Big fat spurge refusing to cooperate!

Been coveting one of these for a number of months: Euphorbia Characias
It lives wild in a garden in my road, and grows out across the pavement. A few times, I’ve taken sly cuttings from the pavement side of their fence as I‘ve walked past the house, but they all promptly die! I've tried leaving the stem in water, planting it in wet soil, planting it in dryish soil, sandy soil, root hormone... to no avail! The damn plant just doesn't want to come and live with me!

Any suggestions?

 

Air layering is suggested by Hartmann & Kester, as well as green cuttings under mist. A rooting compound containing both IBA and NAA is also said to help. Proper misting is sometimes difficult to maintain for a DIY propagator, so you may wish to try a covered tray or plastic tent to maintain the high humidity levels required to prevent dessication.

Ralph

 

I have literally thousands of seeds and I would be happy to send some to you. Joe

 

Wow, seeds would be great! I live in the UK, so how would that work? Do you want money for them?

Layering and misting sound complicated... sounds good, but complicated... I'm a beginner!

 

Hi, I don't think that it is a problem for me to send seeds to the UK. I do not want any money for them. They germinate at a steady 75 degrees Fahrenheit and do not appear to have any dormancy. It is getting quite late in the year but you could try some now and some in the spring. If you send me your mailing address via private message I will send you some. I also have Euphorbia myrsinites and Euphorbia griffithii if you wish. Joe

 

Excellent! And thanks again... Do they need a lot of light to grow? Otherwise, I have a good airing cupboard? ;-)

 

Yes, they do require a lot of light to grow. I am leaving this afternoon for about a week, I will be available after that to help you out, Joe

 

We have a large Euphorbia "Summer icicles" in our garden this year from seed. Didn't raealize they were quite so prolific. Hoping to collect some seeds from the flowers when they ripen. Is there anything special I should watch out for when collecting my own Euphorbia seeds?

Also have been searching online seed catalogues for Euphorbia griffithii 'Fireglow' or 'Dixter' but have had no luck. Does anyone know where in Canada someone may have either of these for sale.

I find the Euphorbias (all of them) quite facscinating and would like to add a few more to our flower beds next year

 

Dear Vernon Greenthumb,
Fireglow is sold regularly at many of the lower mainland nursery outlets. (i.e.Gardenworks ??) The variety is wonderful and tough as nails. I'm up to my 8th kind of euphorbia - guess I'm a collector now, but I've yet to park $20 on the desk for a 'Tasmainian Tiger' variety. Anyone know how well they perform?
Anne

 

I have rooted three different varieties of euphorbia, including Euphorbia characias and Euphorbia griffithii 'Fireglow', without any problems. I treated these cuttings as if they were succulents - i.e., I allowed the cut end to dry up and "heal" for a few days before sticking them into the potting media. I wonder if you might want to try it that way. Use well drained rooting medium - the cuttings rot easily with too much damp and moisture.

But an easier way to get new plants for this species is to scout around the area of the original plant and look for seedlings. It self seeds readily - in fact, in my garden, it is starting to become a bit irritating, near to the point of being weedy. The seedlings can often be found some distance away from the parent plant.