Crown of Thorns - Euphorbia milii
At this time of year people start thinking about Euphorbia pulcherrima commonly known as the Poinsettia.There are, however, many other nice Euphorbias and one of them is Euphorbia milii - Crown of Thorns.
I wanted to talk about this plant because it's not as well known as the Poinsettia, and because it can be very showy with these bright pink bracts nearly all year long.
It's a nice little evergreen, and I grow mine as a houseplant. They can get up to 4 feet eventually with about 1 foot spread.
Bract colors can vary and come in yellow, red, and orange. They grow great in a container and are tolerant of salty soils, so if you live at the beach, you could grow this outdoors.
It tends to like very little water so let it dry out between waterings. It does well in full sun to partial shade, but mine likes it in the house in very bright light with some direct sun in the afternoon.
Do be careful around this plant though, it does have some pretty big thorns all along its stem, thus its name. As long as you're careful you'll not have any problems.
So if you haven't tried one, try Crown of Thorns and give the Poinsettia a run for its money this season!
posted by Hilary @ 2:46 PM
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25 Comments:
Like your comments. Are questions OK? I have a nice plant, in the house, in bright light, etc. It is now getting pretty rangy. I like the compactness of the one shown in your photo. Is pruning OK? How and how much? Can cuttings be rooted? How big? Will appreciate your info.
Hi Bob,
Good to hear from you, questions are always OK!
Here are some tips I think should answer all your questions:
Pruning:
Pruning is best done during cool, dry weather to lessen the risk of stem disease, so I would wait until the spring. Since you are in California however, and we're not getting a ton of rain right now, you're probably OK doing it now, just be careful. Since it grows so slowly you won't have to prune it more than every 2 or 3 years, but Crown of Thorns will not only tolerate as much pruning as you want to give it, but it will actually become a much shapelier plant as a result of it. I have cut mine back to a stump in the spring and by mid-summer it is full and beautiful. Just make sure to give it a lot of light after cutting back so the new growth stays stocky and compact. To start you can take off a 1/3 up to 2/3rds of growth.
A Word of Caution - if you don't already know this - as a Euphorbia, Crown of Thorns will bleed white sap when cut, which can be irritating to the skin to some people (I personally have never been bothered), so you may chose to wear gloves, and be sure to keep your hands away from your face until you've had a chance to wash well; better safe than sorry.
A Good Tip - When cutting, have a mister handy to mist the cut ends of the remaining plant (it will help stop the sap bleeding)
Propagation:
Since Crown of Thorns is a semi-succulent shrub, you can treat it very similarly to cacti.
Crown of Thorns is usually propagated from tip cuttings. Remove 3 inch (7.6 cm) stem tips. Place the cut end in water until the flow of sap stops. As soon as the sap stops bleeding, take it out of the water (don't let it sit in there too long, it will rot) and allow the cuttings to dry for a 3 or 4 days. When a callus has developed, dip the ends in rotting hormone and place in a well-drained rooting mix. A good mix is a 1 : 1 : 1 ratio of sand, perlite and peat. Keep the mix slightly moist, but never wet. This Euphorbia doesn't like a lot of water. They will be rooted in 20 to 30 days and you can plant them out.
Maintenance:
Crown of Thorns is drought tolerant, so when they are established, allow the top 1 inch of soil to dry out between waterings. It is very important not to over water, especially if the daytime temperatures are below 75 degrees F (23.89 C). Around the middle of May and the middle of October, apply a light complete, slow release fertilizer, like a 15-15-15.
I think that covers all your questions. Good luck, and let me know how it goes!
I rooted a cutting, just like you said. This was from my great grandmother's plant which was dying and I had trully panicked, so thank you!
It is doing well now, and is 5.5 inches tall, with 13 healthy leaves on the top 2 inches.
Now I am wondering -- Should I cut back this cutting a little bit to encourage side growth? Or will it just naturally grow side shoots without pruning?
Jan
Hi Janette!
I'm glad you were so successful. It can make you nervous when it is a plant you really care about!
The one problem with this plant is that it tends to develop long stems unless you prune it regularly to keep it branching out.
I've had a crown of thorns plant for several years. It started as a single stem in a small pot. By taking a tip cutting, I caused it to begin branching. This plant is now nicely branched.
You can cut these back severely (most times of the year except winter) to have them grow in more full and lush.
I tend to cut mine back when they get too tall and they recover just fine.
I hope this helps.
Hilary
Mine hasn't bloomed in several months. I'm in Texas, ouside of Houston. I just moved it inside due to cooler weather arriving. Can I fertilize it and get it to bloom.
I have a question about two cuttings a friend gave to me from her plant which is 35 years old. She cut these in Nov., and they have been in water ever since. They have beautiful leaves, one is even blooming, but no roots.
Should I proceed as you have described, cut a little off the bottom, dry it out for 1-2 days, dip in rooting hormone, and plant or???
I appreciate any help you can give me!
Ben
Hi Ben,
Good question. Since the cuttings are growing and doing well, I would treat them almost like a regular plant even though they have no roots at this time.
I would take them out, give them a fresh cut, just as you said, and then follow the rest of the instructions as written.
These are tough plants, and the cuttings you have sound nice and and healthy, and will do just fine.
Have a great day!
Do you water a Crown of Thorns from the top or the bottom? Also,
do they like to be root bound or should they have plenty of space to spread out?
Diane
My crown of thorns is very tolerant. I can water if from above or below and it doesn't matter. I do however, keep the leaves fairly dry. Even though I have never had a problem with mildew on the leaves, why tempt fate?
As for the roots. I have a terribly rootbound crown of thorns, and another out in the garden where the roots have plenty of space, and both are doing great with healthy leaves and lots of flowers.
They are tough plants and it really takes some effort for them not to do well!
Hope this answers your questions.
We have just moved to Florida and planted crown of thorns in our lanai. They look beautiful. Just wondering how to fertilize them.
Hi,
It's hard to see all the information sometimes, but if you read the above comments, I go over propagation, care, and maintenance tips.
Here is it is again, hope this helps!
Maintenance:
Crown of Thorns is drought tolerant, so when they are established, allow the top 1 inch of soil to dry out between waterings. It is very important not to over water, especially if the daytime temperatures are below 75 degrees F (23.89 C). Around the middle of May and the middle of October, apply a light complete, slow release fertilizer, like a 15-15-15.
I've been looking for a euphorbia milii for a long time, and I finally purchased one today. However, I noticed in the store that some of the bracts look sooty with their yellow centers rotting out. All of the plants looked like this, and I chalked it up to over-watering. My question is - is this a problem I can fix, or should I return my plant post haste? Thanks for your help!
Hi Jean,
Sounds to me like you bought a sick plant.
I would return it at once and ask the store to order you a fresh plant if they don't have one in stock.
No plant, when you initially buy it, should look sick or cause you to think that something is wrong with it.
Without seeing the plant, it's hard to say what's wrong. The bottom line is, why should you have to fix a problem that the store started? You shouldn't!
Return it and start with a fresh healthy plant.
Good luck!
hi, i bought a crown of thorns from home depot and it was doing well for the first month or so. but recently, i noticed the leaves on the plant were dying one by one from bottom to top.
i water the plant once a day in the morning...around 6-7 am it is in my balcony where it gets a good amount of sunlight everyday.
my plant is almost completely dead!! please help!!!
Hilary,
Just wanted to say thanks. I was looking online to find out about how to make my crown of thorn more bushy/branched. It is quite hearty but only has three main stalks. I will try cutting it back to allow it to grow more branches. Your advice on maintaining the plant is very helpful.
And from personal experience, when I rooted my plant from my mothers I just stuck the cuttings directly in water and they all developed great root systems. Then I later moved them to potting soil. Very easy plant to grow.
Thanks so much for the note, I'm so glad you found the information helpful.
Also, thanks for mentioning how you root your cuttings in water. It's great to have hear about how other people succussfully work with their plants!
One thing I have learned, there is always another way!
Hi Heog,
Well, it sounds like you are overwatering your plant.
Crown of Thorns, is a Euphorbia and they are drought tolerant plants. They simply don't like a lot of water.
My advice is to stop watering everyday and allow the plant to dry out between waterings.
In the care and maintenance section above where I give specifics, I do mention:
Crown of Thorns is drought tolerant, so when they are established, allow the top 1 inch (2.5 cm) of soil to dry out between waterings. It is very important not to over water, especially if the daytime temperatures are below 75 degrees F (23.89 C). Around the middle of May and the middle of October, apply a light complete, slow release fertilizer, like a 15-15-15.
For more care and maintenance tips, read the above entry addressed to Bob, I think it's the second one from the top.
Good question, and good luck!
Hello! I hope you can help me! I inherited my mother's 20+ year old Crown of Thorns plant when she passed away four years ago. Early this spring our cats started pulling dirt out of the pot. My husband put (what we now know were too many!) small rocks on the soil to discourage them. I kept watering as always and after a while the plant really looked terrible and we discovered it was SWIMMING in water! AUGH!!! We removed the rocks and cut way back on watering, but it looks to be dying. HELP!!!! Any advice would be sooo welcome! Thank you!!
Hi Sue,
Sounds like you are on the right track.
Allow the soil to dry out as you have been and keep an eye on it.
If the plant continues to look bad, you can follow the instructions I have listed above and take cuttings from your plant and start new ones.
I understand the emotional issue at stake here, but the good news is that the new cuttings will still be the same plant that was your mother's, you will just have more of them.
Good luck!
I bought a Crown of Thorns 3 days ago. I have never taken care of a plant like this, so I was wondering about a couple of things. I read your care instructions, but I don't revall anything about how much sunlight it should have. I live in central Texas, so is it okay to put outside right now?
Hi,
Good question! Crown of Thorns like a warmer climate, and if grown outdoors, they can get frost damage if the temperature drops below 28° F (-2° C).
They do well with full sun, but in very hot climates like Pheonix Arizona and Central Texas, it's best to give them afternoon shade.
Indoors, give them bright light, but not direct sun.
Hope this helps!
I don't know if this is the proper place, and if not maybe someone can point me in the right direction.
I have a crown of thorns which I have grown from 3" tall to its current 24 1/2'
I has flourished in my kitchen window, but is now too tall.
All of the flowers and leaves are on the top 1/3 of the plant, and I would like to cut it back to a more manageable size.
I would like to know how much I can safely prune it back?
Any help you can give me would be greatly appreciated.
Linda O
opfermanl@yahoo.com
Hi Linda,
You are in the right place and this is a good question.
I just cut one of my Crown of Thorns back quite heavily (down to about 6 inches (15 cm) and it is doing just fine.
There are 2 things I would do since yours is so tall:
1. I would take cuttings as I outline in previous posts above
2. Then I would go ahead and cut the rest of the plant back to the size and shape you want.
I did this with one mine recently and the pruning forced new growth from the base of the plant as well as along the stems.
It took a while, but it did grow back and is looking nice and full again.
Good luck and let me know how it goes.
Can someone tell me if they have ever heard that the crown of thorns plant carries a cancer causing virus. I have a beautiful plant and my neighbor just told me that she read in a health magazine about this virus. Chris
Hi Chris,
I would love to know which magazine she read that in and could give me a few more specifics.
As far as I know that is not true, and she may have mixed up the Crown of Thorns Starfish that is causing some viral problems with coral plants.
I think you're safe.
The only other ornamental plant that I know of that is cancer related is Vinca (Catharanthus roseus) which has alkaloids in it that actually helps fight cancer.
Let me know if your neighbor can give more information, because I would love to know.
Thanks for your note!
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