Plants Like Pencil Cactus
The sap is toxic and may cause problems in some people.
Plants like pencil cactus. What are the characteristics of a pencil cactus. Keep the soil lightly moist while the stem is rooting. Pencil cactus euphorbia tirucalli also known as milk bush and pencil tree grows in u s. Native to arid south africa and india pencil cactus is actually a euphorbia thus making it a succulent and not a true cactus despite the name.
Like most cacti this plant is drought tolerant and doesn t need much maintenance. Is pencil cactus sap toxic. There are thousands of euphorbias and like all of them the pencil cactus has milky white latex sap that is released when the plant is injured. The name derives from the branches which are about the diameter of a pencil.
I always add worm castings compost to everything i plant. In a healthy greenhouse habitat the pencil cactus can grow up to 30 feet high and it s not uncommon for a houseplant variety to grow over 6 feet tall. Another common name for the plant is milkbush due to the cloudy sap it releases when injured. This unique looking plant native to africa and india is also referred to as indian tree spurge naked lady plant aveloz milk bush plant and petroleum plant.
The green succulent stems of a pencil cactus which are about the width of a pencil branch upwards in an almost geometrical pattern. Plant of the week. Department of agriculture plant hardiness zones 10b through 11 and is commonly grown as a houseplant in. I got mine in bulk from a local landscape supply company.
You can buy it already potted from 35 dollars and up. Use distilled water if your tap water is chlorinated as chlorine may burn the roots. The pencil cactus needs high levels of light and moderately low moisture. The plant itself costs between five and 15 dollars.
As my wife drove me to the hospital i decided i must not be dying because i saw neither a. A pencil cactus euphorbia tirucalli is not a cactus plant at all but rather a member of the euphorbia family like a poinsettia. Be cautious when caring for a pencil cactus. If it s in the ground that might mean adding some loam to your soil.
Not really the classic pencil cactus these dead looking madagascan plants are euphorbia platyclada more like flattened sticks than pencils in southern california. It is best to buy a christmas cactus that already has flowers. The pencil cactus plant is in the euphorbia family of succulents. Like all succulents the pencil cactus needs a soil with excellent drainage.
Euphorbia onoclada in my yard still a young plant but hardy so far euphorbia gregaria a south african species at the huntington gardens. Water the soil well then place the container in a warm bright spot.