house plant SOS (with pic)

[crotoneyedjoe]

Help me with this croton! I've had it a few years, and over this time it's become taller and lankier. Worse, it leans something terrible, despite lots of rotating.

Can anyone help me have a final go at making it more presentable before I give up and give her away?

Thank you! 🌱 and sorry for posting in chat, I need all the help I can get.

[MotherWol]

It looks like it’s got lots of new growth at the top, but it’s the lower leaves are dying off. I’d prune off some of the lower leaves, so it’s not wasting energy on them. It’s winter, so I wouldn’t expect it to be as active now as it would be in spring.

How much light does it get? Can you move it to be closer to the window? Also it likes humidity, so either keep it in the bathroom, or mist it a couple of times a month.

[crotoneyedjoe]

Thank you! My worry about pruning the bottom leaves is that it'll become top heavy. Or will new leaves come out at the bottom once I prune them?

[MotherWol]

Pruning should stimulate some new growth, but I wouldn’t go crazy - just thin out some of the dead looking ones. You can always repeat in March if you need to. Crotons are fussy buggers, I wouldn’t take it personally!

[crotoneyedjoe]

Very fussy! It was so beautiful when it was first brought home, I feel sad about what I've reduced it to