Friendship Cactus?

If you have a succulent plant and need help identifying it, this is the place to post it.
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newmexjgs
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Joined: Mon Jul 14, 2008 12:38 am

Friendship Cactus?

Post 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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Tony
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Location: Chino, Ca, USA (zone 10)
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Post 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. :)
Forget the dog...Beware of the plants!!!

Tony
iann
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Joined: Mon Jul 24, 2006 11:10 pm
Location: England

Post by iann »

I think the name Friendship Cactus should be reserved for plants that don't have spines :shock:
--ian
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echinopsis ed
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Joined: Mon Apr 07, 2008 6:53 am
Location: Melbourne, Australia

Post 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.
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echinopsis ed
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Location: Melbourne, Australia

Post 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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newmexjgs
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Joined: Mon Jul 14, 2008 12:38 am

Post 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.
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