Seeking advice on this plant. Planted large drift of these euphorbias last Spring. Lost many of them, perhaps due to overwatering (they turned yellow and limp and were unrecoverable). Replanted euphorbias with less emitters and they did well through winter, flowering with beautiful chartreuse flowers. Now the problems are that there are few new shoots (tips of some shoots have turned dry and brown) and the leaves at base of mature stems are turning yellow. I love this plant and do not want to give up. Any tips on growing healthy euphorbias of this sub-species would be appreciated.
The attached picture of Euphorbia characias wulfenii was taken May 25, 2003 at Dartshill Garden Park. It receives no special care, and litlle if any supplemental moisture.
Hi PLH: What abouts are you located? What kind of soil are you growing these in? How much sunlight are these plants getting? Have you fertilized these? If so, how often and when have they been fertilized? Can you give me an idea as to how many emitters are you using for each plant and how much water is the drip system giving off? How long are you watering and how many days a week are you watering? Does your planting bed have standing water in it for any length of time? Did any of these plants start turning yellow in the leaves relatively soon after you planted them? The dead plants, was the plant tissue hard and crispy or yellowish-brown, limp and quite soft to the touch? Growing these here can be vastly different than growing these Euphorbias in British Columbia. If you can answer the above questions, I might be able to help you. Jim
euphorbias Mr. Shep, Thank you for your reply. I was actually out in my garden looking at my euphorbias. Background: we live in Mill Valley, CA (Mediterrean climate I am told). The initial euphorbias were planted by a landscape designer as part of our landscape project last May. They were then on 2 emitters/1 galloon each, and in my enthusiasm of having my own garden I additionally watered them pretty regularly. I thought more water was better and it was hot. They grew fast and within a few months turned yellow and limp, and we lost all of them (probably about 10/1 galloon size plants). They were replaced; they were planted higher in the soil and with only 1 emitter (I forget the schedule then). This batch did well and looked stunningly beautiful throughout the winter (quite a bit of rain here and irrigation system turned off) and flowered. In the Spring I fertilized with fish emulsion, and the flowers were still beautiful. A few months ago I lost three more plants, with them turning yellow and limp and even if I cut off the bad branches, they were not recoverable. These three were subsequently replanted. More recently I noticed that the new shoots had brown tips and few leaves. Some of the lower leaves on the mature stems were turning yellow and falling off. Yesterday I cut off the remaining flowers (probably too late) with the hope that this will stimulate new shoots. I have not refertilized. As to the environment, the plants are on a hillside with full sun exposure; the original soil (fairly clay packed) was prepared by the landscaper by taking away much and adding new soil/nutrients. The hillside has different kinds of plants on the same irrigation system, with varying water needs adjusted by number of emitters or hand watering. At this point, I just want to stop this pattern of losing them. They are so beautiful when they are healthy! I am very attentive to my plants, although I am still learning ... albeit quickly. Any tips based on the foregoing euphorbia story would be appreciated. Pam (PLH)
Hi Pam: < More recently I noticed that the new shoots had brown tips and few leaves. > Can you show me a pic of the shoots having brown tips and few leaves? If not, then do the leaves seem smaller in size in comparison to the rest of the leaves and do the leaves on the tips fall off rather easily when touched? Did the one gallon plants from the nursery have a lot of sand in the soil mix? Was there quite a bit of sand used in the planting mix when the Euphorbias were initially and subsequently planted? Was there a lot of humus applied to the top of the soil prior to planting and what kind of humus was it? Give me an idea as to the wetness of the soil, I am interested in knowing how wet is the soil around the root ball and have you detected any unusual order emanating from the roots when the dead plants were pulled out of the ground? With your location you should not need a lot of water for your Euphorbias. One thing you have to learn is that we kill these plants with too much kindness. We tend to over water them and if we do not over water them, we tend to over feed them. In your case the latter does not apply but the over watering might. Most Euphorbias are quite drought tolerant and really do not need to be fertilized much at all. I am interested in knowing what your soil medium is of the plants as they came from the nursery and I would like to know how the clay soil was set up for planting of the Euphorbias. I'll tell you why I want to know after I know more about the soil amendments for your planting bed and know more about the soil composition of the soil mix of the plants from the nursery. What, if any, kind of plants or vegetation did the original planting bed have just prior to the Euphorbias being planted there? At this point I cannot say that over watering is your main issue but it may have lead to another issue which can kill your plants in a selective fashion. You really do not need to use any Nitrogen for these plants at your location with your climate. Fish emulsion and I do not get along as I would use a granulated or liquid 0-10-10 fertilizer for most ornamentals rather than use a 5-1-1 liquid fertilizer any day of the week. You should have had ample nutrients with the soil amendments such as a planting mix or humus. If a mushroom compost was used as a soil preparation then we might very well have our culprit when too much water has been applied. Jim
euphorbias Jim, Thank you for your interest in my euphorbia situation. I do not know composition of the soil amendments used in preparation, or whether any sand was added to the euphorbia containers prior to planting. There are no unusual odors, and there is no pooling of water. There was only old, naturally existing brush on the hill before we landscaped. However, this weekend I visited a new nursery and got some advice, including getting a water meter. The readings around the base of the euphorbias were dry to moist, and not wet. I have cut off all the old flowering stems, and the young shoots with brown tips. I think I am on the right track and plan to persevere. As a novice, I plan to put in the requisite time to understand my garden. Pam (PLH)
Hi Pam: With the sand question I wanted to rule out nematodes as an agent of the plants distress. The soil amendment questions were designed for me to know if the soil may have been a host for a fungus attacking your Euphorbias. By your admission there may have been too much water applied at one time could be true and it may not be the problem also. Here we have to water these when they are young and we apply more water than a standard emitter will yield. I know of areas along the coast that get by with very little water near where you are and in Santa Barbara they will provide almost the same amount of water as we use when these plants are young. When the plants are about three years old we can hold back on the water but for you the amount of water your emitters are putting out should be enough for you. I know of a person that has this same Euphorbia as well as Euphorbia lathyris in a nearby foothill area that floods his plants with a hose once a week and has had no ill effects for several years that I know of. I wanted to know if the plants that you purchased may have been the problem all along or as I sensed with your answer about the color of the plant as it was dying and the texture of the plant that you may have had a root rotting fungus hitting you which could have been enhanced by too much water but could have hit your plants regardless of how much water you had been applying. As long as the roots are not wet much of the time and you allow the roots to dry out some before the next application of water you should be okay but that is based on my not knowing the soil amendments that were originally used. The fish emulsion fertilizer should not have been anything for you to worry about. I know in your area that mushroom compost has been used a lot and without proper heat sterilization can harbor a fungus disease to come about that can cause a wilting of the plant and its subsequent death. It may be triggered by water but it is not the amount of water applied that is the problem, it is more so when the water was applied; as morning applied water will be less harmful for you than evening applications of water can be. Anytime you see a browning of the tops I suggest you snip them off. Right now you want to develop a root system and pruning your Euphorbias after they bloom, cutting off the spent flower heads, will help promote root growth and will in time force the plant to develop new shoots for you. Once these plants establish themselves they should do okay for you. If the problem you have been having persists then I suggest you contact me again through this thread. Either the plants you are buying have a problem with them or there is something in your soil that is killing your plants. Best regards, Jim
