Forum home Plants

Wild euphorbia?

CopperdogCopperdog Posts: 547
My daughter has fair clump and spreading patch of euphorbia which at first I was thinking we should keep but now I’m just not so sure 🤔 please help x

Posts

  • B3B3 Posts: 25,241
    It can brighten up the garden in spring, but don't let it spread by seeds of runners.
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • bédébédé Posts: 2,585
    Amagdaloides. I have it and it seeds about. I have tried to fix the annual species but so far I have failed.
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
  • CopperdogCopperdog Posts: 547
    The tanks @B3 I can see it is kind of spreading so should we just chop out what we don’t want? Do we cut the flower heads off to prevent seeding? Do we take the whole bract off? 
  • B3B3 Posts: 25,241
    edited 25 May
    Cutting off the bracts will do that. You need to dig out the ones you don't want. They don't go deep. I cut the flower stems down to base. It looks neater
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • CopperdogCopperdog Posts: 547
    Thanks @B3 should we cut the flower stems down now? Then does it just produce green leaves for the rest of the season? Does it disappear in winter? 
  • PlantmindedPlantminded Posts: 2,283
    edited 25 May
    Euphorbia amygdaloides is evergreen @Copperdog, one of the best plants for difficult areas like dry shade. You can remove the flowers when they start to fade but I leave them.  The plants are easy to uproot by hand but I let them spread where nothing else thrives as I prefer to see green leaves than dry soil! Just be aware that the milky sap can be a skin irritant to some.  Don’t let that put you off, it seems to keep slugs away too!
    Wirral. Sandy, free draining soil.
  • B3B3 Posts: 25,241
    It's evergreen. Cut the stems when you like but straight after flowering if you don't want it to spread. Don't rub your eyes if you've touched the sap. It's really painful😖
    In London. Keen but lazy.
Sign In or Register to comment.