Euphorbia milii - Crown of Thorns
Euphorbia milii will grow to 4-5 feet in full sun near the coast or with some protection for inland gardens The Crown of Thorns is often used as a houseplant where it prefers strong indirect light. Euphorbia milii requires decent drainage. The Crown of Thorns can be induced to bloom by leaving the plant a little dry and then watering it again. Euphorbia milii is often pretty close to free flowering in our gardens. The flowers are pretty insignificant on Euphorbia milii but the bracts that surround these floweers are both long lasting and showy. Euphorbia milii varieties come with red, white, pink or yellow flowers and bracts. Euphorbia milii plants start from cuttings fairly easily. The sap is mildly poisonous and may cause a rash. The sap is pretty sticky so handling with gloves saves a lot of cleanup. Euphorbia milii plants are Winter hardy with a light frost but will lose all foliage and flowers. I try to only plant them in nearly frost free gardens as it takes awhile for them to recover from frost and they look rather depressing when reduced to prickly sticks.
Pink flowers of Euphorbia milii - Crown of Thorns. High resolution photos are part of our garden image collection.
Plants from the Euphorbia Genus featured on this site:
Euphorbia amygdaloides robbiae * Wood Spurge
Euphorbia Ascot Rainbow * Martin's Spurge
Euphorbia Blackbird * Blackbird Spurge
Euphorbia characias wulfenii * Mediterrenean Spurge
Euphorbia cotinifolia * Caribbean Copper Plant
Euphorbia cyathophora * Fire on the Mountain, Painted Leaf
Euphorbia leucodendron * Cat Tails Euphorbia
Euphorbia mammillaris variegata * Variegated Indian Corn Cob
Euphorbia milii * Crown of Thorns
Euphorbia myrsinites * Myrtle Spurge
Euphorbia Royal Velvet * Royal Velvet Spurge
Euphorbia Tasmanian Tiger * Tasmanian Tiger Variegated Spurge
Euphorbia tirucalli Sticks on Fire * Red Pencil Tree
Euphorbia xanti * Baja Spurge