"Kay" wrote in message
...
In article , Colin
Spooner writes
I love Euphorbia's, and have quite a few doing well in my garden.
I have Wulfennii,Dixter,and other common ones.
I am stuck on how to cut them back,as some are getting a bit leggy. A
gardening book I have, suggests 'cutting old stems back to 2 inches in
July' -- is this good advice??

They don't seem to branch out or regrow from where you cut them, so
cutting needs to be done on the basis that you will be cutting out
complete stems. You will be relying on new growth from the base to be
more compact. I wouldn't cut down the whole plant in one year - cut out
the longest and leggiest stems, then next year when you've had some new
stems grow, cut out another batch of long and leggy stems. And they can
bleed when cut - doesn't seem to cause them a problem, but the sap can
be an irritant, so watch how you carry them.

As to time of year - I've tended to prune in about July/August as this
seems to be when I realise that I've lost a large part of the garden
path under them ;-)

Also can Euphorbias be propagated successfully from cuttings?

Presumably - that seems to be what potted poinsettias consist of - 4 or
5 rooted cutting in a pot. And presumably the named varieties are
propagated that way. But I've never tried.


--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

I have, they seemed to need a sharp draining compost, be from very young
shoots, and I also found using hormone rooting powder would stop the cut
stems from bleeding (I suspect talc would work just as well!) if you can get
them with a heel that's better. I generally remove all the stems that have
flowered mainly to prevent seeding.

--
Charlie, gardening in Cornwall.
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of National Plant Collection of Clematis viticella (cvs)