Hardy Euphorbias - Part 1 - Page 5

Supposedly, you can propagate by seed, cuttings, root cuttings or division. I've only tried seed. I have read that if you want to divide, you need to use young plants. I can verify that the older the plant, the less success you will have digging it up to move it around, much less divide it. They develop thick tap roots which resent disturbance. I think one would need to pick a young (two year old from seed, at most) plant and then cut it back hard to force it to make new growth or die. This would be the only way to achieve a continuation of a particular named plant, but seed is much the easiest way to increase your stand.

Seed requires double cold stratification with warm periods at the start and in between. I originally started mine inside on heat and then did the refrigerator gambit; now, if I wanted to start some, I'd sow in summer and leave them outside for the winter; letting Mother Nature take care of the temperature variations. The seedlings are very similar to E. a. purpurea; reddish stems with two blue-green oval leaves on top.

A couple of cultivars are out there on the market; crosses between E. a. purpurea and E. characias. One is Euphorbia 'Jade Dragon (pictured here), the Dan Heims - Terra Nova Nurseries introduction I told you about in my article about Digging Dog Nursery. The other is E. x martini, a natural hybrid who is variable and may resemble either of its parents. The flowers really do look like a cross; color and form resembling E. a. purpurea with the dark "eye" of E. characias. Both of these are still on my wish list.

Next time, I'll tell you about some more hardy euphorbs I grow and some I don't. See ya' later!

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