My jaw dropped when I saw this...
Last week, when I was visiting Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art in Nashville, TN, I turned a corner and came up this bank of Euphorbia charcais. Isn’t it astonishing? I’ve never seen this euphorbia thriving in this part of the world – I planted one once (it was a measly mail-order specimen) and it quickly perished. But that was several years ago – I think I’ve learned more about them since.
One very obvious thing I’m noticing from this bank of euphorbias at Cheekwood is that they want impeccable drainage. You can’t really tell it from the photo, but this whole area is a sort of series of rocky ledges with a little soil scattered throughout. Also, it was a southern or western exposure, protected to the north by large trees and the mansion. I don’t have this sort of situation – particularly not the mansion – but I’d like to try again. After all, if it grows in Nashville, it should grow in southeast Missouri.
Euphoriba myrsinites is one of the coolest plants we have at Sugar Creek right now. Its strange scaly branches sprawl out like some desert reptile. Beautiful dusty blue leaves and lime-green flowers. Image courtesy of Missouri Botanical Garden.
We don’t have Euphorbia charcais at Sugar Creek, but if you want to experience Euphorbia euphoria in a slightly more manageable way, we have several pleasant smaller cultivars for you to try. Ask to see the euphorbias or look for them in the sun perennial section (under “E”). Plant them in a sunny, well-drained spot, and they’ll soon be the talk of the neighborhood.
