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Hardy Euphorbias - Part 2

© Marge Talt

There's a hardy Euphorbia for just about every garden and every garden situation, from dry and sunny with sharp drainage to cool, shady places. There's even at least one that prefers damp soil. They range from short, sprawling plants to shrub substitutes, reaching several feet tall and wide. Many are evergreen, lighting up the garden even in winter. Given the kind of situation they prefer, they are very undemanding plants, asking only for their spent flower heads and stems to be removed. You can even leave them, the plants won't mind, but they do tend to look messy after they brown off.

For Really Sharp Drainage

The foliage of E. myrsinites goes beyond blue to silver, in the sun. New foliage stands at attention, reflecting so much sunlight that it's hard to get a good photo of it. This species really wants all the sun you can give it, although it will tolerate less than perfect conditions. My plants get at least three or four hours of direct sun.

This is also a plant that absolutely wants sharp drainage. In my garden - pre sand bed - the only place it would grow for me and last more than a year was the gravel driveway. It seems to be loving my sand bed. In every other place I've tried to put it, it languishes for a season and fades away.

E. myrsinites is another of the evergreen species, providing foliage interest all year around. It's particularly effective backed by a darker green leaf; evergreen shrubs are perfect foils. This is one of the hardier species, being rated to at least USDA zone 5. It's also the earliest to bloom, starting in March, in my garden.

This photo was taken rather late in the blooming period when the flowers have started to fade a bit. During their height, they are a bright yellow. You can see that this species shares the trait of sprawling flowering stems; it makes a good draper over the edge of a raised bed or wall..

As with most of the species, flowering stems need to be removed as they fade. If you don't want seedlings popping up here and there, cut them back as the seedpods start to form. Otherwise, I wait until they get on my nerves and then remove them. I always like euphorb seedlings - they replace the rather short-lived parents and are good for giving to friends or adding to other spots in the garden.

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