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Although this could very well be a picture of me finding a new treasure at a favorite nursery, it's actually an illustration by David Catrow for a children's book called Plantzilla.

Friday, June 20, 2014

Euphorbia stygiana is my Favorite Plant...This Week

You may remember my post in March about Euphorbia stygiana after our big freeze.  I thought it was a goner and a sensible, tidy gardener would have yanked the poor thing out immediately but I mostly operate on the premise that hard work sometimes pays off in the future but procrastination always pays off now. 
 

I saw signs of life and thought that perhaps it would live so I left it. The poor parking strips get so little attention when I'm busy with things other than gardening.

Turns out, those little leafs were bravely trying to grow but there was no food supply from the freeze damaged stems.  Here we have what the plant looked like today when I went out to weed and do battle with the lilac thicket that won't die. (Not a fun task today as many of the Dracunculus vulgaris opened simultaneously making the spring air reek of rotting flesh.) Thank you for not noticing all the weeds.

How pleased I was to find that my procrastination actually paid off both then and now!  I cut back the dead branches and look what is growing  from the roots.  Wow!  Our gardens are full of surprises!
 
I'll pull some more weeds away, throw some manure on it and hope that it is able to achieve sufficient size to bloom again next year!  In searching the web for information to pass on about this plant, I came across this post by none other than Ms. Danger Garden who is the host of the Favorite plant this week meme and whose favorite plant this was in April of 2013. 
 
I also learned from Wikipedia that Euphorbia stygiana  is a critically endangered species of perennial evergreen shrub endemic  to the São Lourenço region on Santa Maria Island  of the Azores.  It grows to a height of  4.9ft and spread of  3.3ft, with dark green lanceolate leaves and yellow flowers. The total population counts less than 50 mature individuals in the wild.
 


17 comments:

  1. Good things (could) come to those who wait.
    And here I thought all Euphorias were hardy, bordering on thuggish (in my garden).

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    1. Many euphorbias are very hardy but this one is a bit tender. I was lucky that it made it through the freeze as many folks lost them last winter.

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  2. Poor thing trying to live but stuck with stems that wouldn't cooperate! Smart to leave the roots in the ground, I've been shocked by a couple of things emerging from the soil in my garden too (Aloe striatula and Cordyline 'Cha Cha" for example). Oh and even though I dug out my E. stygiana guess what I discovered the other day...seedlings from last summers bloom. Yay. This gardening thing is pretty fabulous isn't it?

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    1. Never a dull moment! Emerging seedlings, surprising things emerging, wandering bears; something new to amaze every day!

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  3. All my Euphorbias are toast!!! But, new ones are popping up close by, so there is still hope!!!

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    1. Sorry to hear about your euphorbias but glad to hear about the new ones!

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  4. Always best to wait a bit, you did the right thing for your Euphorbia.

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    1. In this case, I just didn't make time to go out to the parking strips. They always get far too little attention from me.

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  5. The resilience of plants can be amazing. In a few weeks time it'll be quite large again.

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  6. You have dracunculus liiles? You're brave! Maybe it was the smell that killed the euphorbia and not the freeze. ;o) So glad it bounced back for you.

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    1. Those stinky things just keep spreading. It's exotic to have a few but with too many, people start to wonder if I've got rotting bodies in the basement. You're probably right about the smell killing the euphorbia!

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  7. Wow, less than 50 in the wild!
    I love your saying, I'll have to remember that. Or maybe I shouldn't, because it'll only justify more procrastination. How lucky it came back :)

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    1. That saying comes in handy if you're a sloth like myself. I was lucky that it survived!

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  8. Hard to argue with picking a plant for its will to live.

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  9. I bought a rather puny one at Dancing Oaks in April. It's already at least a foot across and is sending out more shoots. I hope I can get it safely tucked in and established before winter. I'm so glad yours made it. It's such a stellar plant.

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Thanks so much for taking the time to comment! I love to hear your thoughts.