# Alabama Croton (Croton alabamensis) > One of the rarest shrubs in the country, its apple-scented leaves silver beneath and its oldest leaves pumpkin orange in fall. Category: Native Shrubs. Grown from seed by Blue Whale Trees. Web version: https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/alabama-croton/ ![Alabama croton (Croton alabamensis), Texas variety, a dense leafy shrub at a woodland edge](https://bluewhaletrees.com/img/plants/alabama-croton-h1610-800.jpg) *Photo: TDogg310, CC0 ยท [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ATexabama_Croton_Shrub_Habitus.jpg)* ## Facts - Type: Shrub - Mature height: 5 to 10 ft - USDA hardiness zones: 6 to 8 - Grows wild in: Rocky ground and the forest understory - Native range: Alabama and Texas. Also recorded in 1 other state, outside its native range - Sun: Part, Full, Shade - Soil moisture: Average, Dry - Growth rate: Medium - Traits: Rare, Fall color, Drought tolerant, Tolerates shade - Sold as: Saplings, Seed Heights and zones are typical ranges for the species in cultivation; local conditions and seed source shift them. ## Availability Not yet priced online. Ask at captain@bluewhaletrees.com or leave an email on the web page to be told when it is listed. ## Notes Alabama croton is a semi-evergreen shrub of the spurge family, first found in 1877 during a survey of natural resources in Bibb County, Alabama. It grows wild in only two Alabama counties, Bibb and Tuscaloosa, and in three counties of central Texas, where its variety is called Texabama croton. DNA places it alone on a long branch of its genus, split from its nearest relatives about 41 million years ago. Give it a place of its own at a woodland edge or on a dry, rocky bank. ## Size, growth and what to expect It grows at a medium pace, about a foot and a half a year in our growth estimator. It makes a loose, rounded shrub 5 to 10 feet tall and 6 to 10 feet wide. Crushed leaves smell of apples and bananas, and the oldest leaves turn orange before they drop. Small, yellow-green flowers open in clusters 1 to 2 inches long at the twig tips from late February into early April. Bees and beetles visit them. The three-parted capsules, about a quarter inch across, ripen in May and June. It grows on limestone glades, on shale and sandstone outcrops and along river bluffs, often on steep slopes, where it forms dense thickets. NatureServe ranks it vulnerable across its range, and its stands grow dense by spreading without seed. Only eight of its 48 known Alabama sites are protected, and logging has badly damaged some. ## How to grow Alabama Croton Alabama croton does best in part shade and also grows in full sun or deep shade. It wants a well-drained soil rich in organic matter, slightly acid to alkaline, and once established it takes dry spells. Plant it 5 feet from a wall, and set plants 6 feet apart for a mass. At its size it can go within 15 feet of overhead wires. Saplings ship bare-root or potted. Plant them dormant, from leaf fall until bud swell, in a hole wider than the roots and no deeper. Set the crown at the soil line, put the native soil back in, and keep the mulch clear of the stems. We know of no tested way to sow Alabama croton seed, and seedlings are very scarce in the wild. Water weekly through the first summer, then only in long dry spells. Deer and rabbits leave it alone. The main task is keeping vines and pushier shrubs from overgrowing it. Low branches that touch the ground take root, and you can lift the rooted pieces as new plants. Each plant carries male and female flowers, so there are no male and female plants to pair. No serious pest or disease troubles it. ## Sources - [NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox: Croton alabamensis](https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/croton-alabamensis/) - [Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder: Croton alabamensis](https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=302415) - [Mt. Cuba Center: Alabama croton](https://mtcubacenter.org/plants/alabama-croton/) - [Flora of North America, vol. 12: Croton alabamensis](http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=250102006) - [NatureServe Explorer: Croton alabamensis](https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.128579/Croton_alabamensis) - [van Ee, Jelinski, Berry and Hipp 2006, Phylogeny and biogeography of Croton alabamensis (Euphorbiaceae), a rare shrub from Texas and Alabama, using DNA sequence and AFLP data, Molecular Ecology](https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294x.2006.02970.x) - [Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: Croton alabamensis](https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=CRAL3) - [Virginia Tech Dendrology: Alabama croton](https://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=497) - [USDA NRCS PLANTS Database: Croton alabamensis, CRAL3](https://plants.usda.gov/plant-profile/CRAL3) ## Read before planting - [Ten planting mistakes that quietly kill trees](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/ten-planting-mistakes/index.html.md) - [Transplanting young trees: timing, water and protection](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/transplanting-young-trees/index.html.md) - [Protecting young trees from voles, rabbits, deer and squirrels](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/protecting-trees-from-animals/index.html.md) - [The habitat around a tree is part of the tree](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/habitat-around-a-tree/index.html.md) - [Invasive vines and shrubs are what is killing your woods](https://bluewhaletrees.com/articles/invasive-vines-and-shrubs/index.html.md) ## Related - [Planting-site check](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/site-check/index.html.md): for a thrive, struggle or fail verdict on Alabama Croton, add ?species=alabama-croton with zone (2 to 10), sun (full, part, shade) and moisture (dry, average, wet) to that address, for example ?species=alabama-croton&zone=6&sun=part&moisture=average. - [Companion species for Alabama Croton](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=alabama-croton): the natives that share its ground and the plants that pair with it in a yard. - [Growth estimator](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/index.html.md): how the height and trunk projections are made; the estimate itself runs in the browser at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/#species=alabama-croton - [Seed sowing planner](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/index.html.md): how Alabama Croton is sown, in the chart for every species (treatment, cold days, depth, timing); the dated plan runs in the browser at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/#species=alabama-croton - [Pollination planner](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/index.html.md): what Alabama Croton needs for a crop and how many to plant, in the table for every species; the planner runs in the browser at https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/#plants=alabama-croton:1 - [Bloom and fruit calendar](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/calendar/index.html.md): the months Alabama Croton flowers and fruits, in the grid for every species.