Question

Euphorbia   Hi, really hope you can help! I have had my Euphoria for about 8 years & its always been fine but lately the color has gone from dark green to pail green & the edges of the stems have gone brown & slightly soft (Hope you can see in the pic) I have always watered it sparingly & not very often, I have never re-poted it though & direct sun light is very minimal..
Any suggestions would be gratefully received!?
Thanks

Answer
Hi there

Your plant is suffering from neglect as you have stated above.

Euphorbia are very tough plants but still need care and if they get the care they need, they will grow into healthy plants. You have been lead into the trap of thinking that because it is a succulent, it stores all the water it needs so it does not need watering like other plants.

They DO need watering every other week in summer but DO NOT need watering through winter unless in central heating when it needs watering every month or so.

The other thing that is causing your plant to fall ill is that it NEEDS full sunlight and even more so in winter when the light levels are low. In the wild, they are in poor soil, blazing heat and have full sun all day everyday.

The next thing is that your plant needs repotting and this is best done in spring or early summer. These plants need alot of room and they need large pots with poor soil that is made up of charcoal, sand, compost and a bit of rubble. Pot it into a pot that is 1 or 2 sizes larger than the one it is in now. DO NOT water it for a few days to let any broken roots dry up. Give it a good watering and make sure it drains freely and do this about 5-7 days after potting.

To sum up:  Water every other week in summer and sparingly if ever in winter.

         Give it full sunlight all year and even stand it outdoors through summer but bring back in before frost.

         Repot in spring and DO NOT water until a few days have passed.

Hope this helps.

Thank you and I hope it will be in tip-top condition in no time.

Jonathan.