Tropicals > Euphorbia > Euphorbia milii > Euphorbia milii
Euphorbia milii
Crown of Thorns
Origin: Madagascar.
| Family |
| Euphorbiaceae |
| Genus |
| Euphorbia |
| Species |
| milii |
| Category |
| Tropicals |
| Type |
| Shrub (evergreen) |
| USDA Hardiness Zone |
| 12a -12b |
| Canadian Hardiness Zone |
| Requires cool season protection under glass. |
| RHS Hardiness Zone |
| H1b |
| Temperature (°C) |
| 10 - 15 |
| Temperature (°F) |
| 50 - 60 |
| Height |
| 0.3 m - 2 m |
| Spread |
| 46 cm - 90 cm |
Photographs
Cultivars
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Awards
Description and Growing Information
Flowering Period
| General Description |
| A woody, succulent shrub with long stems covered in characteristic thorns, fleshy leaves and small flowers made up of two opposite petal-like bracts. |
| Landscape |
| Borders, rock gardens, specimen or container plant. Useful as a low hedge or edging. Grows well indoors. |
| Cultivation |
| Grow in full sun with dry to medium moisture in well-draining soils. Plants are tolerant of poor soil including dry, rocky and sandy mediums. They have low tolerance to temperatures below 2° C. Wet soils can be fatal, especially in winter. |
| Shape |
| Low mounding to upright. |
| Growth |
| Medium |
| ID Characteristic |
| Wear gloves while handling: thorns are sharp and the latex sap is poisonous. |
| Pests |
| Thrips, scale, mites and mealybugs. Leaf spot, botrytis blight, root and stem rot. |
| Habitat |
| Moist sunny shrublands. |
| Bark/Stem Description |
| Smooth, glabrous stems covered in thorns. |
| Flower/Leaf Bud Description |
| Ovate insignificant flower buds at the apex of solitary flowering stems. |
| Leaf Description |
| Obovate with web-shaped base, fleshy, growing up to 6 cm long. |
| Flower Description |
| True flowers are inconspicuous and lack both sepals and petals. Each is surrounded by a pair of showy bracts which look like petals. |
| Colour Description |
| True flowers are greenish-grey. Bracts come in white, yellow or coral pinkish-red. Deep green leaves, medium green flowering stems. |
| Texture Description |
| Smooth, waxy. |
| Notable Specimens |
| Niagara Parks Botanical Gardens, Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. Centennial Conservatory, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. |
| Propagation |
| Stem cuttings. |
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