Pruning euphorbia resinifera safely
kavirako
11 years ago
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mrlike2u
11 years agoRelated Discussions
Is this euphorbia?
Comments (14)Euphorbia is one of the largest genus of plants on the planet and includes both hardy, tropical (and/or semi-) as well as succulent/cactus species. To uniformly consider them all as toxic or with the same degree of toxicity is one of those persistent gardening myths. Hardy euphorbs - like the characias referred to in this post - are not very toxic if ingested.....in fact, you would need to eat a bushel full of the stuff to cause much harm. As with all things potentially toxic, dosage is everything! The latex or sap is caustic however, and could burn or blister your mouth or any mucus membranes it came into contact with long before any other harm would come to you. I would have NO concerns about growing this plant with small kids or pets as long as they were not inclined to rip things out of the garden. And even contact dermatitis is restricted to those who are sensitive to this effect - I grew multiple species of euphorbs for many years and never once had them raise a rash or any sort of skin irritation. Rosie, these Mediterranean species want very good drainage - excessively wet soils at any time of year will cause issue. That is no doubt why yours are looking unhappy. Since these get to be pretty hefty plants, I would recommend planting the seedlings individually, giving them plenty of room to fill in (average size for wulfenii is 4-5' by 4-5'). And you could transplant them now if you tend to stay on the drier side over winter. Otherwise I might wait until spring......or whenever your drier season is in GA :-) Just wear garden gloves when you cut these plants back and don't wipe your face - you'll be fine. No need to make a bigger production out of them than necessary :-) They could sure gum up my pruner blades but other than that, no worries!...See MoreLets see those Euphorbias!!!
Comments (141)E. Knuthii had branches that use to look like this early season .... but now they look like this.. Moving right along( sort of slowly) E. Larkspinsis is making freasher arm progress by cutting 3 -4 of the lankier droopy arms per season While talking about some do overs here is an E. greenyii that was nearly drowning when adopted. I'll admit it this one is kind of small for a E. lactea creasted variegate You ought to see the mother that this had been plucked from while admitting I am kind of hoarding that one. You've seen this one before on your thread from others as it finally gets some colors. And why is there a seniceo on a Euphorbia thread Well... as you did ask for a succulent and..... technically Euphorbia are a spurge.. A bit of show and tell from you too perhaps ? How are yours doing ?...See MoreEuphorbia Toxicity.
Comments (20)"The hospital I went to had no idea it could cause harm." Then I'd have to question the quality and knowledge of the hospital and its staff. Euphorbia latex is well known to be a rather caustic substance and can seriously affect and/or damage any mucous membranes....and that would include eyes! Yes, they are on sale without warnings because euphorbias are only one of countless dozens of plants that possess allergic contact dermatological properties. And as noted above, they affect different people differently and different species of euphorbia can have greater or lesser dermatological properties. But plants that have contact dermatological properties are only the tip of iceberg when it comes to plant toxicity........more plants have toxic properties than those that do not. And that includes a lot of very commonly grown garden ornamentals. As well as a number of edibles. Fortunately for most of us, we have grown up knowing what parts you should eat and what parts not to eat. But someone somewhere long ago had to figure it out first and that was most likely through trial and error. In some cases, a fatal error :-) And to get really basic, there is a certain degree of personal responsibility involved here in that knowing what you are growing and how toxic/invasive/aggressive it might be is something that should be considered or researched before including in your garden or bringing into your home. The onus is really on you....See MoreEuphorbia Misera, slightly bonsai-ed
Comments (14)What color are the cyathia of E. californica and E. misera? I bought one labeled as misera at the San Gabriel Valley sale a few weeks ago. It just bloomed with yellow cyathia, but from what I've read, misera is supposed to be white. Can these be variable? Also, it appears to be in a pure gravel (not pumice) mixture that has probably compacted. It drains *very* slowly. I am going to take the pure pumice (and synthetic fertilizer) plunge with whatever plants I can, and am wondering if this would be a good candidate, or if it needs something that holds even less water than pumice. I know this plant comes from coastal cliffs, so it doesn't need much in the way of organics... Caudex: I think the composition needs that branch to stay balanced, unless you go for a more drastic windswept or cascade look. Its just too bad that branch isn't coming off the central stem!...See Morekavirako
11 years agokaren8252
8 years agorina_Ontario,Canada 5a
8 years ago
Joshua King
7 years agocactusmcharris, interior BC Z4/5
7 years agoGlenda Neaton
3 years agolast modified: 3 years ago
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