Euphorbia horrida or African Milk Barrel

Care of the succulent plant Euphorbia horrida or African Milk Barrel

The genus Euphorbia, family Euphorbiaceae, includes 2,000 species of succulents, trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants of cosmopolitan distribution. Some species are: Euphorbia horrida, Euphorbia meloformis, Euphorbia lomelii, Euphorbia heptagona, Euphorbia handiensis, Euphorbia grandicornis, Euphorbia flanaganii, Euphorbia enterophora, Euphorbia enopla, Euphorbia echinus, Euphorbia cotinifolia, Euphorbia coerulescens, Euphorbia characias, Euphorbia candelabrum, Euphorbia canariensis, Euphorbia pulcherrima, Euphorbia resinifera, Euphorbia milii, Euphorbia tithymaloides, Euphorbia regis-jubae, Euphorbia royleana, Euphorbia trigona, Euphorbia bivonae, Euphorbia rigida, Euphorbia handiensis, Euphorbia balsamifera, Euphorbia leucocephala.

Common names: African Milk Barrel, African Milk Bush. This species is native to South Africa.

They are cactiform succulent plants with a bluish green body with wavy ribs that reach 1 meter (3.28 feet) in height; they tend to form colonies. They may have dark spines that are reddish at first. They produce small greenish-yellow or purple flowers. They bloom in summer.

They are used in pots and planters, on rockeries, on dry slopes, and in cactus and succulent gardens.

Euphorbia horrida can grow in full sun exposure but prefer light shade (East, Southeast or Southwest orientation) avoiding the sun during the central hours of the day. They resist light and occasional frosts.

The soil can be a commercial substrate for cacti and succulents; it's important that the drainage is excellent.

Water moderately in spring and summer, waiting for the substrate to dry. In winter you do not have to water because the plant goes into rest.

Fertilize with mineral cactus fertilizer once in mid spring and again in early summer.

They do not need pruning.

The greatest danger to these plants is overwatering and continued frost.

They propagate by seeds sown in spring or summer and by cuttings that must be dried for 7-8 days before putting them to root in a sandy substrate. It's very important to protect yourself from the irritating latex that these plants produce.