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Cacti & Succulents

How much does Devil's Backbone need to be watered?

Esther-B, Zone 7a

5 years ago

I bought a Devil's Backbone in bad shape at my local nursery for a couple of dollars, as a "rescue" plant. I put it under artificial lights, repotted it, and it came back nicely. I notice, although it is listed as a succulent, that it needs to be watered every couple of days or the leaves start to look wilty and curled up. So what kind of succulent requires so much water? Just curious.

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Comments (6)

cactusmcharris, interior BC Z4/5
5 years ago
Can you show us a picture of it? I'm not sure if you're talking about a Pedilanthus or something else.
Esther-B, Zone 7a
Original Author
5 years ago
Here. You can see the empty nodes where the curled up dry looking leaves dropped off. I think this is Euphorbia tithymaloides 'Variegatus'. I'd love to know how to get a bushier plant, and why the leaves drop off if I don't water it like every other day.
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That's actually harder to answer than you'd think. Is it sandy soil where water flows right through quickly, leaving it dry? It is clay soil where it just sits there until it evaporates? Is it a loamy soil where it takes a little while to drain through so the plant has time to absorb some, then the soil remains damp? It is windy or fairly sheltered? Frequent winds evaporate more water from the plant and soil, faster, than fewer winds. Is there a lot of hardscape around them, increasing reflected, radiated heat, making them need more water? Or, is the bed they're in surrounded with lawns which reduce the water needs? There are actually several more variables which can affect how much water, how frequently, the plants may need. Can you give more particulars about where they are planted; any walls or sidewalks they may be up against; where you live so we have an idea of your heat/wind/aridity, etc.; soil type; exposure, etc.? Without more information, any suggestions you'll get are shots in the dark and may not be appropriate. Kim
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I have a relatively small one that I've been growing as a houseplant for years. (They're not hardy outdoors where I live, and actually I never knew some people grew them that way! It's amazing that they can get so huge.) On several occasions, I have cut individual stems back to near the crown after they had dropped so many leaves that they looked pretty bare and leggy (which I understand is part of their natural cycle, though for me sometimes dehydration has also been responsible). However, these cut stems have usually not grown back for me. Instead, a bare stump just remains for years (brown sections in photo). I have been able to grow new plants from the cuttings and then plant them in the pot to help fill it in that way (susannconboy, they root in water easily), but I'm wondering why the plant has such trouble growing back from the cut point for me. I have cut off bare stems in the past because my plant seems unable to form new leaves from the places on the stem where they have fallen off, although in the below photo, you can actually see several very small sprouts forming on the stems--this is new for me! I'll be interested to see what happens with them. But sometimes in cases like this in other plants, I've found that the sprouts never develop into full leaves, but just "hang out" indefinitely in an immature state. I'd really like to know more about the "why" of that, too. At this point, all the stems on my plant are so bare that the obvious thing would seem to be to cut them all back to near the crown; however, given my experience, I'm afraid that might mean the death of my plant. I'm thinking that cutting above some of the sprouted sections might be the safer way to go. Thoughts, anyone?
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I picked a varigated one up at Home Depot last fall. They do get pinkish at times. They seem almost maintenance free once established, but will NOT tolerate a hard freeze. That one night it dipped into the 20's in february hammered the poor thing. But the cool thing about them is that since they grow in little sectional pieces, they simply die back to the next section, and grow new branches from there. Now that I have several plants giving it a wind break it should do better this winter. Marcia, I'm in Lake Mary, so if you don't get a cutting from Gary you are welcome to a piece of mine.
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petrushka (7b)
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
just a thought: poinsettia is also Euphorbia and if allowed to dry completely also will drop leaves. just barely moist is what it likes. I read the same about Euphorbia tithymaloides. Although when in ground it behaves more like a real succulent and can tolerate dryness. It is a native FL plant and grows in dry tropical forests in central America. so very hot and high humidity too.

I've seen it growing outside in central FL in great thickets in dappled shade.

if you give it good hot sunny window you can probably water it more.

that said...Poinsettias drop leaves when too wet too - so..a lot depends on how water retentive your soil mix is.

I can easily keep Poinsettia going in self-watering pot, but with half perlite for aeration. I also grow other succulents like Jades and Sansevieria and hawortias on top wicks (wicks inserted around the perimeter of the pot to wick less, as opposed to bottom wicks). my jades drop very few leaves when grown like that. when I don't wick and allow them to get bone dry, that's when they drop most..

so you need to observe and experiment a bit and water very carefully only when at least half the pot is dry.

what sort of mix is it in?
cactusmcharris, interior BC Z4/5
5 years ago
I'd guess that the soil that it's in is the cause - it should be a porous mix, with room for the plant to grow. Perhaps the plant's rootbound?
Esther-B, Zone 7a
Original Author
5 years ago
I think I used a soil especially for succulents and cacti.
cactusmcharris, interior BC Z4/5
5 years ago
That, unfortunately, might be the problem - all C&S soils aren't created equally. BTW, lower leaves drop off, as the plant grows and new leaves are produced.

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