If you put the miracle shrub in the sun, its colors will fade

Hardly any other houseplant shows such a beautiful play of colors on the leaves as the miracle shrub.

But they only keep that if the location is the right one.

Yellow, green, orange or purple - the miracle shrub (codiaeum variegatum), also called croton, shows a color palette on the leaves that is unparalleled among indoor plants.

Even if the little tree, which can grow up to two meters tall, is undemanding in itself, its leaves need special care all year round.

Caring for croton properly: The leaves of the miracle shrub do not like the sun

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The miracle shrub or croton (Codiaeum variegatum) grows up to two meters high with good care.

© imagebroker/Imago

Without its variegated leaves, the croton would still be handsome, but a lot less impressive.

The location is very important for this.

The more light the plant gets, for example in summer or near a window, the stronger the red in the leaves will be.

Because the darker the room, the more of the green leaf pigment chlorophyll the plant has to produce for photosynthesis, explains the magazine

The leaves become less colorful.

Since the leaf color changes depending on the light intensity, each specimen of the miracle shrub has a unique and varied appearance.

However, it shouldn’t be too much sun either: Direct sunlight causes the colors to fade.

A curtain can offer a shield here, especially in the midday sun.

Potash soap protects leaves from pests

The following care measures are also helpful in order to preserve the color splendor of the leaves:

• Dust the leaves regularly so that the plant can photosynthesize and grow well.

• A potash soap mixture is doubly helpful when treating the leaves, as the garden program

  Querbeet

  knows .

  Because it also works against lice.

• Especially in summer, the miracle shrub needs a lot of water.

  This also applies to the leaves, which are happy to be sprayed with low-lime water, even on a daily basis.

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You can find even more exciting garden topics in the regular newsletter of our partner 24garten.de.

If the humidity is too dry, the miracle shrub is more easily attacked by pests such as spider mites.

The Southeast Asian plant also does not like cold feet, drafts and a room temperature below 18 degrees Celsius and sheds leaves.

Rubric list image: © imagebroker/Imago