Euphorbia ankarensis watering and flowering

[Nick_G]

I don't grow Euphorbias but I do like to grow plants that I've seen in habitat so after a trip to Ankarana a couple of years ago I sourced a small Euphorbia ankarensis amongst other plants. Last year it leafed out in the spring and grew all summer. I watered it when dry and left it dry all winter. Early this spring it started flowering and I commenced watering but despite flowering continually for several months it refused to come into leaf until last week when the last flower dropped.

Did my watering encourage the flowering or did it do nothing to help? It doesn't seem to have harmed the plant at all.

I must find a Euphorbia pachypodioides

[ralphrmartin]

Nick
I water this plant "as usual" i.e. from April to September, but it does flower at a different time to when it's in leaf, and it does need a high winter temperature (I keep it at 15C). Perhaps you were watering it so sparingly, it was not convinced the rainy season had really come?
Ralph

[Stuart]

I'd bring it indoors and grow it on a sunny window sill without a winter break. There's a few succulents that take so long to come back into leaf after a winter break that they've hardly made much growth before the next winter. Some of the leafy Euphorbias seem to fit into that category and they seem to grow better as houseplants.
Stuart

[Nick_G]

Nick
I water this plant "as usual" i.e. from April to September, but it does flower at a different time to when it's in leaf, and it does need a high winter temperature (I keep it at 15C). Perhaps you were watering it so sparingly, it was not convinced the rainy season had really come?
Ralph

Thanks for that Ralph but I gave it a decent soaking when dry, every week or two, so I think it had enough water. Just it's thing I suppose. I was just wondering if I was wasting my time watering before now.

[Nick_G]

I'd bring it indoors and grow it on a sunny window sill without a winter break. There's a few succulents that take so long to come back into leaf after a winter break that they've hardly made much growth before the next winter. Some of the leafy Euphorbias seem to fit into that category and they seem to grow better as houseplants.
Stuart

Thanks Stuart. It spent all winter on a south facing windowsill and is still there. It went dormant in the autumn, dropped its leaves and I left it dry until flowering started in the spring. I am just wondering if it would have flowered as well without the water.

[Tina]

Hi Nick,
glad you are going over to the leafy euphorbia side.
it would have flowered as well without the water- yes it doesn't need water to flower, these are quite fussy when young I have been growing mine for 10 years and they aren't that big.
Does yours have fuzzy leaves ??, true ankarensis does and seems to leaf up slower than e.alfredii which has no fuzz and feels a bit more rubbery leafed.
My two are ahead of yours but they live in the greenhouse at 15c and are just unfurled recently.
Pachypoides is a bi annual for me even when it lives over winter in the propagator, I think it needs to be treated like a choice cactus as even Rikus struggles with this, no water all winter and only water once well leafed.

[Nick_G]

Thanks Tina, yes fuzzy leaves. If I remember correctly I saw ankarensis predominantly growing in shaded wooded areas in leaf litter and pachypodioides on the baking rocky tsingy outcrops, but my memory isn't always that great.

[Tina]

One thing Rikus mentions is all madagaskan euhorbia like peat in the compost.
Sounds right my Ankarensis like being in a bunch of other plants, its like a mini jungle and I have green shade netting up after Rikus said they were getting too much full sun and they are on capillary matting.

Pachypodies keep drier but I'm no expert on these , if you are bringing them indoors for the winter why not get an electric window tray for them.
Another one I cant grow for long is e.herman schwartzii, really Nick you need to pop back and get some seed I'll help grow it for you