Alaska News

Crown of thorns the perfect plant for some of us

I know this is the season of the poinsettia, Euphorbia pulcherrima. Their colorful red, pink and white bracts have become part of the Christmas identity.

There is another Euphorbia, however, crown of thorns, Euphorbia milii, which is every bit as symbolic as the poinsettia but will also continue to throw off new bracts and blooms throughout the year.

Somewhere along the line you've seen a crown of thorns, perhaps in the window of a barber shop or a dry cleaning store, someplace where it doesn't get much care. A potted plant might have three or four spiny stems. At the top of each are a handful of oblong, dark green leaves.

Rising above the leaves are flower stems, two or three per stem and each with up to half a dozen or so half-inch catcher's mitt-shaped flowers and bracts. These are usually red, orange or yellow. Recently, breeders have developed other combinations, including a candy-cane, splotched red and white, and white with a green and pink pattern.

With flowering stalks this time of year, each a riot of color, you would think crown of thorns would be as popular as their larger-bract cousins, the poinsettias. Perhaps it is the spines on the stems which prevent crown of thorns from becoming as popular at Christmas. These thorns are very real, but don't let them intimidate you. Crown of thorns are very easy to grow and make terrific houseplants.

First of all, crown of thorns can take it warm and dry, perfect for a lot of places in the Alaska home. Crown of thorns like it 75 degrees and resent it if you water before the top inch of soil is dry. (In our house, this equates to a soaking once every two or three weeks). Too much water will cause the roots to rot and the stems to melt. For this reason make sure your soil has plenty of sand or perlite to facilitate drainage when you do water.

Crown of thorns will do better if you provide a bit of supplemental light in the winter. They will survive through the winter without, though they may not bloom as much. We have had one crown of thorns for more than 25 years that does get light and it always has a few blooms, though it does out do itself in the dead of winter.

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These are shrubs in warmer climates and in the right size container can reach three and even four feet. Still, a 2-foot plant can grow in a 6-inch pot and it is even possible to grow the same plant in a 2-inch pot for its entire life. They adapt to the size of their containers.

I let all the dead leaves decay on the soil surface and replace the top inch or so of soil with some compost once or twice a year, but honestly, other than a hit of tea every now and then, and watering a couple of times a month, our crown of thorns thrives on neglect. Yours will too.

It is possible to take cuttings from crown of thorns plants and a good idea since they live forever and make great pass-on-to-the-next-generation plants. Obviously you have to watch the thorns but you need to take 2- and 3-inch cuttings from any stem.

You can use outdoor pruners to avoid the spines. Set cuttings in slightly moist sand or perlite. Roots will appear in about a month, and you can then pot up your new plants.

If you want to prune your crown of thorns, that is possible as well. You should get some branching as a result and it is possible to prune very low to the trunks of your stems to reshape a plant.

Remember, however, crown of thorns grow slowly so prune judiciously.

You can often find Euphorbia Milii in grocery stores and box stores as well as local nurseries. Christmas and Easter, as you might expect given the popular name for the plant, are the best times to look.

Anytime you see some, however, they are worth the buy. Crown of thorns make great flowering houseplants any time of year.

Jeff Lowenfels is a member of the Garden Writers Hall of Fame. You can reach him at home.gci.net/~jeff/gardener or by joining the "Garden Party" radio show from 10 a.m. to noon, Saturdays on KBYR AM-700.

JEFF LOWENFELS

GARDENING

Jeff Lowenfels

Jeff Lowenfels has written a weekly gardening column for the ADN for more than 45 years. His columns won the 2022 gold medal at the Garden Communicators International conference. He is the author of a series of books on organic gardening available at Amazon and elsewhere. He co-hosts the "Teaming With Microbes" podcast.

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