Euphorbia characias – Succulent plants

Euphorbia characias (Mediterranean spurge) is an ornamental evergreen shrub growing to 1.2 m tall. It has many woolly stems and characteristic black or dark brown nectar glands in the cyathia, which are borne in dense spherical clusters, from spring to early summer. The leaves are linear, blue-green, up to 15 cm long and arranged spirally along the stems. The fruits are smooth capsules. It is a tough plant, capable of resisting long periods of drought. This plant can also resist high salinity.

Benefits:
Euphorbia characias has used in traditional medicine, like many other species of genus Euphorbia its toxic white and sticky sap has been used to treat skin excrescences, like cancers, tumors, and warts, since ancient times.

Scientific classification:

Family: Euphorbiaceae
Subfamily: Euphorbioideae
Tribe: Euphorbieae
Subtribe: Euphorbiinae
Genus: Euphorbia

Scientific Name: Euphorbia characias
Synonyms: Characias purpurea, Esula characias, Euphorbia cretica, Euphorbia cuatrecasasii, Euphorbia eriocarpa, Euphorbia lycia, Euphorbia melapetala, Euphorbia messeniaca, Euphorbia rubens, Euphorbia sibthorpii, Euphorbia veneta, Euphorbia wulfenii, Galarhoeus creticus, Tithymalus characias, Tithymalus melapetalus, Tithymalus purpureus, Tithymalus serotina, Tithymalus sibthorpii, Tithymalus venetus, Tithymalus wulfenii.
Common Names: Mediterranean spurge or Albanian spurge.

How to grow and maintain Euphorbia characias:

Light:
It prefers full to partial sunlight. Provides good sunlight at least 3-5 hours of the day, and turn it regularly so that your plant doesn’t begin to grow lopsided.

Soil:
It grows well in well-draining, gritty soils or cactus potting mix. They are not particular about soil pH, but they cannot tolerate wet soil.

Water:
You can allow the soil to dry out between each watering. Before watering the plant check underneath the pot through the drainage holes to see if the roots are dry. If so then add some water. Do not water too often to prevent overwatering, that can potentially kill it off.

Temperature:
It prefers an optimal temperatures of 60 degrees Fahrenheit – 85 degrees Fahrenheit / 16 degrees Celsius to 29 degrees Celsius.

Fertilizer:
Fertilize every two weeks with a diluted balanced liquid fertilizer during its growing season in the spring and summer. Avoid fertilizing your plant during the fall and winter months.

Propagation:
Euphorbia can be easily propagated by cuttings. Take cutting in spring, which needs to be dried out for a couple of weeks before potting. Also can be propagated from seed, but they can be difficult to germinate.

Pests and Diseases:
Euphorbia may be susceptible to mealybugs, scale insects, occasionally spider mites.