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| Anyone grow this? I've been eye ballin' this one for a couple years now, but never had the space to put it before. I might be making a drought tolerant bed out front next spring, so it could go out there if it gets the 'thumbs up'.
What do you think of it? Worthy of taking up prime location in a garden? What is the negative about this Euhprbia? Does it mildew and look rugged after 'bloom' like E. polychroma? Does it reseed? I REALLY don't want a prolific reseeder- my Euphorbia dulcis 'Chameleon' had to go for that reason. I read that it spreads some. Just how much is that? Take over the world kind of spreading, or more of a slow spread?
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Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by gardengal48 PNW zone 8 (My Page) on Fri, Nov 25, 11 at 14:25
| Chris - you may want to take with a slight grain of salt as I am a huge Euphorbia fan ;-)) IMO, a great choice. Wonderful coloring, no reseeding (at least in my garden and I had many very happily reseeding euphorbs!), no issues with PM and a moderate spread. Formed a reasonably sized colony after about 5 years but quite easy to remove any excessive growth if you need to. If any negatives, this is NOT the most drought tolerant euphorb selection......will look much better with regular watering. There are other hardy euphorbs I would hesistate to replant because of their overly aggressive nature, but 'Fireglow' is not one of them! |
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- Posted by christinmk z5b eastern WA (My Page) on Fri, Nov 25, 11 at 16:49
| -gardengal, thanks so much for the info! Very interesting that this kind isn't terribly drought tolerant. Glad to hear you think it is a winner though! Maybe I can find space for it elsewhere, one more conducive to its needs. Would it tolerate a little bit of shade do you think? Do the colorful bracts last a farily long time? Have you grown E. griffithii 'Dixter'? How would you say that one compares to 'Fireglow'? Haven't seen you around here much lately. Nice you see you posting again ;-) |
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| Thumbs down from me. It is not totally hardy in open spaces without protection. It sent rather long runners while it was alive. Merciless against smaller neighbors. The colour proved less attractive than on the pictures. I was not crying at all when it died. |
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| I have grown both 'Fireglow' and 'Dixter.' Fireglow died out in an overcrowded bed, though I had liked it very much. The flowers were more red than 'Dixter.' Dixter has spread and thrived and is one of the most beautiful plants I grow. It is stunning with its dark stems and bright orange bracts. Even before it blooms, I get a lot of comments on it. It is very vigorous, but easy to control. It blooms in June, just after the bulbs have finished, but before most of the summer perennials have gotten going and is effective for about 6 weeks. Highly recommended, and in my own personal top ten. It is very hardy here, and very drought tolerant. I have never watered it, not even when it was first planted. It does not mildew, and has spread only within its allotted space. I have found no seedlings. The clump is about 10 years old. Live dangerously. Plant it with something purple. |
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| I have been meaning to 'try out' a Euphorbia. ninamarie et al, do you have any experience with the varieties First Blush or Bonfire or is one Euphorbia the same as another except for colour? |
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| Yes. And they're crowding up my top 10. Plant them both. First Blush is very beautiful, from early spring to late fall. It forms a tidy, compact mound (so perfect it looks like it was formed with a pair of nail scissors) about 2' in height by 3'. The foliage emerges white and green with lots and lots of pink in early spring. As the pink fades, the bright yellow flower bracts appear and are effective for about 1 month. After flowering, the plant keeps its compact dainty appearance until the cool weather, when pink tones begin to colour up the leaves again. It melts into a puddle of pink and white and green when the killing frosts come, but is still worth looking at. Bonfire sports dark maroon foliage, which is darkest in spring. The brilliant yellow flower bracts are a stunning contrast to the foliage. Foliage turns blue-green with dark highlights during the summer. They look good together, or apart, and it is difficult to decide at what point during the season they are the prettiest. Both are very drought tolerant. I have never fertilized or watered them and have been growing them since first introduced. Bonfire isn't quite as compact as First Blush, and this year, for the first time, it self-seeded to produce one dark-leafed plant, not as attractive as its mother. But that's the first seedling in at least five years - I'm not sure when I first planted it. I envy Gardengal for all the euphorbia that her climate will support and ours will not. rouge21, did you pick your name for the river? |
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- Posted by gardengal48 PNW zone 8 (My Page) on Sat, Nov 26, 11 at 15:50
| Chris, the two cultivars are very similar - hard to tell them apart unless grown side by side. IME, 'Fireglow' tends to be more widely available so therefore more often seen, at least around here. Like most euphorbs, the bracts are very long lasting - I leave them in place until I cut back the plant, usually not till fall. I am not sure I'd have too many concerns about hardiness - certainly zone appropriate for you and since it is a herbaceous euphorb with a later summer bloom, there's not much that should bother it re: winter weather other than poor drainage. As to moisture preferences, not all hardy euphorbs are extremely drought tolerant. Some species - seems to be more the herbaceous or winter dieback ones, most of which are Asian in origin rather than Mediterranean - do prefer an evenly moist soil. Compared to Ontario and much of the east coast, the PNW tends to be a summer drought area and receives little to no rainfall in a typical summer, so I'd recommend making sure griffithii has regular irrigation. 'First Blush' and 'Bonfire" are both selected cultivars of cushion spurge or Euphorbia epithymoides (old name H. polychroma). They should behave very similarly in the garden and are differentiated really only by their coloring. 'First Blush' is variegated while 'Bonfire' takes on seasonal color. ps. thanks for the welcome back :-) My old PC croaked in July and since then I've been very hit or miss online. |
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- Posted by christinmk z5b eastern WA (My Page) on Sat, Nov 26, 11 at 21:22
| I have 'First Blush' too. In the two years I have had it, mine has kept about a foot tall and a bit wider- guess this one takes a few years to settle in before bulking up. The reddish pink tones it takes on in fall are nice, though I actually think my favorite time is the early spring with the just emerging pink shoots. Lovely paired with the blue Chionodoxa forbesii. Another plus to 'First Blush' is that the white variegation somewhat masks the outbreak of mildew it gets after bloom ;-D I was thinking about getting 'Bonfire', until I learned elsewhere that it "greened out". There is just something about foliage plants 'greening out' that really irks me, LOL. I keep trying to train myself to note the new species of that Euphorbia, but still I rather like the sound of 'polychroma' better. ;-) |
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| Dixter was described as lower and neater. In my windy garden it was practically sprawling. Christinmk, I will recommend you to read the blog on the link below to decide for yourself if it is a neat plant. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Euphorbia Fireglow - a neat plant??
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- Posted by coolplantsguy z6 Ontario (My Page) on Mon, Nov 28, 11 at 9:22
| I have one of the other varieties of E. griffithii in my garden (not sure which one), and it does well. It doesn't spread too much for me. |
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| Just wait and see. LOL. It is just trying to confuse you before 'stabbing you'. You do not know what it does under the surface. :-) |
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| When would you move 'Fireglow' from a dry area to one where it would receive moisture? I'm in western WA. |
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- Posted by gottagarden z5 western NY (My Page) on Tue, Nov 29, 11 at 6:46
Mine is spreading a bit, I'm keeping my eye on it as I've only had it for 2 years. It looks great with orange poppies.
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- Posted by christinmk z5b eastern WA (My Page) on Tue, Nov 29, 11 at 13:02
| -wieslaw, lol! Thanks for the warning. If I do end up getting it and it DOES turn out to be an invader feel free to tell me "I TOLD YOU SO!" ;-D -gottagarden, fantastic! The orange poppies really bring out the orange in the Euphorbia amongst all the greenery. |
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| Christinmk, stay assured I will. 'I-told-you' is my middle name. |
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