| Description | A very spiny, xerophytic shrub for a hot sunny window. Crown of Thorns produces colorful bracts that look like the petals of flowers but are really modified leaves called bracts. |
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| Plant Type | All Plants, Succulents, Indoor Flowering Plants |
| Sunlight | full sun |
| Moisture | If allowed to go extremely dry, all of the leaves will fall off. Best kept slightly moist to approach dryness. |
| Growing Media | average house, well drained |
| Temperature | average house plus |
| Flowers | flowers are very small, located in the center of the petal-like structures called bracts, color pallet (of bracts) consists of red, salmon, cream, etc. |
| Leaves | small, ovate and drop off when allowed to get to dry |
| Stems | scandent and spiny, spines are stout and gray, spines form from the stipules and are called stipular spines |
| Dimensions | I have seen this plant in conservatories over 3 feet by 3 feet. Easily kept to a smaller size. |
| Maintenance | keep to size by pruning |
| Propagation | Cuttings root best if taken from plants that are actively growing during the spring and summer. Ones taken during the winter tend to root very slowly if at all. When the cuttings are taken the Crown of Thorns will bleed a white latex sap. This is typical of members of the Euphorbia family. Allow the cuttings to callus before sticking, or they will tend to rot. I find straight perlite works for the rooting media. Perlite does not provide good support for the cuttings so I use a layer of small rocks around the base of the cutting. This will provide some weight to the pot and support the plant. |
| Native Site | West Madagascar |
| Notes & Reference | #02-Exotic Plant Manual (Alfred Byrd Graf) |
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