The whole plant corral in May 2015.

They all look very happy.

Its a hot spot. Flowerers,plants that need heat to do well and those that need as much sun as possible end up here if I have no room to plant them.
Im still bummed about 'Petra' Its coming back but.. it wont look like last year in one summer.
'Mammy' was fine until we got the longer days and hotter weather..its sprouting everyplace now- but shed 90% of the old leafs. They fell off like THAT.

The hot spots are perfect for all those heat-loving plants!

I'm just impressed that your Croton 'Petra' survived the winter. I never got a Croton to survive one winter outside when I lived in the Bay Area.

I just dug out two small crotons from the from the front yard which have been there for 3 years or so. I couldn't give them enough water and they were looking bad. My large crotons in the big pot I can keep better watered...so, it's looking excellent. My Croton 'Mammy' lost a lot of leaves a month or so ago. It dried out too much...that's what happens if they get too dry. Croton is not a drought-tolerant plant here in San Diego.