I have a pencil cactus that is almost 1 year old. Started from a small starter plant. I've nurtured it so that it is now about 12 inches tall. I would like to get it to thicken up. Do I merely prune it until it does? Also, I live in Dallas and so far the plant has been indoors in a clay pot. Will it survive the summer heat? Thanks.
I think that the pencil cactus (or euphorbia turicalli ) need partial sun to fair indirect light and she is a very carefree plant....
unfortunately cactus don't thicken up if they are meant to be thin then thats the way they stay. If you want a thicker more robust cactus try buying a "barrel" cactus or an even better challenge..grow your own, its fun & not too hard.
The main stem of a pencil cactus will grow thicker with age, but I don't know if pruning side branches will promote enlarged growth of the main stem. My mom has one that's almost 4' tall with a nice central "trunk" a couple inches around.
There seems to be an inordinate number of posts regarding "pencil cactus". I rarely use common names (to avoid confusion amongst plant names) so maybe that's my downfall in this situation. So...what is the botanical name for this "pencil cactus"? TIA (thanks in advance).
I started my Euphorbia tirucalli about 7 yrs ago. All parts thicken up as it ages & it does like the heat. I have mine on the south side of my house in zone 11, California. Here it is in '99: Grown a bit by '00: Here it is in '01: The trunk in '04: Whole plant in '04: Again in '05: I guess my message here is...patience! :D (I thought I was inserting thumbnails. Whoops~guess not. Need to go READ instructions somewhere...later! So put back to reg size now-I hope!)
"All cacti are succulents, but not all succulents are cacti." How the spines grow determines whether plant is one or the other.
Hey Rosemarie where did you get this particular pencil cactus? It looks like ones I have seen in Africa, more so than in America.
Oh wow...resurrection of an almost year-old post! :D I'm pretty sure I got it from another Little League (baseball) mom about 10 yrs ago, here in San Diego. Lucky you to have seen these in Africa!