Euphorbia characias ssp. wulfenii

When I lived in Northern California, Euphorbia characias ssp. wulfenii was everywhere. I remember first noticing it planted in a little pocket in the expanse of concrete that was the sidewalk, next to the concrete stairs that led to my aunt's concrete house. This pocket of earth could not have been much more than 2'x3' in size. The robust mound of feathery grey-green foliage was untouched by insects and the bloomed out stems could have used some pruning out. Mostly I remember the vibrant green floral bracts, which caught my eye even as a child, and I remember thinking that even though the bracts were more the color of leaves than flowers, that it was still striking.

Here in Albuquerque, it is Euphorbia myrsinites that is seen around the city, a smaller, ground hugging plant with sinuous silver stems and tightly held leaves. The flowers are similar, in that they are also an acid green, though they only last a month or so before fading to orange and dropping. The foliage can hold its own for its sculptural appearance, however. It is also a robust plant, in that it self-seeds freely.

Occasionally you can see Euphorbia rigida around town. This is a taller plant than E. myrsinites, growing to a foot or two tall, with longer pointed leaves that are more green but similar vibrant green, short lived (compared to E. characias) bracts. This plant is also called gopher plant, although there are other euphorbias that have this name.

According to the catalogs, Euphorbia characias should be hardy here. Beth Chatto is very fond of this plant in her book The Gravel Garden, and since this is in England, I didn't think hardiness should be a problem. I wondered why I never saw any E. characias around town. I asked around at nurseries, but most did not know the plant. So I brought a tiny seedling back with me after a trip to California. It has done marvelously, although it does have a peculiar and strong odor, most pronounced when the plant is struck by the sun. Which is often. It's not unpleasant, just peculiar. The plant has now weathered unfazed two winters, including the weekend where we received 18 inches of snow. It is quite tolerant of dry conditions. It does self seed.

There are many cultivars of E. characias. For a sampling, check out Digging Dog (www.diggingdog.com) or Forest Farm (www.forestfarm.com). I'm particularly curious to try Tasmanian Tiger, a variegated form with white edges to the leaves and white bracts. Here's Euphorbia characias 'Redwing' - although some say that it is a hybrid with E. amygdaloides, others say it is simply E. characias. The yellow-green is striking against the red tinged leaves, although the winter red is fading fast. The buds are small now, but over the next month or two, the head will expand to become a big firework. Stay tuned.

February 17, 2008


April 1, 2008


On a recent trip back to California, I visited my aunt. That E. characias is long gone, the pocket containing just a few self sown calendulas. But in my memory, it is still there, and my plant now blooming reminds me of that.