HiveGarden: My Indoor Garden #4, The Euphorbia

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(Edited)

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Look waaaay up! That's my euphorbia, just shy of reaching the 8' (2.44 m) ceiling AGAIN.

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Here is a view of it, full height, in the corner where it has stood for almost 30 years.

I still remember the day I brought it in and placed it there. In the post about my jade tree, I mentioned it as one of the most stressful days of my life, bringing my 3 largest plants across town in the back of a van, spread eagled on its floor while trying to prevent the pots from rolling around and colliding with every turn. Yikes!

When we arrived, I carried the euphorbia in with one arm around the pot and my other hand, in an oven glove, supporting the trunk -- it has big thorns! Sadly, it had come loose in the pot and I wondered if that was the end of it. There really didn't seem to be much root holding it in place. With so much else to do that day, I placed it in the corner and leaned it against the wall. I'm not sure how tall it was then, probably 5-6' (1.5-1.8 m) and it was a single stem most of the way up.

The next morning, it had stood up on its own!

Yes, behaving like a drunk wasn't helping its cause so it just straightened itself up, and that is where it has remained. The only time I move it is to paint the wall or occasionally clean cob webs from behind it. It has moved on its own a few times too...

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This is what you call an "Oh, no!" moment. The first time it happened was when that single stem reached the ceiling and I knew I would need to trim it for the first time, but hadn't yet. And I had watched as it started to bow out in slow motion -- maybe I would do it on the weekend. No, I came home to find it sprawled across my kitchen table! So I got out a cutting board and my carving knife, and lopped off a foot (30 cm). I have since become less timid about hacking it back.

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It fell one other time and I blogged about it. Until then, I didn't know what kind of succulent it was. (Thanks @nikv.) Nor did I know the sap could blind me if I got it in my eyes!

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It was my own fault. It needed to be repotted and it still does. I have been making do with adding more soil to the pot. Do you blame me? Exactly how do you invite someone to help you repot a plant that could maim them? Do I casually say "and bring safety glasses"?

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It's a pretty plant and so striking at that height as long as it stays there!

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Photos from the iPad and Canon SX620 HS by @kansuze in Kanata (Ottawa), Canada.

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Enjoy!
@kansuze



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6 comments
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Hi, @kansuze . I can still remember a long time ago when I was a kid that we have this kind of plant and it's just now that I know its English name. We call that here surosuro and we used to plant that as a fence.

Nor did I know the sap could blind me if I got it in my eyes!

As I'm reading far I realised that you know the danger already. I was about to tell you that I had encountered like that with my uncle. He was trimming then and a white liquid went to his eyes and so he cried so hard because it hurts. Luckily it heals slowly and we cured it with eye drops.

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Manually curated by EwkaW from the @qurator Team. Keep up the good work!

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I have an euphorbia too, also standing/leaning against a corner needing to be repotted lol. Those things are so damn resilient, I’ve dropped mine from the table at least twice and had to transport it in sub zero conditions on a moving truck, and it’s still going strong 😁

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