These 4 colorful-leaf plants are must-knows, or rather must-haves - let's take a look

Begonia - Called begonia but grown for its leaves, not its flowers; the green foliage has a strikingly unusual look

If you only know the wax begonia, that is really a shame, because its leaf colors are extraordinarily spectacular, with roughly more than twenty varieties. Since we are talking about varieties, we have to mention a few. The cane begonia is fairly common on the market, with stems that grow taller joint by joint; the leaf surface is green, and as the angle changes you can see faint white dots on the leaves, as if covered with silver stars. The underside of the leaves is red, with wavy edges.

The rex begonia - if seeing the cane begonia means waiting for it to bloom en masse, then the rex begonia is a purely foliage variety, with leaves so large they are almost substantial, and leaf veins that exude a rugged air from top to bottom; and what must be mentioned is that its regenerative ability is quite powerful. This begonia has something special: by its fourth year of growth, its vigor gradually declines. That is when its regenerative ability comes into play - every four or five years, you can use leaf cuttings to replace the old plant.

The iron-cross begonia has heart-shaped leaves, with yellow-green leaf surfaces inlaid with red-brown cross-shaped markings; this is also where the name "iron cross" comes from.

Caladium - On a scorching summer day,where does the coolness come from?

Summer is the main viewing period for caladiums, and the brightly patterned leaves are full of summer coolness. After autumn begins, the leaves gradually become ragged; in winter the leaves wither and the plant enters dormancy, and by late spring and early summer it begins to sprout and grow again. May to September is the vigorous growth period, fresh and pleasing to the eye, full of tropical flavor, and quite popular.

Caladiums are divided into three categories according to leaf vein color: green-veined, red-veined, and white-veined. Different varieties have different leaf blotches; in addition, the leaves are soft and thin, so their water demand is very high. As temperatures rise and growth speeds up, you need to gradually increase both the frequency and amount of watering.

When caladiums are exposed to strong light, they easily develop black spots and are less likely to bloom, so placement is very important. The most suitable spot is one with good air circulation and scattered light. Note here that caladiums, like Alocasia macrorrhizos, are "beautiful but poisonous" members of the Araceae family; the underground swollen tuber is flattened and spherical, and toxic. They must never be eaten; if swallowed by mistake, the throat and tongue become numb.

Dracaena marginata 'Tricolor' - The stems are just so alluring and bewitching

Dracaena marginata 'Tricolor' is a shrub in the Agavaceae family, with green centers to the leaves and purplish-red stripes along the edges; it grows upright and can reach a height of about five chi. Among the slender leaves, those growing upward are new leaves, while old leaves droop down on all sides. Dracaena marginata blooms with white-yellow or red-purple flowers, but they are very hard to see.

Dracaena marginata is suited to temperatures of 20°C -28°C; above 30°C or below 5°C will affect its normal growth. It needs constant moisture; when the potting soil dries out, yellowing and withered leaves appear, so water must be replenished in time. It is suitable for planting in a mix of peat and leaf mold; it does not grow easily in alkaline soil and tends to develop pale yellow leaves.

Croton - Unpredictable, simply baffling

Croton is the foliage plant species with the greatest variation in color and shape in nature. Its colors are so changeable because the leaves contain large amounts of anthocyanins and carotenoids; under repeated alternation of high and low temperatures, chlorophyll gradually decomposes while anthocyanins and carotenoids accumulate, and the leaves gradually turn red and yellow. The higher the anthocyanin content in the leaves, the redder the leaves.

As the leaves are exposed to sunlight, subtle changes occur every day. The leaf veins change from light green to silvery white and golden yellow; the undersides of the leaves change from dark green to orange-red, and then to deep red. If you look closely at the leaf colors - tender green, light green, dark green, pale yellow, golden yellow, orange-yellow, silver-gray, silvery white, silver spots, pale red, deep red, purple-red - it is like a painter's palette.

Croton also has the typical characteristics of Euphorbiaceae plants: the stem sap is milky white and toxic. It was once said that the sap of oleander, crown-of-thorns, and croton is carcinogenic. After testing, this was refuted: substances with tumor-promoting effects can be detected in these plants, but their content in the plants is not high, and they do not volatilize into the air. Only accidental ingestion can show tumor-promoting activity, and tumor promotion is not the same as carcinogenesis.

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