My Poor Euphorbia

by Nick
(Dallas, TX, USA)

Euphorbia. A term I just learned thanks to some app my wife found for identifying plants. I pruned a limb once that looked sick. Wondered about the little whites substance. Wish I would have known it was poisonous . Luckily no harm done.

The plant was a gift to us a few years back and it sat inside as three little nubs in a small vase. It clearly wasn’t getting enough light for the beginning of its life as it never grew. You can see where one of the stalks sprung out at a weird angle from the original height we received it.

The growth happened when we finally moved it to a window in our town home that got light. (DUH). Two years ago we moved to a house and it got more light than ever. A few months ago I replanted it. It was not very smooth and Im pretty sure other plants would have died from my mishandling. This thing is a beast to be even alive. Now I actually care about the little guy.

We water it occasionally. The pics I have sent it was just watered. I have no idea how to know when and how much. I just know not too much and let it dry out completely. It sits in a window seal mainly and at times I will leave it outside in direct sunlight.

My question is how do I get rid of the little webs that keep appearing. I've only caught a little spider on there once, but obviously there are more. Also, there are obviously other signs of stress. Any other advice you can give me?

Thank you for taking the time to produce such an informative site.

Comments for My Poor Euphorbia

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Jul 10, 2020

Nice comment!
by: Jacki Cammidge, Certified Horticulturist

Thank you for your nice comment, Nick.

From what I can see, you're doing okay in the plant resuscitation business. Keep up the good work.

As for the webs, is it spiders? Then you don't need to worry. If it's spider mites, that's another matter. Euphorbia and succulents in general don't get spider mites. They can't bite through the thick rubbery skin.

As for other advice, make sure that the next time you transplant it, you use the right soil for it. What it's in now looks like some kind of peat based potting soil. It might prefer something with more sand or gravel, which has the added benefit of being heavier - these plants can easily topple over from being top heavy.

Let me know if you need more help.

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