Euphorbia (Milkwort)
at Digging Dog
Including Euphorbia characias, Euphorbia cyparissias, & Euphorbia griffithii
Euphorbia
Milkwort
Named after Euphorbus, physician to the king of Mauritania, this robust, sun-loving genus includes the familiar Poinsettia and is over 1600 species strong. Most species have a poisonous milky sap and softly colored bracts that surround subtly defined flowers. Autumn watches their narrow green leaves turn shades of red, orange and yellow. Euphorbia ‘Blue Haze’ 
This choice Euphorbia hybrid between nicaeensis and seguieriana subsp. niciciana is relatively unknown. Crowned by yellow-green flower heads, the attractive, blue-gray linear foliage is densely arranged in a compact and bushy evergreen mound. A backdrop of Cistus ‘Little Gem’ with Geranium ‘Orion’ creates a pleasing contrast to its pale pointed leaves and glowing blooms.
Blooms July–September. Size: 18" high x 2' wide; hardy to zone 5. Euphorbia Blue Haze (P-1235)
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Euphorbia ‘Canyon Gold’
A standout for its wine-colored new growth, bronzy purple foliage with red-hued leaf undersides and stocky red stems, this robust, low growing wulfenii hybrid boasts large, cylindrical, golden yellow flower heads. Try planting in a mixed border with Cistus ‘Snow White’ and Cynoglossum nervosum for spectacular concurrent blooms.
Blooms April–late July. Size: 2-1/2' high x 3' wide; hardy to zone 7. Euphorbia Canyon Gold (P-0744)
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Euphorbia ‘Dean’s Hybrid’
We have Dean Dalton of Occidental, California to thank for discovering this brilliantly colored, marathon blooming Euphorbia. Electrifying billows painted in acid yellows envelope a dense green globelike mound of fine textured narrow foliage.
First staged in spring, followed by a rebloom from summer until nearly winter, the fantastic floral show eventually attains orange hues, further heightening its low growing understory. In addition to his untiring floriferous nature, ‘Dean’s Hybrid’ maintains a well mannered, carefree profile that looks downright extraordinary as a container subject, spotlighted atop a wall or by a staircase.
Blooms April & September–October. Size: 18"–2' high x 2' wide; hardy to zone 7. Euphorbia Dean’s Hybrid (P-1337)
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Euphorbia ‘Excalibur’
We are pleased to be able to offer this regal Euphorbia from England. Red-tinted young shoots add colorful accents, while the slender leaves have a prominent creamy midrib and are delicately rimmed in a deep velvety burgundy. Long lasting yellow bracts crown the stunning display. For a lively match, try planting ‘Excalibur’ with Geranium ‘Nimbus’.
Blooms June–July. Size: 3' high x 2' wide; hardy to zone 5. Euphorbia Excalibur (P-0743)
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Euphorbia ‘Helen Robinson’ 
From the robbiae side of the family, this choice, stalwart Euphorbia inherits its compact stature, shade tolerance, and handsome, stout rosettes of blunt-tipped, dark green leaves; the characias side contributes the good-sized chartreuse flower heads. In our garden, it acccompanies Anchusa with a carpet of Corydalis ‘Pere David’ skirting beneath.
Blooms April–mid-July. Size: 2-1/2' high x 3' wide; hardy to zone 7. Euphorbia Helen Robinson (P-0849)
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Euphorbia ‘Jade Dragon’
Evoking images of viridescent dragon scales, the pointed, blue-green leaves create a compact,
deer proof assemblage that’s infused with reddish purple tinges. This robust, tidy-looking
Milkwort shoulders summer blooming chartreuse flower heads nearly one foot across. Consorts such as Panicum ‘Heavy Metal’ and Eupatorium ‘Gateway’ enhance its colorful hues.
Blooms July–October. Size: 2'–2-1/2' high x 3' wide; hardy to zone 7. Euphorbia Jade Dragon (P-0440)
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Euphorbia ‘Royal Velvet’
Whorling around stout red-tinted stems, distinctively tailored velvetlike leaves emerge deep purplish red, then soften to a blue-green on top with plush rubescent shades below. Eight in. long flower spikes hold maroon-centered, glowing chartreuse flowers above the neat compact mound. A choice new evergreen hybrid between Euphorbia characias ‘Portuguese Velvet’ and Euphorbia x martinii ‘Red Martin’ that relishes good drainage, this must-have Euphorbia originated in Ernie and Marietta O’Byrne’s superb Eugene, Oregon garden.
Blooms April to mid-July. Size: 2'–2-1/2' high x 2'–2-1/2' wide; hardy to zone 7. Euphorbia Royal Velvet (P-1449)
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Email me when this plant is available Euphorbia characias ‘Portuguese Velvet’
Whorling around stout stems, a thickset gathering of handsome blue-gray foliage is uniquely softened by minute silver hairs. Copper burnished golden flowers and green bracts stage a glittery early spring appearance, especially when sited next to Erigeron ‘Sea Breeze’ and tussocks of Poa cita.
Blooms March–May. Size: 2'–3' high x 3' wide; hardy to zone 7. Euphorbia characias Portuguese Velvet (P-0521)
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Euphorbia characias ‘Red Wing’
Perhaps more muted in color than a cardinal’s wing but still as captivating, this new cultivar is enlivened with red-tinged young growth and red floral buds held by reddish stems. All this rubescent coloring richly complements the handsome dark green foliage, and in late winter the profusion of radiant yellow-green bracts set its compact form aglow.
Appealing year-round, ‘Red Wing’ can be paired with Omphalodes.
Blooms late March–May. Size: 20"–2' high x 2' wide; hardy to zone 5. Euphorbia characias Red Wing (P-1106)
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Euphorbia characias ssp. wulfenii
Distinctive and drought tolerant, this Euphorbia deserves to be used as a specimen. Its cylindrical flower heads are yellow-green and can reach 6 to 9 in. across and 9 in. high. Combine with an understory of Nepeta and Heuchera ‘Apple Blossom’, and enjoy the dynamic array of bloom color.
Blooms March–June. Size: 3'–5' high x 3'–4' wide; hardy to zone 7.
Euphorbia characias ssp. wulfenii (P-0294)
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Euphorbia characias ssp. wulfenii ‘John Tomlinson’
A selection made from wild seed collected in the former Yugoslavia by the namesake, this charismatic Euphorbia is esteemed for its handsome compact profile and glowing yellow-green conical inflorescences. Large rounded and broad heads taper towards the base while housing crowded bell-shaped flowers.
With color that promises to exhilarate, ‘John Tomlinson’ unites swirls of waxy blue-gray leaves on green stems beneath dazzling, sunshine-bright blooms alongside warm-hued Isoplexis canariensis in our mixed border.
Blooms March–June. Size: 3'–4' high x 3'–4' wide; hardy to zone 7. Euphorbia characias ssp. wulfenii John Tomlinson (P-1338)
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Euphorbia characias ssp. wulfenii ‘Lambrook Gold’
This show-stopping spurge was bred into being by the late plantswoman Margery Fish. Large, glowingly yellow blooms have a bright, canary chroma that competes with the sun. Broad and bushy, its compact forest of erect stems is lined with slender gray-green leaves, relaxing downward in graceful arcs.
Blooms March–early July. Size: 3-1/2' high x 3-1/2'–4' wide; hardy to zone 7. Euphorbia characias ssp. wulfenii Lambrook Gold (P-0996)
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Euphorbia donii (Dixter Form)
Dwelling above 5000 ft. throughout the eastern Himalayas in forest clearings and grazed hillsides, this superb robust species sports olive-green foliage with a springtime rubescent blush and distinctive milky white midribs. Staunch, red-imbued clumping stems bolster summer blooming lime-yellow inflorescences. We spotted this unique form of Euphorbia donii at Christopher Lloyd’s Great Dixter years ago and have since enjoyed its cool-colored bracts swaying amid Sanguisorba ‘Red Thunder’ in our own garden.
Blooms June–October. Size: 5' high x 4' wide; hardy to zone 5. Euphorbia donii (Dixter Form) (P-1594)
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Euphorbia griffithii ‘Fern Cottage’
Warm colors radiate from this vigorous seedling selection by Clive Jones, named in honor of the house he was living in at the time. Bronzy pink tips, colorful reddish stems and leaf margins, burnt orange flower bracts and magnificent fall color give ‘Fern Cottage’ a cheerful rosy
glow through most of the season.
Blooms March–July. Size: 3'–3-1/2' high x 2' & spreading; hardy to zone 6. Euphorbia griffithii Fern Cottage (P-0747)
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Euphorbia griffithii ‘Fireglow’
This bold native of the Himalayas and western Asia warms any rock garden and makes a magnificent companion to Corydalis f. ‘Blue Panda’ and Kerria ‘Albiflora’. ‘Fireglow’s flame orange bracts and brick-colored flowers stand torchlike on strong pomegranate red stems, and its soft green
foliage blushes crimson and yellow in the fall.
Blooms April–July. Size: 3' high x 2' & spreading; hardy to zone 6. Euphorbia griffithii Fireglow (p-0070)
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Euphorbia griffithii ‘Great Dixter’
Renowned garden writer Christopher Lloyd, selected this Euphorbia for its sumptuous display of fiery hues. Heightened by purple coral shoots, reddish bronze stems, dark green foliage flushed with copper-red tints and burnt apricot-pink blooms, ‘Great Dixter’ seldom experiences a lackluster moment. The unforgettable brilliance that emanates from this superb, compact griffithii can be shown to great affect next to Brunnera ‘Langtrees’s soothing colors.
Blooms April–July. Size: 2'–3' high x 2' & spreading; hardy to zone 6. Euphorbia griffithii Great Dixter (P-1232)
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Euphorbia longifolia
Native to the mountain meadows and forest clearings of the Himalayas, this vigorous species is most notable for its upright stature and beautiful foliage, highlighted with white midveins and pinkish margins. Along with its big and bright chartreuse flowers, these colors make for a lovely combination with Nepeta ‘Pool Bank’, Miscanthus ‘Malepartus’ and Aster ‘Mönch’ in the perennial border. MIDSPRING SHIPPING
Blooms mid-May–September. Size: 4'–5' high x 3'–4' wide; hardy to zone 6. AVAILABLE MAY 2010 Euphorbia longifolia (P-0400)
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Euphorbia mellifera
We first saw this evergreen Euphorbia at Sissinghurst; its native home is the Canary Islands. Shrublike and taller than its relatives, its smooth green stems are whorled by narrow, bright apple green leaves marked with prominent cream-hued midribs. The "honey-bearing" epithet foretells the ambrosial aroma of its intriguing flowers, which range in color from butter to terra-cotta.
Stately in a container, Euphorbia mellifera is not reliably hardy where winters are cold and wet.
Blooms June–July. Size: 5'–7' high x 3-2/3' wide; hardy to zone 9. Euphorbia mellifera (P-0939)
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Euphorbia myrsinites
Waxed silvery blue, evergreen leaves held in succulent spirals make this stalwart perennial appear otherwordly. In midwinter, its thick trailing stems grow upward, fashioning an 8 in. tall base for the starry, lime-green flowers and lemon-yellow bracts, which form large brilliant crowns, highlighted with pinkish streaks. A Eurasian native undaunted by cold, heat or drought, Euphorbia myrsinites brings an exotic flavor to a well drained site in the rockery or atop a dry stone wall. Zone 5/6.
Blooms April–June. Size: 15" high x 2' wide; hardy to zone 5. Euphorbia myrsinites (p-1260)
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Euphorbia polychroma ‘Candy’
A sweet melding of purplish new tips in spring, sulphur yellow flowers and narrow, curvy-edged leaves with a bluish tint creates an exceptionally tidy, low growing mound. A delectable addition to any border, pair this carefree, long-lived Euphorbia with Brunnera or Omphalodes.
Blooms February–May. Size: 12"–16" high x 2-1/2' wide; hardy to zone 5. Euphorbia polychroma Candy (P-0748)
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Euphorbia rigida
Beware! The sculptural patterns created by these sharply pointed, powder blue, narrow leaves clasping pale green stems may leave you feeling mesmerized. Warmed with burgundy tinges as the weather cools, the fleshy, evergreen foliage bolsters acid green, rounded flower heads that remind us of miniature poinsettia blooms.
Claiming the Mediterranean from Portugal to South Africa as its homeland, this easy-to-grow toughie asks only for a dry, sunny spot, and in turn promises superb winter color in a container or in the garden amid small bulbs and Agave ‘Garland’s Gold’. Zone 7/8.
Blooms April–June. Size: 18"–2' high x 2' wide; hardy to zone 8. Euphorbia rigida (p-1259)
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