Growing Euphorbia for Flower Arrangements

• Spurge, Milkweed or Euphorbia is a genus of hardy shrubs, succulents and perennials that are striking in appearance and invaluable in the garden or for flower arranging.
• Leaves are usually lance shaped and stems contain a milky sap that can irritate your skin.
• Varieties to grow for flower arranging include;
  Euphorbia amygdaloides robbiae with evergreen rosettes of dark green leaves and lime green bracts.
  Euphorbia amygdaloides purpurea a marooon stemed variety.
  Euphorbia characias wulfenii with blue green leaves that grow up to 4 feet.
  Euphorbia polychroma with bright yellow bracts.
  Euphorbia myrsinites is a prostrate form with grey glacous leaves
  Euphorbia griffithii is a hardy perennial that dies down each winter but young foliage is reddish green and the flowers are orange-red.
• These plants are interesting and easy to grow and add shape and texture to your garden.

Special Tips for Flower Arranging with Euphorbia

• Do not cut when the Euphorbia are too immature or the stems will wilt.
• Cut stems must immediately be sealed by flame to stop sap oozing out.
• Resinge or reseal if you trim the ends when re-cutting.
• Vase life should be 7-10 days if conditioned in a bucket of water overnight first.

A full array of books on Flower Arranging and related subjects is available from Amazon. You will find more advice and artistic inspiration amongst this selection.

I would also recommend horticultural flower shows where I am always stunned by the floral arrangement amongst the plants on display.

Top Ten Euphorbia selected from a range of a over 2000 varieties in the genus.

Euphorbia are a wide range of plants many of which are suitable for flower arranging where the bracts and leaves both add interest.
Turn your arrangements into botanical works of art – here are some examples and clubs you could join.
To grow a generic mix of flowers for arrangements and bouquets check out Thompson & Morgan

Other plants in this series
Dahlia
Pittosporum
Alstroemeria
Fatsia Japonica
Corkscrew hazel
Phormium