Am in Central FL (9b) so still in high 80s and no rain. Vary from full sun to shade--as landscaping. Does irrigation need to be turned on, or are they hardy enough to survive until we get some rain & cooler weather here?

You might want to give them some water, They pretty much don't tolerate much drying out, but this is as a houseplant...

No plant is drought tolerant when first planted. You need to water them every day if it doesn't rain. The term "drought tolerant" only applies to plants once they are well established. In actual fact, crotons aren't very drought tolerant even when they get big and well rooted.

Soil here in Florida dries out very quickly, so you also need to mulch around them with a good thick layer of wood chip mulch, leaves or pine needles - something to shade the soil and help keep it cooler to retain moisture.

dyzzypyxxy said:No plant is drought tolerant when first planted. You need to water them every day if it doesn't rain. The term "drought tolerant" only applies to plants once they are well established. In actual fact, crotons aren't very drought tolerant even when they get big and well rooted.

Soil here in Florida dries out very quickly, so you also need to mulch around them with a good thick layer of wood chip mulch, leaves or pine needles - something to shade the soil and help keep it cooler to retain moisture.

There is a good covering of cypress bark mulch. I grow mostly very drought tolerant plants so while the crotons are attractive, they are not something I would plant, though since we've got them I don't mind going out in the evening and watering them. I did it tonight, I didn't time it, but would say about 2min a plant, and there are 16 of them--is enclosed area w' black plastic under thick bark mulch. Thinking 1-2 a week.

I don't think any plants are going to grow well with that plastic there. Plastic will prevent water from reaching the soil, and prevent most if not all of the microbiological activity in the soil. If this area is enclosed, how will plants get water if you don't apply it yourself?

purpleinopp said:I don't think any plants are going to grow well with that plastic there. Plastic will prevent water from reaching the soil, and prevent most if not all of the microbiological activity in the soil. If this area is enclosed, how will plants get water if you don't apply it yourself?

Oh, I didn't mean it's enclosed overhead, just bordered in little island; was going to mention am going to plant starter Asparagus Ferns where the crotons are, so the border is good to prevent them spreading.
That plastic is used extensively down here in landscaping, keeps weeds out, holds moisture in, rainwater etc seeps down thru openings where plants are; not ideal for a nice home garden, but it's there and if nothing else the Asparagus Fern will survive, like I said, I wouldn't have planted crotons but they do look nice, when mature would fill in that area with a lot of color. I'll nurse them a bit until spring, then if they can make it with the rainfall good.

Over time, almost everyone who has plastic in their landscaping comes to really hate it, even those who can afford to pay someone else eventually to get rid of it. There are so many discussions here going back in time about that, and the similar "landscape fabric" stuff. It's unlikely that most types of reasonably thirsty plants would get enough water to thrive if the plastic does not have significantly-sized holes around each plant.

If you put a hole in the plastic somewhere where there isn't a hole and dig around a bit, you'll probably find that it's probably dry as a bone and hard as a rock if it's not mostly sand. The idea of it is great, but in practice, over time, the cons outweigh the pros.

Asparagus fern seeds can travel quite a distance, including to wild locations that are not part of your property, especially when abetted by wildlife. These plants are a persistent weed where I am too. All it takes is to have 1 potted plant make some berries in a seemingly safe spot like on a concrete driveway and then the next year, there are sprouts all over the place.

https://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/pl...
https://www.invasive.org/brows...

I would encourage you to use something else. There are so many interesting FL natives. I'm sure the gardeners here could make some suggestions you might love if we knew more about your overall goals and the aspect(s) of asparagus ferns that appeal to you. Every plant has some look-alikes, some you might even like better.

purpleinopp said:Over time, almost everyone who has plastic in their landscaping comes to really hate it, even those who can afford to pay someone else eventually to get rid of it. There are so many discussions here going back in time about that, and the similar "landscape fabric" stuff. It's unlikely that most types of reasonably thirsty plants would get enough water to thrive if the plastic does not have significantly-sized holes around each plant.

If you put a hole in the plastic somewhere where there isn't a hole and dig around a bit, you'll probably find that it's probably dry as a bone and hard as a rock if it's not mostly sand. The idea of it is great, but in practice, over time, the cons outweigh the pros.

Asparagus fern seeds can travel quite a distance, including to wild locations that are not part of your property, especially when abetted by wildlife. These plants are a persistent weed where I am too. All it takes is to have 1 potted plant make some berries in a seemingly safe spot like on a concrete driveway and then the next year, there are sprouts all over the place.

https://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/pl...
https://www.invasive.org/brows...

I would encourage you to use something else. There are so many interesting FL natives. I'm sure the gardeners here could make some suggestions you might love if we knew more about your overall goals and the aspect(s) of asparagus ferns that appeal to you. Every plant has some look-alikes, some you might even like better.

I just thought of the asparagus fern because it's in my bulletproof category, drought tolerant etc; but it's not a favorite of mine, is a picky, itchy plant. Oddly enough the other day at Lowes I saw pallets of crotons all with a small asparagus fern in the pot with them but yeah, might reconsider (mine are just Sprengeri Fern.) What do you think would be an alternative to it? Needs to be drought tolerant, low lying & fairly quick growing.

A few things come to mind. Not sure which if any are natives, and if any are weeds like asparagus fern, I haven't seen those mentions and I hope somebody will let us know.

Sedum rupestre and cultivars
https://garden.org/plants/sear...

S. lineare
https://garden.org/plants/sear...

sunrose
Baby Sunrose (Mesembryanthemum cordifolium 'Variegata')

various "ice plants"
https://garden.org/plants/sear...

Some lists of natives
https://floridanativeplants.co...
https://www.fnps.org/plants
https://conference.ifas.ufl.ed...
https://www.fann.org/

Hi alpharalpha, some background:
https://garden.org/ideas/view/...

IMHO, ditch the crotons & pull up the plastic. Instead, plant:

African Iris (Dietes bicolor)

Stalked Bulbine (Bulbine frutescens)

Firecracker Plant (Russelia equisetiformis)

And daylilys

Forget the asparagus fern. I promise you'll be very happy for a few years & then, & then, & then you'll be cursing the day you ever planted it.

You will have to water anything until it gets established.

Make your mulch a good 3" thick & keep up on it. Don't let it degrade, just keep replenishing it.

flaflwrgrl said:Hi alpharalpha, some background:
https://garden.org/ideas/view/...

IMHO, ditch the crotons & pull up the plastic. Instead, plant:

African Iris (Dietes bicolor)

Stalked Bulbine (Bulbine frutescens)

Firecracker Plant (Russelia equisetiformis)

And daylilys

Forget the asparagus fern. I promise you'll be very happy for a few years & then, & then, & then you'll be cursing the day you ever planted it.

You will have to water anything until it gets established.

Make your mulch a good 3" thick & keep up on it. Don't let it degrade, just keep replenishing it.

Ok, won't plant the asparagus fern. We did get a bit of rain this morning so the outlying crotons at least got a drink. Fortunately this seems to be the end of our hot weather--though also drier--so will see how it goes.

Firecracker plant would look great with the Crotons, the look would be similar to that of the Sprengeri but with more color and less invasiveness.
.

ardesia said:Firecracker plant would look great with the Crotons, the look would be similar to that of the Sprengeri but with more color and less invasiveness.
.

I wouldn't go with pollinators in that area because of bees--don't much like firecracker plant. We did get some more rain yesterday, so at least the outlying ones maybe got some water.