Devil's backbone loosing all its leaves

by Teresa
(Nashville Arkansas )

Euphorbia tithymaloides

My plant was at my school doing great. I brought it home and put it in same spot it has been in for past 4 years for summer. But it has lost almost all it leaves and the stems are not as firm. Please help.

Comments for Devil's backbone loosing all its leaves

Click here to add your own comments

May 05, 2019

Change
by: Jacki Cammidge, Certified Horticulturist

Plants hate change. They prefer to be in the same place, not moved around to different conditions, even if at one time they were in those conditions.

Euphorbia do tend to have leaf drop seasonally. This is most likely what happened - you moved the plant right at the time it was getting ready to lose the leaves anyway, and it just pushed it up a little.

My advice? Don't water it until it starts to grow more leaves. I don't know if the change to the stem is significant or not, but overwatering it now will push it over the edge.

Click here to add your own comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to Ask the Horticulturist.