Euphorbia xanti

[Geoff]

love/hate this species... makes a very attractive bush when in flower, but is incredibly invasive (this is the 'mother of thousands of the Euphorbia genus)... though here in Acton I would love if it were invasive... sadly not very cold hardy (down to about 25F is all). This is a twiggy, offsetting, and fairly rapid growing plant that is very adept at shooting its seed dozens of feet from the mother plant. Any garden with this growing well will soon be in need of 'weeding' of this plant

Euphorbia xantyi in full flower May.jpg (195.79 KiB) Viewed 2433 times

Euphorbia xantii still in full flower 4-16 H.jpg (156.11 KiB) Viewed 2433 times

Euphorbia xantii flowering smaller.jpg (287.05 KiB) Viewed 2433 times

Euphorbia xanti in flower white 3-16.jpg (202.37 KiB) Viewed 2433 times

Euphorbia xanti pink flowers on Agave shot H.jpg (75.1 KiB) Viewed 2433 times

Euphorbia xantii cyathia.jpg (52.55 KiB) Viewed 2433 times

[Geoff]

Euphorbia xanti flowers May.jpg (76 KiB) Viewed 2430 times

Euphorbia xanti colors in flowers 3-16.jpg (90.25 KiB) Viewed 2430 times

Euphorbia xanti flower shot again 2015 Feb.jpg (151.59 KiB) Viewed 2430 times

not so ornamental when not in full flower... and can get messy-weedy, like here in the Huntington Gardens

Euphorbia xanti huge bush H.jpg (158.81 KiB) Viewed 2430 times

[Viegener]

Yes, very self-seeding here in LA. Nice plant though, the flowers are really colorful. Not too hard to pull seedlings, though gloves are advisable.

[mcvansoest]

Agree on the love/hate sentiment. I grow it here in Mesa and I like the plant especially when in flower. Surprisingly drought tolerant - just drops its leaves - is on the same watering regime as the Agaves, Aloes, and Cacti. The weeding has started for me, trying to keep it from crowding out a Tacoma stans 'Fireballs' and keep it from spreading among the Agaves, Aloes, and Cacti - that is where the dislike comes from, grows tall and dense enough to form a hedge if you let it.

As Viegener writes: Easy to weed, and also takes pruning without issue, but beware the sap, it has been pretty much harmless to me, but it affects everyone differently.

[Geoff]

Plant foliage in late fall/early winter making it harder to realize it's a Euphorbia

Euphorbia xanti another shot with leaves and no leaves 12-17.jpg (146.44 KiB) Viewed 2336 times

Euphorbia xanti in full leaf 12-17.jpg (140.81 KiB) Viewed 2336 times

[Viegener]

The minute you break a stem & see the white sap you know it's a euphorbia. I'm slowly clearing all of them from my yard. They end up looking too scrappy.