Does anyone know about euphorbia tirucalli aka fire sticks? Mine are not looking too healthy. They are this weird pale green color and have these pock marks on them. They get bright indirect sunlight and full sun for part of the day.

The one in the large pot is another plant and is more healthy overall but starting to have the same problem.

Are those marks depressions or are they flat? Can you take the tip of a flathead screwdriver (e.g.) and scrape them off? I have no idea really, but wondering if it might be some sort of scale insect.

needrain said: Are those marks depressions or are they flat? Can you take the tip of a flathead screwdriver (e.g.) and scrape them off? I have no idea really, but wondering if it might be some sort of scale insect.

Shouldnt affect euphorbia I think. Toxic latex seems to peak insect deterrent, right after what pachypodium and asclepiads seem to sport. Whatever adenium and everything else has, not so much.
I expect bacterial and fungal, but could be sunburn related. Plant is stress pale and such.

Any chance of a recent change in orientation or shift in light exposure?

Also how frequently do you water them and how long have they been in those pots?

skopjecollection said: Shouldnt affect euphorbia I think. Toxic latex seems to peak insect deterrent, right after what pachypodium and asclepiads seem to sport. Whatever adenium and everything else has, not so much.
I expect bacterial and fungal, but could be sunburn related. Plant is stress pale and such.

You'd think so . But rats - not field mice, rats as big as tree squirrels - didn't mind eating my tirucalli. Almost half of a big plant. Those varmints are really hard to control and the propensity for the squirrels and other things chewing on my plants was one of the big reasons I wanted the tirucalli. Thought it might make them avoid the container plants. Didn't work. Also, grasshoppers have chewed on the medusa type Euphorbia. Where I had it last year nearly half the arms were dripping white latex where they were chewing on it. Relocated the plant and it stopped. The medusa was also the plant that got a bad case of of scale. Also hard to get rid of. An Opuntia was the only other plant here that's had scale. That was 2-3 years ago and repeated, regular use of insecticidal soap eventually eliminated it. The grasshoppers have done major damage to a couple of my cacti this year, but I no longer use the one chemical that worked. Not sure if I can even acquire it anymore. Certainly what I see in the photo doesn't exactly look like scale except for the size and spacing. I'd also wonder about chemical damage. Some plants can be really sensitive to things like that and aerosols drift and settle a ways from where it may be sprayed initially.

My Euphorbia leucadendron have similar markings too this summer. I surmised it was a combination of sunburn and fungal issues. I was underwatering it earlier as well, and forgot to consider the heat is bearing down on it, I should have moved it to a more part shade area, but well, damage is there now. So I just stepped up watering and directly spraying the entire plant every morning.

So the markings has now become its battle scar. Actually in my area, I really stepped up watering..been watering daily..and it made good improvement on my succulents.

Heat is just too much, got to help cool down the plants. Maybe next season, I will move it to shade. Live and learn..

I've quit turning my E. tirucalli plants because rotating them causes burning. They are in the sun all day and the shady side gets burned if the plant is turned.

Thank you everyone for your responses. For some reason, I do not receive email notifications even though it is on in my settings. I had no clue there were replies. Apologies for being almost one year late to respond! 🤦🏻‍♀️ I only came back to this website because I'm still having this problem. After reading all the comments, I believe it could be a fungal issue and possibly because I don't water them enough. We also had a rough winter here in Northern California with flooding and cold, wet rainstorms.

They plant has also been in the pot for 5-6 years so maybe it's root bound? Not sure if they like that but it'll be a chore to remove as it seems pretty tightly grown in there.