What a cool plant. How old is your speciment Baja?

One of my favorites. This is a seedling I have had for maybe 5-6 years. They are pretty fast, and this one has outgrown its container (10 inches). I'm thinking it might be time soon to put it in the ground and set it free.

Wonder what it will do once set free.

Hopefully grow many more heads.

I look forward to seeing photos of a much more mature E. flanaganii.

Grown to perfection too!

Too much light and the whole plant turns purple and gets stunted. I tried that (the mother of this plant, who is no more, was growing in full sun). Here she is in one of her finer moments.



Too little light and the arms grow long and scraggly. You can see a couple examples of this habit in the database pictures. The plant needs some sun to stay compact.

So I have kept it in a place which gets 50% shade protection for some/most of the day. The red highlights are a sign it's getting enough light. I have the feeling it may shrink up quite a bit after I put it in the ground in full sun, but hopefully not too much.

Here is the same plant (I think, it could be a sibling) from the early days after germination, to put the adults in some perspective.

Thanks for the photos and all of the information, Baja. I've never tried this one but will have to get it now.

Love hearing about how to grow them.

Gosh, Baja, are you sure you want to set this Euphorbia flanaganii free? It is one of the best grown I have ever seen! Why not pot it bigger and keep it going as is. I could NEVER put it in full sun in the ground here. It would roast it. But I suppose with your cool ocean nights it has time to recover by morning. You so inspire me!

You're so sweet, Nancy.

Well, I did think about putting it in a bigger pot, but the next size up (12") would not work. The plant would fit, hanging over the edges, but the overhang would prevent me from filling in around it. And a bigger pot than that would be beyond my limits, size-wise. I have a bad back so try to pay some attention to the size of my pots. Very special exceptions only on the high end.

I don't think it will shrivel into nothing when it makes the big move, though. Container life in full sun is way harder than life in the ground in full sun, what with the roots being baked by the pot as it warms up in the sun. I have actually saved a few plants which were dying of sunstroke in pots just by putting them into the ground, with the same exposure. So I'm hopeful this will all work out in the end. I'm waiting for the fall when the light is kinder and there is some rain on the horizon to plant it in the garden.

For what it's worth, this plant seems to be a different beast entirely when it's grown in AZ. The amount of protection you have to provide to keep it from heatstroke is enough to stretch everything out pretty good. Our climate allows way more exposure.