Jill I have some small cuttings that have been rooted, if you would like some! God Bless You Treva

Look for a better quality cactus mix. I grow a great many different plants from SA including succulents, cacti and bulbs and grasses all in containers as many are not winter hardy and cactus mix (or a similar product) is what I use. If you cannot locate a good mix - I use one provided by our wholesale growers called 'aloe mix', then check out the gritty mix recipes referred to on the Container Gardening forum. This will work perfectly. You do not need to fine tune the soils that specifically - as long as they are durable and fast draining, they will work for the vast majority of these plants just fine. What is of much greater consequence is the proper pH and fertilization. A fair number of SA plants are very fussy about fertilization and will not tolerate much phosphorus.

Most importantly is the plant inside against the wall all the time? This Euphorbia Ammak is a large growing tree and needs bright sunlight to maintain itself. Soil looks to be dry but they should be in a gritter mix to increase drainage. Is the brown spots mussy or soft, and/or smells funny. It is possible that it is still okay. Needs better living conditions. Turning brown or black is sometimes part of growing this white ammak. If you must cut, Use a sharp knife and cut across where there is no rot and only good stem. Have a spray bottle of cold water to spray the white latex sap. Sap is toxic and a skin irritant and wash right after cutting it. If you get any in your eyes, wash out with tons of water then go to the hospital for treatment. Let the cut heal and dry for a few days before planting in pure grit or perlite. It takes almost a year for new roots to form. No water can be taken up till it grows new roots. Google 'cutting my euphorbia ammak' for videos and more instructions.

Thank you so much for your fast replies, it is truly appreciated. Yes it has been repotted a few times throughout the past 3 years. I was actually planning on repotting it this weekend. I'm now curious to see if rootbound is the "problem", as it has been the dormant period, but maybe it's waking up now :-) I just thought it was odd that new leaves would start developing at the top and then half way grown they just curl up and die, and then new leaves started again and same thing happened, half way through they curled up and died... I also noticed today that some of the grown leaves have tiny tiny dry holes on them.