The Difference is in the Flowers

Here are the flowers of a Euphorbia flanaganii and an Euphorbia esculenta - I can use these to positively identify the plants that I grew from seed (but didn't segregate).

And I recently repotted this Euphorbia gorgonis - it looks like it is doing better now!  Whew!

Trimming the Big Euphorbias

First off - I know I have been delinquent in posting - life happens and when juggling priorities, blogging is one of the first things to drop off.  I haven't been ignoring my plants though - so I'll try to catch up here with the progress made.

I recently decided to trim up the Euphorbia esculenta and Euphorbia flanaganii that I have had growing (for a little less than two years with me).

I have been reluctant to do this because I didn't know how much I could cut off in a single session without throwing the plant into distress (past the point of no return).  With the cuttings and seedlings I have to back up the parent plant, I figured I'd work on the flanaganii first.

Using a super sharp xacto knife and finding a place to start, I cut my way through the lower arms up to a point that I thought would produce an aesthetic result.

It didn't take as long as I thought, so I decided to go ahead and trim up the esculenta.

There was a lot of sap lost, but several days after the trimming, both plants are doing well!  So don't be afraid to trim your medusa headed Euphorbias.

Seedlings and Cuttings (Euphorbia esculenta and flanaganii - and maybe globosa and gorgonis)

I know these two came from the globosa and gorgonis (or something else - but not the flanaganii or esculenta).

And these seedlings are getting settled in their new pots.

Last but certainly not least - these cuttings are really plumping up

Repotted the Euphorbia flanaganii/esculenta Seedlings

The central heads on these four plants were putting on some girth and height.  I figured it was time to get them in a bigger pot.

I'll post an update on how these are filling in a month or so from now.

Euphorbia esculenta in Flower

This one is popping!!!  I had started to think it might be time to give this plant a big trim to accentuate the caudex.  I guess I'll wait until this flowering is finished.

Plants Going to the CSSH Plant Show

Here are my entrees into this year's CSSH Plant Show

Trichocereus huascha cristata

Portulaca molokiniensis

Euphorbia obesa x globosa

Haworthia truncata "Lime Green"

Gasteria glomerata

Euphorbia esculenta

Four of the six are in pots I made over the course of this past year.  Should be fun!!!

From Around the Garden - April 26, 2017

New growth on the Pachypodium brevicaule Euphorbia esculenta male flowers

More of the big (for me) Euphorbia esculenta

I was looking back at some pictures of this plant shortly after I received it (mail order) last year. It has grown significantly and is more lush and green than ever before. I'll dig those up and update this post so you can see the difference. In the meantime, here are some close ups of the central growth point (mainly so I can compare growth later this year). Definitely one of my favorite plants!

Euphorbia esculenta Seeds

I was able to collect four seed pods from my Euphorbia esculenta. And I got them planted today. I think these have a higher germination rate if the seeds are planted right away.

Well That Didn't Take Long...

The Euphorbia esculenta and flanaganii seeds I sowed are popping out already. I water these every day to keep the soil moist and they get direct sun for several hours. And while I'm on the topic, the cuttings I took from the parent E. flanaganii are also doing well. And an update - these were taken about a week after the initial set above. More popped out from the one (I can't remember if they are the E. esculenta or the E. flanaganii....)

Planting Seeds - Jatropha podagrica, Euphorbia esculenta, Euphorbia flanaganii

I was able to harvest the seeds from the Jatropha podagrica pods that I picked up a couple of weeks ago. Previously any pods that I was able to keep an eye on produced only one seed - both of these pods had three! So I got the itch to dig out the seeds from last year and plant them all. First up were the Jatropha. I had six from the 2 recent pods, and 2 more seeds from last year. Next I planted 17 Euphorbia flanaganii seeds. PICTURE INSERTED TOMORROW The last round was 19 Euphorbia esculenta seeds. We'll see what happens over the next several weeks.

Euphorbia esculenta Flowering Again

Lots of rain last night and today - and these flowers popped out just like that in response. I used Black Gold Cactus and Succulent Mix when I potted this last year. It offers good drainage, but has more organics when used alone than what I've been using lately - but this plant seems to like it. If it rains anymore though, I'll start to get a little worried. This plant just keeps getting nicer and nicer!!! I've been contemplating making a pot for this plant, but I am not getting an image in my mind... for now it'll stay put.