I Love to Multi-Task
Perennial Of The Week: Euphorbia/Spurge
Multi-tasking Euphorbia (Spurge) features captivating textures and brilliant colors on a range of plants that grow in low clumps, stand tall, or trail over the ground. With the right mix of Euphorbia varieties, your garden will be a showplace from spring through fall, and even into the winter.
Drought-tolerant Euphorbia works its magic in sunny locations — even in poor soil. These are great perennials for those who have limited time to water their garden. This series of prized ornamental plants features pleasing foliage and clusters of tiny cup-shaped flowers. Each flower head looks like one large blossom, but each diminutive Euphorbia flower is either male or female (stamen or pistil), and does not have petals, sepals, or other standard flower parts.
Euphorbia’s milky sap is distasteful to deer, groundhogs, rabbits and other herbivores, making these plants highly animal-resistant
Our team of growers just brought several varieties of Euphorbia down from our greenhouses. Choose from Ascot Rainbow, Bonfire, Polychroma, Jade Dragon, Golden Glory, Myrsinites, and Palustris. You’ll find them in our signature terra cotta pots that bear the Rohsler’s Grown logo.
Ascot Rainbow features gorgeous variegated foliage and blossoms. Each bloom includes a tiny deep red center. Place this variety of Euphorbia in full sun. It will ultimately grow to 20” high.
Golden Glory (Euphorbia amygdaloides) reaches 20”. Choose this type of Euphorbia and enjoy dark foliage with chartreuse flowers during the summer followed by dark red foliage in winter and early spring.
Polychroma, also called Cushion Spurge, grows 12-18” tall. As its name suggests, this variety brings multiple colors to the garden, beginning with its showy clusters of sulfur-colored bracts and culminating with its green foliage that turn deep red as the season progresses.
Bonfire, another type of Cushion Spurge, “burns” brightly as its greenery transforms itself into shades of dark red, orange, and purple! Did we mention the flowers? Bonfire produces yellow flowers and chartreuse bracts. In addition to being perfectly happy in dry, sunny locations, Bonfire self-seeds.
Jade Dragon grows up to 36” tall and blooms from spring through summer. Expect golden bracts with ruby-colored “eyes” and deep green foliage brushed with burgundy.
Myrsinites is also called Donkeytail Spurge or Myrtle Spurge, and features blue-green, succulent-like foliage that will happily settle into a rock garden or cascade over a garden wall. This plant reaches 6-12” in height, and thrills gardeners with wreaths of green flowers and yellow bracts.
Palustris is known as Marsh Spurge or Bog Spurge, as it enjoys a bit more water than its relatives. This variety will grow in medium to wet conditions, although established plants will tolerate some dryness. Palustris reaches 24-36” and produces wide clusters of green blooms and yellow-green bracts. Savvy gardeners select this plant for its fall color, since its leaves turn a stunning orange-red come autumn.
Stop by Rohsler’s today to start (or enhance) your Euphorbia collection. We’ll see you soon!
