| Description | A very easy to grow indoor plant. Give it bright to direct light and grow on the dry side. Has interesting zig zag stems. |
|---|---|
| Plant Type | All Plants, Succulents |
| Hardiness Zone | 10 |
| Sunlight | The colors of the leaves become brighter when grown in full sun light. In the dimmer light conditions they will turn green. |
| Moisture | Keep it slightly dry. If the plant gets to dry, it will drop all of its leaves but won't die and will recover when given water. |
| Growing Media | average house, well drained |
| Temperature | average house |
| Flowers | As a house plant it rarely blooms. If it does the flowers will be vivid red and look like birds heads. I have grown this plant for over 15 years (2000) and have never seen it bloom. It probably does in natural sites. |
| Leaves | The leaves will be green in dim light and become brightly colored in full sun. |
| Stems | Stems form a zig zag profile, hence the name "Devil's Backbone". |
| Dimensions | Can reach 3' in a pot. |
| Propagation | Cuttings will readily root when the plant is in a state of active growth. Plant seems to go dormant during the winter and the cuttings taken at this time will take considerably longer to root, if at all. Cuttings taken in the spring have rooted in a few weeks. The plant can be divided as it gets older and produces a clump of vertical stems. |
| Native Site | Sandy waste lands from Central America up through Florida into southern states. |
| Misc Facts | This plant is in the Euphorbia family. The same family in which we find Poinsettias. Most Euphorbia have a white sap, which can be slightly toxic. |
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