ritchie's spurge

order: malpighiales
family: euphorbiaceae
genus: euphorbia
species: ritchiei

First Story

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10 august 2013

Finally another post of a spurge, a new spurge in my collection. I call it golem because of its look, but really you can call it Ritchie's spurge, because a guy called Ritchie must have been the first person to have found it. This spurge grows pretty fast and likes to branch out everywhere. For all I've observed for the 2 months it's been with me, those branches are short and fat. They bear succulent leaves but drop them if it's too hot. As I bought it, it was in a small round plastic pot which was pressed into oval shape by several emerging basal shoots. I had to act immediately and repotted it in fear that those young shoots could be damaged from too much pressure. There's a hexagonal ceramic pot that's lying vacant somewhere in the garden, so it's now the new home for this spurge. It looks a little bit oversized at the moment, but I'm pretty sure that in no time, this golem is going to be in need of an even bigger home.

Update

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26 april 2016

pot has become too small. right before transplant.

It's been nearly 3 years! I didn't realise this spurge has been with me for this long until I started to write this update. Talking about "long"... Its main stem has become so long that my visitors have been complaining about it being vulgar. This is certainly not what I expected when I got it. After some online research I knew I could expect a rounded cushion with pink flowers all over it, such as this example and this example. But it's just not happening yet.

The plant grew rather fast at the beginning with lots of new basal shoots and some branching. But I had the feeling that growth nearly came to a stand still last year, which is why I decided it's time to transplant it into a bigger pot. I have an exact same hexagonal one, only 3 times as big, that became available recently. So I conveniently made the decision to use it as its future home. During the transplant, I realised the rootball was indeed very small and felt kind of lost in its new home. After gently loosening the twining roots on the surface of the tight rootball, I added a lot of fresh growing medium (as always, good quality, porous mix) around it in order to fill the pot. I hope new roots will fill in and it will regain its vigour soon. When the plant throws out new leaves in the summer, I'll update with another photo.

crown-of-thorns

order: malpighiales
family: euphorbiaceae
genus: euphorbia
species: milii

First Story

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21 april 2012

Crown-of-thorns is a plant I knew as kid. Our neighbour used to have a bush in front of their house. It's a plant that had the same level of popularity as ixora at that time. I must admit that before this I'd never really liked it. After being to botanical gardens in the past year my interest for plants escalated tremendously. From that instant on I already knew that this plant was going to be in my wish list.

Again I got this plant as a discounted item for 0,90 eur. I think the reason the plants were in sales was because it was a low season in winter, where people don't usually go look for plants. But I did. If I had more room at home I'd probably got a dozen more plants.

This plant belongs to the spurge family. In German it's called 'Wolfmilchgewächse' which is literally translated as 'wolf milk plants'. So called probably because these plants contain white sap that can be poisonous if in contact. The genus 'euphorbia' is the most diverse genus in the family and is one of the most diverse in the entire plant kingdom. Like many other spurges, euphorbia milii also have colourful leaf-like bracts surrounding the inflorescence. Its structure is very similar to that of its close relative, poinsettia (euphorbia pulcherrima). Red bracts (other colours exist in both species), small inconspicuous inflorescence, thin green leaves that tend to change colour in response to light exposure. The differences between the two make it even more interesting. That makes one realise how manifold the nature actually is. As the name reveals, crown-of-thorns have got thorns all along its stem. The inflorescence tubes ascend vertically and branch out further at tips. They don't grow towards the light. They just want to grow higher to get attention from fellow pollinators.

It's quite easy to care for this plant. At least I haven't got any big issue with mine up until now. Just let the soil dry out between watering. Bright window sill. Keep above 13 °C to prevent leaves drop. Ideally more than 8 hours direct sunlight daily. Fertilise sparingly in summer as over-fertilising prevents blooming. Trim branches to shape plant in early spring. Spray cut end with cold water to stop bleeding. And be warned again that its sap is poisonous and is lethal to fish.

Update

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31 march 2015

september 2014.

This is the first update after 3 years of growing it. It has grown tremendously during these years and has been potted up 3 times, mainly for the reason that it doesn't topple over easily. The stems have elongated manifold, though there is no branching to be seen nor has there been any new stem. I decided, at least for now, not to prune them back and will just let it grow the way it grows naturally, which is pretty much vertically.

From my experience growing this plant, I can confirm its hustle-free maintenance for which reason it also lends itself to certain degree of neglect. Short periods of drought do it no harm. However I like to water it regularly when it's growing outside in the hot summer sun and frequently feed it with diluted balanced fertiliser, which clearly improves the colour of the leaves and the bracts.

bupleurifolia x susannae spurge

order: malpighiales
family: euphorbiaceae
genus: euphorbia
species: euphorbia bupleurifolia x susannae

First Story

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24 august 2014

I don't know if this plant is ever going to get a common name. I really don't know what to call it. This is another spurge I acquired some time last year before I acquired my E. ritchiei. I had somehow neglected it for a year before I finally took a photo of it. Right now there are many pineapple-looking branches gathering around the main stem. Narrowly oblong leaves are plentiful on top of each pineapple. There isn't much I can say about this plant. I adore it. It's easy to grow. The only care instruction I wrote down is the minimum temperature of 12°C. I found spider mites on it this spring but got rid of them easily. If you want it to grow fast, make sure to water it before the soil gets too dry and feed it with some fertiliser occasionally. I use a cactus fertiliser and it seems to be fine.

ambovombensis spurge

order: malpighiales
family: euphorbiaceae
genus: euphorbia
species: ambovombensis

I'm repeating myself, I know. But let me say it again. I'm an enthusiast of spurges. When I say spurges, I refer to the genus euphorbia, not the entire euphorbiaceae family. There are a good many species in the genus making it one of the most diverse genus in the entire plantae kingdom. The members of this family can have such different looks, and yet at the same time similarity in their growth habit and characteristic.

This spurge has got white spiny trunks above the swollen base. Its leaves are crested at the edges. They are waxy green on the topside and purplish brown on the underside. Bracts are purplish and flowers are yellowish green. The dealer told me to water it no more than once a week. However I've been watering it at least twice a week and it seems to be doing just great. There are new inflorescence coming out. But no new leaves, which I'm still hoping to see.

They seem to do better in partial shade than in direct sunlight. Southeast or southwest windows are best. June til August is the only time they should receive fertiliser once each month. They almost certainly drop their leaves during winter months unless the temperature range is ideal. Minimum should be 12 °C.

poinsettia

order: malpighiales
family: euphorbiaceae
genus: euphorbia
species: pulcherrima

first published on 09.05.2012:

At a friend's flat, there's a poinsettia standing on the window sill in the living room for nearly 2 years. It seems like it's been mostly forgotten, except the few times a month it's given water. During my last visit to her place, I and my friend sat in the living room and observed that the bracts of the plant were turning red. So we began to take a closer look at it and admired how the leaves had shrunk in size as a result of nutrients deprivation. We both agreed that with smaller leaves, the plant suddenly looks more attractive than those that are on sales during Christmas season, which are sometimes seemed as a kitsch. We then set out to hunt down a new plant to start with.

The plant I selected is so small that it fits perfectly into a small bonsai pot. A ficus panda used to be in this pot but it didn't survive the first month itself with me. Whatever the cause could be, I think I wouldn't want to try that plant again.

This plant on the other hand seems to be not as demanding. Since I already know what kind of attention this plant gets at my friend's place, I know what to do with it. Window facing the same direction, i.e. south. Infrequent watering and rare feeding: that's my programme.

The plant is yet to show sign of throwing out new growth. Since I want to skip pruning this year, I'm wondering how long the plant is going to retain its old leaves. I'll keep on updating once there's any change to this plant.

>>Update:

By August 2012 the plant's canopy has put on volume threefold. Old red leaves are still on the plant while new green leaves grow above them, making the plant a reverse of typical poinsettia seen during Christmas season. The size of the leaves didn't shrink down tremendously because the plant drew enough nutrients from the fresh soil I gave it during repotting. However a measurement reduction from 10cm to 7cm is satisfactory. Next year if I repot, I want to use a lean soil.