Subject: Re: Euphorbia characias wulfenii

From: [email-masked] (OkieDeb)
Date: 24 Mar 1995 22:07:00 -0500

I planted 3 euphorbia characias wulfenii (sp?) plant ordered from Wayside
Gardens last spring.  One died (as always happs when I plant 3 of
anything) and the other two are no great shakes.  The pictures all show
4-foot billowy beauties and mine are 1 foot scraggly little things.  

What am I doing wrong?  Why don't mine look like the one's in the garden
in Howard's End?

Any tips would be appreciated.

Debby Porter, Norman, OK   zone 7

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From: "Sean A. O'Hara" <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 28 Mar 95 16:41:59 PDT

> From: [email-masked] (OkieDeb)
> Newsgroups: rec.gardens
> Subject: Re: Euphorbia characias wulfenii
> Date: 24 Mar 1995 22:07:00 -0500

Debby - 

All of our Euphorbia characias are still blooming away right now, here in
the S.F. Bay Area.  I've been growing these for some time and they do
become larger over time.  I've grown some in pots and they can get spindly
and scraggly at time when grown that way.  I suspect that yours are not
getting enough water or perhaps the soil is in poor shape?

These plants don't really demand perfect garden conditions, but they do
indeed respond to reasonable care.  They will take a heavy soil so long as
it is well amended and heavily mulched.  Sandy soils I have less experience
with concerning this plant, but I suspect that they would also enjoy some
good amendments and definitely good mulching.  Drainage is seldom a problem
here in the arid west (except, perhaps this last month of record rainfall!),
but perhaps that might also be a problem.  These are mediterranean plants
and prefer good drainage, so if you're getting a fair amount of rain and
the soil is not draining well, replant these guys 'high' (i.e. on a slight
'mound' of soil)), or otherwise solve that problem.  My plants get afternoon
sun which seems to suit them fine.  I wonder if the OK sun is fiercer than
ours and the might warrant some light shade?  I have a friend who grows the
E. characias characias form (see below) in a fair amount of shade, and hers
get rather large and 'snakes' through other shrubs to marvelous effect - and
it does bloom as well.

Euphorbias are some of my favorite plants, and this species and its forms
are quite wonderful for gardens locally.  Here is my understanding of the
various forms:

Euphorbia characias characias - not as intense in coloration as the others,
    the foliage being a slightly softer grey green, and the flowers being 
    an apple green with a plum-brom 'eye' (actually the real flower, the
    'flower' we see is a set of colored leaf bracts).  The flower spikes are
    tall columnar spikes, often 'heavy' (fatter) at the top.

E. characias wulfenii - More intensely blue-grey in foliage, perhaps more
    compact or densly leafy.  The flowers (bracts) are a clearer chartreuse
    color whic his set off well by the bluer foliage.  This form still has 
    the columnar spikes, and may sometimes have a plum 'eye' (real flower).

E. characias wulfenii sibthorpii - All over even 'more so' - the foliage is
    dense and bluer grey, the flowers are rich, bright chartreuse and held
    in densly globular heads rather than the spikes of the others (these
    heads often seem to 'fasciate' at the tips - i.e. become 'fan' or
    'cocks-comb' like).

I grow all three and enjoy their distinct differences.  I know of a garden
not far from mine where the middle form has self seeded around (common) and
there are several variant forms which I'm evaluating for potential.

If any of the above advice is unclear, let me know.  Otherwise I hope you
have more success with your plants.  I've found that it takes a year or
two to get enough size to bloom really well, but it's always good to make
sure you're doing things right!  If you really have a failure, I might be 
able to send you a few seeds to help start over.

There are a number of other interesting Euphorbias for the garden that are
also worth considering - perhaps one of them will be more appropriate for
your garden.
 
 H O R T U L U S   A P T U S  ('gardens', 'suited to their purpose')
 Sean A. O'Hara
 710 Jean Street, Oakland, CA  94610-1459        [email-masked]
 (510) 987-0577

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From: Scott Drake <[email-masked]>
Date: 31 Mar 1995 02:52:51 GMT

> Debby Porter, Norman, OK   zone 7

I guess I won't feel so bad, I'm in zone 6 and mine look the same.
I bought one euphorbia from Wayside and two locally (all planted 
together in the same spot.) The one from
Wayside actually bloomed this spring, but doesn't billow. The two I 
bought from a local nursery, did far worse, oddly enough. Anyway, 
I hear they are sort of short-lived and more of a mediterranean kind
of plant, so maybe they just don't care for our climate.

Robin, not Scott