This may finally be “the one”… after two other Euphorbia rigida died sad deaths this, my third, looks like it’s going to make it. I placed it here…
…under the Rhododendron (which is trimmed up further off the ground than it looks like in these photos) so I could see it from the house (since it’s an early spring bloomer) and to give it a little shelter from the elements. It still gets lots of sun and it’s on a bit of a slope to help with drainage.
From the Xera Plants website: For spring bloom nothing can match the piercing and vivid chartreuse green flowers that appear on this perennial from March and remain effective to May. Blue green symmetrical foliage on trailing stems to 2' tall and spreading a bit wider. Full sun and well drained soil with little water once established. Extremely tolerant of drought. May reseed itself in open disturbed soil. The seedlings are easy to spot and dispatch.
While the chartreuse blooms (the flowers above are from last spring) are reason enough to grow this plant, the foliage is what I love. A similar Euphorbia, which I also grow, E. myrsinites tends to get a little leggy; in my experience this plant stays more compact.
The stats:
- Full to partial sun in well drained soil
- Hardy in zones 7a – 11
- Eventual size 2ft tall x 2 – 3 ft wide
- Like all Euphorbia it contains a milky sap that can be highly irritating to your skin and potentially damaging to your eyes. Exercise caution!
