Cypress euphorbia – the most spectacular and unpretentious groundcover

Cypress euphorbia is a paradoxical flower. On the one hand, it Asten aggressor that is banned in many countries, and on the other – a dream landscape designer. He is considered one of the most effective biological agents for skin treatment, and at the same time it has a detrimental effect on horses and cows.

Cypress Euphorbia

Origin

The history of this flower dates back 3500-3000 years. His image is found in the excavations of the Bronze Age in Central Europe. Later it spread throughout Europe, with the exception of the northern part, as well as in Asia (Turkey). It was introduced to the USA in 1860 as an ornamental plant.

Euphorbia cyparissias is the biological name for cypress leaves.

The plant has adapted to a wide range of growing conditions.At first it was used as a cover flower on graves. Hence the popular names:

• euphorbia in the cemetery;
• cemetery moss;
• the crown of Bonarpart.

It grows in rare forests, on roadsides and on pastures of Western Europe and the USA. Euphorbia cyparissius is toxic to horses and cows, fatal to fish.

The Department of Agriculture of North America is listed as harmful weed and banned in Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Wisconsin. But despite the strict ban, the plant continues to be planted as a decorative one.

It was from the milk of cypress that the concept of the sensory garden came from – its fluffy stems are so beautiful and the incredibly soft foliage is so pleasant to the touch. According to landscapes, this is one of the most spectacular integumentary species, moreover, unpretentious, plastic and with an excellent growth rate.

Description

Euphorbia cyparissias is an energetically propagating rhizome perennial plant with vertical stems up to 30 cm tall, with very narrow blue-green leaves resembling cypress needles.

Leaves and flowers

In the lower part, the stem is unramified, covered with short, tightly pressed squamous leaves 2.5-3 cm long.In the upper half, it forms lateral, densely leafy shoots ending in an umbrella inflorescence of 10-18 greenish-yellow flowers, turning orange on poor soils. In good weather, it blooms again in early autumn.

The flowers are arranged in pairs (female – on a short stalk above the male flower). They lack sepals and petals. Under the flowers with a diameter of 3 mm – yellowish-green bracts of 6 mm.

Female flowers give the fruit in the form of a capsule of 3 sections, about 3 mm across, 1 seed in each. When ripened, the seeds “shoot” up to five meters from the plant.

Roots

The root system consists of:

• from a stem root growing vertically down to a depth of 3 m;
• lateral roots with additional buds capable of forming new shoots.

Extensive root system and early spring growth allows weak-looking deciduous shoots to compete for space, nutrients, water and sunlight, crowding out the rest of the plants.

If cypress euphorbia is not limited By the age of 5-6 years old, he will cover with a dense carpet an area of ​​1.5-2 meters in diameter.

All parts contain toxic latex, which irritates the mucous membranes of the gastrointestinal tract and causes dermatitis in some people on contact.

It was once used to eliminate freckles, to destroy warts and skin ulcers, as well as for hair growth. With the development of cosmetology, the need for it disappeared.

Purchase and adaptation

Seedlings easily adapt to a new place

The plant goes on sale both in a container with a shaped bush, and in the form of one stem and part rhizomes.

A seedling with a closed root system (ZKS) can be planted in open ground at any time of the year, the only condition is no later than 2 months before the onset of constant frost.

Stem with an open root systems oh (ACS) needs adaptation operations.

To do this:

• remove dried roots;
• immerse the stem in a root solution for several hours.

Planting

The seedlings do not have a pronounced main rhizome, they are placed in shallow (up to 5 cm) grooves with drainage at the bottom, straightening the lateral roots.

Sprinkle with light soil on top, slightly compact and moisten the surface of the soil.

When planting an adult plant with a root root, dig a hole 30-40 cm deep. Then follow similar to e operations.

Transplant

You can transplant both a uterine plant with a powerful rod root, and rooted parts with lateral rhizomes.

To do this, they cut off the roots with a sharp shovel, dig up the euphorbia and, together with a lump of earth, transfer it to the prepared place.

If the vertical rhizome could not be completely excavated, new processes will soon come from it.

Optimal time for transplantation:

• early spring, before the sap flow begins;
• autumn, 1.5 – 2 months before the steady colds, Thu to the plant could take root

Prerequisites

Euphorbia obzhil open areas with poor soil:. pine forests, hills and fields. Its natural habitat is limestone, sandy or gravel soil. It is resistant to drought and loves the sun, but tolerates partial shade.

Choice of soil and location

A dry sunny place is required for planting in the euphorbia garden with a stony friable substrate. She will feel great in rock gardens, mixborders, arabesques.

This plant does not tolerate:

• constantly moist soil;
• closely located groundwater;
• moisture stagnation after melting snow or rain.

Therefore, for planting choose an elevated place, with poor rocky or sandy soil and good drainage.

Humidity

The plant is drought tolerant. It calmly tolerates a long absence of watering due to:

• narrow leaves through which moisture evaporates weakly;
• of a long core root, extracting water from a sufficient depth.

During a period of insufficient moisture, euphorbia is able to store it mainly in the rhizome.

This is confirmed by the data provided in the information system for fire interactions FEIS (USA):

• with a decrease in watering, the number of rhizomes in the plant increased;
• the thickness of the main stem increased by 15%.

At high air temperatures, it is enough to moisten the soil around the flower every 7-10 days.

Excessive moisture is harmful to milkweed. It can lead to the death of the plant.

Temperature

Small cypress survives in a wide temperature range: from 40 ° C to -25 ° C . During hot weather, it needs to be moistened additionally, and before the winter cold, cut off the whole aerial part.

Even if the stems of the plant dry in a hot summer or freeze in winter, euphorbia will regenerate from sleeping buds located on horizontal roots.

Lighting

Like any plant, euphorbia loves the sun.Its decorative qualities in a sunny place are fully developed:

• needle-leaves densely cover the stem, creating a fluffy dense shoot;
• the stems are low, strong, growing vertically;
• the color of leaves, stipules and flowers is saturated;
• the shape of the bush is symmetrical, spherical.

In a light shadow these qualities are mainly preserved, but the color intensity decreases, and the height of the stems and the distance between the rows of leaves on them increases.

In the shade, the stems grow long and weak. The bush is falling apart, losing its shape. The color of all parts of the plant becomes faded.

It grows well in the open sun

Home care

Fertilizers and fertilizing

An excess of organic matter and nitrogen in the soil leads to a deterioration in the decorative qualities of cypress euphorbia – shoots become long, weak, lodging. As a result, the number of leaves per unit area of ​​the stem decreases, it looks “naked.”

To add splendor and compactness, it is recommended to use potash and phosphorus top dressing, but no more than 2 times per season:

• at the beginning of the growing season – potassium nitrate, potassium sulfate;
• in the fall – superphosphate.

On poor soils or long-term cultivation in the same place, you can sprinkle complete complex fertilizer in early spring, even in the snow, at the beginning of its melting.

The nitrogen content in the spring should not be more than 20%. The optimal mixture for feeding NPK 20-20-20.

Watering

Water the garden euphorbia as the surface layer completely dries .

When watering this plant, they adhere to the principle “Better to underfill than to overfill.” Particular care must be taken to ensure that water after irrigation does not stagnate around euphorbia.

Use in landscape design

Cypress euphorbia brings a subtle and delicate texture.

Due to the fact that the stem is densely covered with leaves to the ground, it can be used as a foreground flower. It goes well with conifers – stunted spruce, juniper and fir. But the euphorbia bushes themselves look great, and at any time of the year.

With these plants, garden compositions become elegant and impressive, especially on a rocky site, in a rocky garden.

So that the euphorbia always It looked decorative, it must be cut regularly. The first time this operation is performed after flowering, but before the formation of fruit bolls. Then the haircut is carried out as the shoots grow or to maintain a given shape.As a result of pruning, the bush becomes more dense and fluffy.

Keeping aggressiveness

To prevent the spread of cypress milkweed throughout the area, it is planted in buried pots or limit the growth area with special dug barriers.

Reproduction methods

Euphorbia cyparissias has great potential for reproduction.

At home, the following methods are used:

• seed;
• vegetative (by cuttings);
• regenerative (through fragments of rhizomes, horizontal roots).

As students at Roy Island University found out, any broken portion of cypress milkweed can propagate vegetatively.

Seeds

Seeds can be sown as in the winter, falling asleep with a 2-cm layer of loose substrate, consisting of garden soil and sand, and in early spring. Seeds do not stratify before planting.

Cuttings

The optimal time for cutting: late May to early June. For cuttings, young shoots with more than 20 leaves are chosen.

Next, perform the following operations, be sure to wear protective gloves:

• cut the upper part of the stem with 10-15 leaflets with a sharp knife;
• wash off the latex layer with a warm stem water;
• covered with crushed activated carbon, the cuttings of the cuttings and the uterine plant;
• the cut branches are placed in heat for drying for 1-2 days;
• are planted in a mini-greenhouse .

The planting capacity is filled with a drainage layer (2-3 cm), then with soil in equal proportions:

• garden soil;
• sand .

Useful until avit few charcoal tablets crushed

Soil should be slightly moist:. spurge can not tolerate excessive moisture

A month later, the cuttings take root, and they can be planted in the garden.. To make the roots strong and healthy, apply root-forming solutions of Kornevin, Heteroauxin.

By dividing the bush

If your garden is already growing euphorbia, it’s more convenient just propagate it by division. The operation is carried out in April-May, when flowering begins.

No special skills are required here: each dividend has at least 2 buds.

You just need to separate the dividend along with part of the horizontal root and transplant to a prepared place.

Vegetative regeneration

Shoots can develop from any, even deeply buried part of the root.Roy Island University students noted how from 2 parts of living roots the following year grew:

• 240 branches from the main rhizome;
• 160 – from the horizontal.

The fastest propagation of cypress leaves is through regeneration.