encourage branching which Crotons don't always do so readily. Read below for my tips for successful Croton Pruning.

When to Prune Crotons

The best time to prune an indoor Croton is probably early spring. I want to call attention to the fact that this post is strictly about indoor Crotons. Some people can grow Crotons outside if they live in warm growing zone and the recommendations for pruning outdoor Crotons may be different. Pruning in early spring or even winter means that your Croton will have the whole growing season to put new healthy growth. Pruning can stimulate growth and you want to make sure that happens when the days are long and bright, which is spring and summer. This means your new growth will have adequate light and looks its best.

Reasons for Croton Pruning

For Looks

The main reason to prune a Croton is for aesthetics. You want it to look a certain way, then prune it. Is your Croton plant top heavy? Maybe you want it to look bushier. One branch is growing too far in an inconvenient direction. Whatever your reason, I say it's your plant, make it look how you want.

To Remove Unhealthy Growth

Another possible reason for pruning is unhealthy growth. That could be growth that is really elongated because your Croton wasn't getting enough light at one point. Or maybe your Croton was attacked by pests which left you with some unhealthy leaves and stems. If you have unhealthy growth like this, it can be a good idea to prune it off and let new stems and leaves start anew. This is especially true if the stem is damaged or weak in any way. Even if new growth starts on top of the damaged stem, it may be too weak to support it and you'll end up pruning eventually anyway.

To Propagate Your Croton

You may want to prune your Croton, so you can propagate it. Propagating plants is rewarding and addictive. I joke that it's the gateway to free plants. Propagation takes little resources, but a decent amount of time and patience. I have several cuttings, both lignified wood and green wood, that I will propagate and make a separate post when they have some roots to show.

How to Prune a Croton

You need two things for a Croton pruning. A pair of clean sharp pruning shears and a plan. The most important thing you need to do is plan your cuts before you even pick up the pruning shears. I'll walk through a few scenarios with pictures to give you ideas.

Prune Unhealthy Growth

I have one Croton that branched four-ways a long time ago. If I had known more back then I would have pinched off two when they first started, but I didn't, so here we are. While the trunk is pretty thick, the four branches are not. Having too many branches fork off like that will spread resources, meaning that none of the branches are thick enough to support themselves. As you can see they have all flopped due to the top heavy combination of leaves and skinny branches.

The thickest branch is the one in the back. It kind of blends in with the Croton trunk behind it. That is the one I am going to keep. The other three branches I will cut back to the trunk. Certain plants you want to prune in certain spots, like just above the node for Pothos, but Crotons aren't really like that. While new growth will sprout from the old nodes, in Crotons the nodes are generally pretty close together so you don't have to be so particular.

Prune to Encourage Branching

The tallest of the three Crotons in this pot has very few branches, hence why it has grown so tall. I have it staked because if left to it's so long and not yet very thick. In order to get this one to branch and to thicken up the trunk, I will need to prune it back. In a case like this, you want to prune the Croton trunk back to where you would like the Croton to start branching. I prefer to keep some leaves on my pruned plants because I think leaves help with the continued healthy growth. I have no scientific facts that that is necessary, so go with what you think is best. Plenty of plants can regrow after being pruned down to just a stem.

On this tall guy, I will prune the main stem down a little bit above the little branch that is coming out on the left. I want to have one more branch pop out around there too. Now, this Croton is still very tall. It will take me many years to get the sturdy tree form I'm going for. It's a long game and will require a lot of time and pruning.

After Pruning Care

Pruning can be quite a shock and Crotons have been known to be dramatic. Don't fret if your Croton gets a little droopy or loses a leaf or two. If you did a really big prune this might be more likely. It's best to keep your Croton in the same spot after you have pruned it. You don't want to change the light or humidity that it is normally used to. In addition, be careful about watering. If you pruned a lot, your Croton may not require as much water as it used to.

Do you have pruning questions? Share them in the chat.