I am new to the website and at being a cactus owner. But i do love them and have always wanted one. I was given this cactus today and would like to know what kind it is and how it should be cared for. Is it an indoor or outdoor plant? Should I repot it? Should the two be separated? Will those brown spots go away? Does that mean its too dry, or too wet? How do I get it to propogate? It seems top heavy to me, is this normal? Is it healthy? Is there such a thing as cactus food?? Thanks for helping, I want to be sure I do the right thing for this plant. The original owner said she had it for quiet some time. I would hate to make it die on my watch. Toni
G'day Toni, welcome to the site : ) It looks like you have an Euphorbia trigona. Mine has the brown on it also, but I don't worry too much about it. I basically have mine outside and do nothing to it. But I am in subtropical and I am unsure of our climate. Someone else will have better info than I, but at least thats a start. Oh and make sure you don't get any of the sap on your hands, eyes or mouth!! Ed
i agree with ed on the id. and what a beautiful specimen!! this is not something that will survive outside in the winter in nj. you can, certainly, put it outside for the warm summer months, though! you'll need to 'harden' it off - that just means you need to ease it outside over the course of a couple of weeks so that it adjusts from the inside heat and lighting to the outside heat and brighter light. in fall, you'll need to do the same gradual move back inside. the brown spots look a bit like it's been sunburned - which, surprisingly, can even happen when a plant is kept inside. even with the coating that is on most windows, there can still be quite bright light that will burn plants that aren't given a chance to slowly adjust to brighter light conditions. and, the angle of the sun is much lower in winter and the positioning of some plants by windows does need to be adjusted for that (i've burned quite a few of my succulents in the winter time until i realized what was going on and now i move them mid-winter so they don't get too much sun when it's at the lower angle). what you are seeing is the normal growth pattern. and, yes, it can seem a bit top-heavy. you can easily propogate!! just cut off a piece; let it callous over for a week or two and then plant it. don't water it yet, though! let it sit in the dry soil for a week and then water it. normal watering for a plant this size should be every 2-3 weeks...water throroughly and let the soil dry out very, very well before rewatering. this is a succulent and it stores water, so it doesn't need frequent watering. also, soil that is kept too moist can cause the roots to rot. the soil should be a very well-draining mix. when cutting, be aware that the sap can be an irritant. if it gets on your hands, do NOT touch any areas of your face - most especially the eyes, nose, mouth!! and you'll want to wash the sap off with soap/water as soon as you can. if any gets on your clothes - make sure you don't bump into anything (furniture, countertop, etc) and remove and wash the clothes to remove the sap.
Holding a damp paper towel, or cloth, on any cuts you may make for 10-15 seconds, will stop the sap from flowing or dripping all over the place.
And for Euphorb sap, Alcohol is a better wash than soap and water. It's a non-water-soluble latex that these plants exude, and Vodka (or the Ecuadorian equivalent, Aguardiente) is about the only thing I've found that will take it off.
Aguardiente? Hmm. I know agua means water, and I think diente could mean tooth. Just guessing here, but does Aguardiente literally mean, 'toothed-water', or 'water with fangs'? :) How poetic. I thought 'fire water' was funny.
And if you've ever taken a shot of Aguardiente, you'd know that the name is not cute, but incredibly apt. True Aguardientes in Ecuador start at 40% alcohol by volume and go up from there. I like it for engine degreaser, and to remove Euphorbia sap. For Toni - mine all look topheavy like that; when I'm concerned about them falling over I generally just top and propagate in the manner that Joclyn described above. Yours looks pretty healthy.
