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Friendship Cactus?

Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 3:03 am
by newmexjgs
I bought this very small cactus at a nursery in NM about 4 years ago. It has grown now to about 2 ft tall. It is green with purple "leaves" and I had to stake it to keep it from falling over. It has never bloomed. A friend of mine called it a Friendship Cactus but I can't find that online. She also told me that when it got too big to break it in pieces and repot the pieces. I just want to be sure before I possibly kill this beautiful plant.
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Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 3:20 am
by Tony
Nice plant!.
Its not a cactus but a succulent called a Euphorbia, looks like maybe E. trigona
Be careful if you do cut it of the sap that is poisonous and dont get it in your eyes.

Welcome to the forum. :)

Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 10:33 am
by iann
I think the name Friendship Cactus should be reserved for plants that don't have spines :shock:

Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 11:31 am
by echinopsis ed
Tony wrote:Nice plant!.
Its not a cactus but a succulent called a Euphorbia, looks like maybe E. trigona
Be careful if you do cut it of the sap that is poisonous and dont get it in your eyes.

Welcome to the forum. :)
Yep Euphorbia trigona the red version. It also comes in a green version where the small leaves are all green as opposed to the purple coloured leaved one newmexjgs has.

I have both growing indoors and when they reach 2 metres in height, I'm gonna be needing to put them outside to fend for themselves with Winter temps.

Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 11:38 am
by echinopsis ed
Plant it outdoors in a frost free environment and watch it grow like crazy. :wink:

Here's a pic I took in the north of Brasil in a place called Cordeiros. It's about 3 metres high.
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Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 1:54 am
by newmexjgs
Thanks for your help and quick response! I wish I could plant this outdoors but we can have some pretty cold, snowy winters. I live in northern NM.I found instructions on line for propagation which I will share here. My friend was wrong about the name but she was right about propagation! I hate to cut it up but it's falling over! Thanks again for you help!

This plant can be rooted from stem cuttings. As is with almost all of the Euphorbia when you take the cutting the plant will bleed a sticky, white sap (not a good substance to get into the eyes, cuts or sensitive skin). The cuttings have rooted best during the hotter parts of the year....Take the cutting... let it callus for a day or so....I use perlite to root it in....bury the cutting in the perlite 2-3 or more inches depending on the size of the cuttings...use a layer of coarse rock to add support to the plant and weight to the pot so the cutting won't tip....with perlite the chance of over watering is almost eliminated...put in a moderate light area and keep warm...this has worked for me...be patient.