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nancyk
FUNNY-FACE FOLIAGE
Caricature plant likes full sun, dense shade
July 17, 2020
by Cynthia Brewer/Victoria County Master Gardener Intern
Edited by Charla Borchers Leon/Victoria County Master Gardener
PHOTO COURTESY OF MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN .ORG
This oval-shaped Caricature Shrub has elliptical-shaped leaves decorated with blotches of differing shapes, sizes and colors in mid vein. Known as the 'Chocolate' variety, its leaves darken in time with its colored markings standing out in variegated coloring. Metallic chocolate brown backgrounds tout edges or marbling in a variety of colors, such as cream, gold, burgundy, bronze and pink.
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY VICTORIA COUNTY MASTER GARDENER INTERN CINDY BREWER
This 'Chocolate' Caricature Plant the author purchased online arrived in great condition. This photograph shows it about one week after receiving it and repotting it. Easy to grow from cuttings, a lightly-shaded position is ideal for it in a container with the ability to move it in cooler weather for protection.
PHOTO CREDIT: MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN . ORG
This Graphtophyllum pictum 'Tricolor' displays green leaves with a center flushed with pink, cream or apricot. Its common name of Caricature Plant comes from the markings that resemble the profile of a human face. This tropical plant does grow outdoors in partial shade, but needs protection in the winter. It does very well as an indoor plant at home or in an office.
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY AGGIE-HORTICULTURE.TAMU. EDU
Also known as the Jamaican Croton, this full Caricature Plant looks like a pastel-colored Croton. The texture, however, of latex-like leaves is very different from that of the Codiaeum variegatum (Croton) which has a more firm, leather-like feel. Caricature Plants like these are valued for large, lustrous green, white, pink or bronze variegated leaves which provide a strong tropical feeling to a garden setting.
Source: Southern Living magazine, www.southernliving.com
Complementary colorful foliage plantings
• Variegated tapioca
• Copper plant
• Coleus
Contrasting colorful foliage plantings
• Solid-colored ferns
• Solid-colored grasses
My eyes are attracted to colorful variegated plants, from the simple white-trimmed hosta, the green and pink polka-dot plant, frilly-leafed caladiums to the numerous coleus varieties.
Just recently, I’ve discovered a new one—it’s the Graptophyllum pictum, also known as the caricature plant or Jamaican croton. If you have a fancy for variegated plants, the caricature plant is a must-have for you.
This oval-shaped evergreen shrub has elliptical-shaped leaves decorated with blotches of differing shapes, sizes and colors in mid vein.
Name derivation
The irregular blotchy, or marbled, marks give the caricature plant its name since the marks have been compared to funny faces or shapes that remind one of a caricature—an exaggerated drawing of a person or thing.
Versatile plant
The beautiful, as well as fun-to-look-at plant, is adaptable to many growing conditions in that it tolerates both full sun as well as dense shade. It provides uniform foliage regardless of the available sun.
Since it tolerates full shade, it serves as a decorative plant in malls, conservatories, and business lobbies. For this reason, it is a perfect indoor house plant.
In Asia, this tropical plant is used to treat many internal and external medical problems and can be used as a soap substitute.
Cultivars
The caricature plant is prized for its vibrant canopy of beautiful, latex-like textured variegated leaves. There are several cultivars with dark to light green or metallic chocolate brown backgrounds touting edges or marbling in a variety of colors, such as cream, gold, burgundy, bronze, and pink.
Plant them among other colorful foliage plants like the variegated tapioca, copper plant, and coleus, or contrast its busy-ness with solid-colored ferns.
Flowers
Although this plant is grown mostly for its spectacular foliage, it does produce small flowers. Grown in the landscape, the caricature plant produces terminal clusters of 3 to 4-inch tubular flowers in the summer. The flowers are red to purple-red with protruding stamens.
Often the flowers will not appear if grown in containers or if they are regularly pruned or pinched back to promote new foliage growth.
Required growing zones
The caricature plant is designated an Earth-Kind plant and a Texas Superstar; however, this tropical plant, native to New Guinea, will grow in the Victoria area only as a summer annual or a container plant.
In USDA Zones 6-9, it is grown as an annual or a potted plant, for it is sensitive to frost. The Texas Superstar website states to plant it outdoors only after night temperatures remain above 55 degrees Fahrenheit.
As a potted shrub, it may reach 2 to 4-feet tall and round. For it to survive beyond the late fall, it must be brought indoors.
In Zones 10 and higher, such as the Rio Grande Valley and the tropics, it is a perennial. Grown in these warmer climates it can reach a height and diameter of 6 to 9 feet and make spectacular hedges.
Watering
Although the caricature plant requires well-drained soil, it is very sensitive to drought and needs to be watered regularly, or it will wilt.
According to Dave’s Garden site, the soil needs to remain evenly moist and should never become dry between waterings. The plant will provide darker, richer color varieties when planted in full sun, but it will require more water.
Required soil type
The caricature plant also tolerates most soil types except the most alkaline; however, again according to Dave’s Garden site, it thrives best in a pH between 6.1 and 7.8. Amend this soil with much organic matter.
Fertilizer needs
Typically, the caricature plant doesn’t need fertilization if grown as a landscape annual; however, when grown in containers, it will need regular fertilizer.
Pruning
The caricature plant can be pruned any time it begins to grow beyond the size and shape you wish it to be. To encourage a fuller shrub, pinch back new growth. The only drawback to pinching off new buds is that you risk it not flowering.
Pests
The caricature plant can occasionally become infested by spider mites, scale insects, or thrips, but usually, this occurs only in an interiorscape or within a greenhouse environment. If grown outdoors, these pests usually don’t become a problem; instead, protect it from deer, which favors the caricature plant. It is also susceptible to nematodes.
Other difficulties
What is most difficult about this Texas Superstar is finding it. No local nursery or big box store carries it. Since I just had to have this plant, I decided to order the Chocolate Caricature plant online.
Because it is easily propagated from cuttings, hopefully, I’ll have some plants ready for sale at the next VCMGA plant sale, whenever that may be – hopefully sometime this fall.
The Gardeners’ Dirt is written by members of the Victoria County Master Gardener Association, an educational outreach of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension – Victoria County. Mail your questions in care of the Advocate, P.O. Box 1518, Victoria, TX 77901; or vcmga@vicad.com, or comment on this column at VictoriaAdvocate.com.
ph: 361-935-1556
nancyk