How to Landscape With Euphorbia

Many Euphorbia produce attractive flowers that enhance the spring and summer garden.

Euphorbia is a family of plants with approximately 2,000 members. They bear the rather unattractive common name of spurge. There are numerous species to grow in the home interior, but only approximately 100 that are suitable for the landscape. Euphorbia are native to Madagascar and Africa, and are generally drought-resistant and require a full-sun situation. There are ground cover--type Euphorbia; trailing; and upright, shrubby plants in the family. Many Euphorbia are hardy to about 50 degrees Fahrenheit, although some species can survive even lower temperatures for brief periods of time in sheltered locations. Euphorbia have such a range of shapes, sizes, colors and flowers that there is a plant for almost every garden.

Things You'll Need

• Shovel
• Water
• Grit or sand
• Gloves

Instructions

1. Check the drainage in any area where you will be planting Euphorbia. Dig a 1-foot-deep trench and fill it with water. Allow it to drain and fill it again. If it drains in two to four hours, the soil is fine, but if it is still wet, add 4 inches of grit or sand. Work the grit into the soil to a depth of 12 inches.

2. Choose a sunny location for most Euphorbia. Milky spurge is a creeping plant with long, low stems that may be used in a rockery, cascading over the edge. It can also act as a ground cover when it is planted en masse.

3. Wear gloves when handling Euphorbia, as they have a toxic sap that bothers some people. Wood spurge, or E. amygdaloides, is a mound-forming plant that is hardy in cold and snowy winters. It has purple-tinged round leaves and bright yellow early spring flowers. It is a good ground cover for dry, shady areas.

4. Plant Euphorbia dulcis as a purple, almost chocolate brown, shrub in the summer. It starts out a fresh, lively green in the spring and darkens as it matures. The plant is easy to cut back and is useful as an accent plant in a mixed border or perennial garden.

5. Use Snow-on-the-Mountain, or Euphorbia marginata variegata, as a border plant that has superior hardiness. The leaves have a white tinge on the edges, and the plant can get up to 3 feet tall. It is useful as a specimen in containers or as part of an annual bed.

6. Create a visual impact when you plant E. griffithii 'Dixter.' This is an orange-flowering spurge with purple-orange shoots, red stems and bronze foliage. The plant will tend to spread but is easy to keep in check by pulling the volunteers. The vibrant colors will accent any sunny garden bed. Plant a series of these for a low-growing informal hedge.

References

• National Public Radio - Ketzel Levine's Talking Plants; Euphorbia; Ketzel Levine
• University of Palomar; The Euphorbia Family - Euphorbiaceae; W.P. Armstrong
• University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture; Myrtle Spurge - Euphorbia Myrsinites; Gerald Klingaman; June 2007
• Backyard Gardener: Euphorbia-Spurge