Pencil Cactus (aka Euphorbia tirucalli or ET) just isn’t a cactus. It’s a rugged succulent plant that may develop to over 30’ toes excessive within the wild.
Nevertheless, it may also be stored to a extra reasonable top of 6′ to eight′ toes when stored as a houseplant.
These engaging, attention-grabbing, and exquisite fireplace stick succulent vegetation tackle a substantial amount of character as they age, and older vegetation develop thick inside branches with tough, grey, extremely textured bark.
The foliage is a horny shade of inexperienced all through a lot of the 12 months and transitions to yellow, orange, or crimson throughout the cooler months.
On this article, we are going to share data on rising, caring for, and appreciating this fascinating plant. Learn on to study extra.
Firestick Plant Fast Rising Information:
Household: Euphorbiaceae
Origin: South Africa, the Arabian peninsula, and India
Frequent Names: Rubber-hedge euphorbia (Eng.), Kraalmelkbos (Africa.), Indian tree spurge, Firestick Cactus, Pencil Cactus, Sticks on fireplace, Pencil plant, Finger Tree, Bare girl, Crimson Pencil tree, Milk bush, ET
Top: 6’ when stored indoors or in a container outside, 15′-30’ when grown as a panorama plant underneath preferrred situations.
USDA Hardiness Zones: 9A – 10A Within the nice outside, the plant is hardy to 25° levels Fahrenheit. It does very nicely in common family temperatures and thrives in low humidity.
Flowers: Euphorbia tirucalli produces small yellowish flowers that entice butterflies, bees, and different bugs. Firestick flowers develop in clusters on the apex or angle of the branches throughout the cooler months of the 12 months.
Fruits: The fuzzy, pinkish fruits develop on brief stalks in three-part clusters about 3/4″ of an inch in diameter.
Foliage: This plant’s leaves are tiny and skinny, and chances are you’ll miss them altogether as they fall off very quickly after showing. When the small leaves fall, they go away scars on the limbs which add to the visible curiosity of this plant.
Makes use of: These versatile vegetation have many makes use of. They’re usually stored indoors as a houseplant in modern inside designs, together with the prickly pear Opuntia cactus.
They’re used as panorama vegetation in scorching, dry climates.
When rising a pencil tree plant outside, the small flowers present pollen for bees, and birds can safely eat the plant’s seeds.
In South Africa, a “rubber hedge” is commonly planted round livestock pens and different areas for privateness and to maintain intruders out.
In African people medication, the sap could also be used to deal with sexual impotence and snakebite; nevertheless, this isn’t beneficial because the sap is kind of poisonous, and it’s also used to poison fish.
When grown within the wild, giant, mature pencil timber yield very arduous lumber used to make roof struts. [source]
Miscellaneous: In Venezuela and Columbia, ET is an important biofuel crop. This video reveals how it’s grown and harvested. The video additionally offers good views of the plant in a great outside setting and good data on finest take care of and propagate it.
Pencil Fireplace Stick Plant Care Suggestions
Care varies considerably relying on whether or not you need to maintain your pencil plant indoors or outside.
Euphorbia Tirucalli Cactus Indoor Care
Gentle: This plant enjoys the complete solar making it a superb alternative for a really sunny window setting. Rotate the plant periodically for balanced development and even shade growth throughout the cooler months.
Water: The home plant must be watered weekly throughout the rising season. Take care to supply well-drained soil and loads of drainage holes within the container to keep away from root rot. In the reduction of to month-to-month watering throughout the cooler months.
Temperature: Though this plant can tolerate temperatures from 25º-100º levels Fahrenheit, it prefers temperatures starting from 50º – 70º levels Fahrenheit. The best firesticks plant temperature vary is 65º – 70º levels Fahrenheit, so it does nicely year-round indoors at regular family temperatures.
Soil: Use high-quality, well-drained cactus or succulent potting soil with a pH of about 6.0.
Fertilizer: Chances are you’ll feed your finger plant seasonally with a controlled-release fertilizer or use a weak liquid houseplant meals each week.
Mature vegetation do nicely with a 20-20-20 fertilizer. Youthful vegetation do higher with a decrease nitrogen score. Some folks don’t fertilize the pencil plant in any respect.
Tirucalli Sticks On Fireplace Cactus Out of doors Care
Gentle: Open air, the firestick plant does nicely with both partial or direct solar. It’s finest to put this succulent shrub the place it will get shiny solar publicity on all sides for balanced development and coloration.
Attempt to present no less than 5-6 hours of daylight per day indoors so the plant receives sufficient mild.
Avoid direct daylight whereas rooting to forestall burns. Water the soil each few days or when it feels dry.
Water: It’s higher to provide too little water than an excessive amount of. Open air water this drought-tolerant pencil tree deeply about as soon as a month throughout the rising season and as soon as each couple of months throughout cool climate.
These drought-tolerant vegetation could do nicely with solely rainwater. In the reduction of on watering and permit the plant to dry out and recuperate from an excessive amount of water.
Soil: When planting outside, it’s a good suggestion so as to add some mild, completed compost and/or some loam to your soil to enhance its aeration and draining capabilities.
Fertilizer: If you happen to maintain a worm composting bin, you will see {that a} layer of worm compost or worm castings unfold excessive of the soil yearly offers all of the nourishment your ET wants.
Pests and Illnesses: With their poisonous sap, these vegetation are pretty pest resistant.
Frequent succulent pests, reminiscent of plant mites, colonies of mealybugs, cactus scale, and aphids bugs on vegetation, could also be an issue for over-watered and weakened vegetation, however for probably the most half, Euphorbia tirucalli is pest free. [source]
Pencil Cactus Propagation, Transplanting, & Repotting
If you happen to plan on transplanting a milk bush, do it whereas the plant remains to be small. Shifting a tall Firestick pencil cactus is tough as a result of its weight and breaking branches.
Bear in mind, you need to restrict publicity to the poisonous, irritating milky sap. The commonest cause for mushy is overwatering.
If you wish to relocate an out of doors crimson pencil tree, put on goggles, gloves, lengthy pants, and a long-sleeved shirt.
Change garments and wash up as quickly as you might be finished.
NOTE: Some people could expertise an allergic response to the poisonous white sap, and a few even have extreme reactions. Don’t maintain the plant in a location the place young children will are available contact with the plant.
Tirucalli Euphorbia Wants Repotting Ceaselessly
These vegetation produce new development quickly, and chances are you’ll have to repot yearly or no less than each couple of years. It’s finest to permit the soil surrounding any succulent to dry earlier than repotting.
Take away the plant from its pot and knock away or shake off all of the dry potting soil. If the roots turn out to be broken, deal with affected areas with a fungicide to forestall root rot.
Put the plant into a brand new container and add a lightweight, well-draining soil combination. Commonplace cactus or a succulent combine works nicely. Chances are you’ll want to add some mild, completed compost to supply nourishment and relieve you of the duty of fertilizing.
Don’t water the newly potted succulent for a couple of week. This can encourage root development and discourage root rot.
Pencil Plant Propagation Is Straightforward
There’s not a lot have to relocate these vegetation as a result of these cactus vegetation are really easy to propagate from cuttings.
Bear in mind to guard your self from the sap when taking cuttings. Dip the lower finish in chilly, recent water to cease the sap from flowing.
Go away stem cuttings within the open air for per week or so to type a callous. Pop it right into a pot of moist sand, succulent combine, or cactus combine. You’ll most likely see development inside per week to 10 days.
Is The Firestick Succulent Toxic?
Once you image the Pencil Cactus in your thoughts’s eye, you might be unlikely to understand that it’s intently associated to such numerous vegetation as:
One factor these vegetation all have in frequent is irritating/poisonous white sap. Regardless of precautions in regards to the toxicity of the firestick plant, the sizeable shrubby succulent can create a shocking colourful panorama function in a yard.
All members of the Euphorbia household comprise this toxic, irritating sap. Euphorbia tirucalli is probably the most highly effective of all of them. That’s why it’s so essential to guard your eyes, fingers, and pores and skin when pruning.
Keep away from informal contact with the plant. Place your “sticks on fireplace” plant fastidiously so persons are not continually brushing up towards it and breaking its branches.
You must particularly maintain youngsters and pets away.
Associated: Is The Firestick Plant Poisonous Or Toxic?
What You Want To Know About Pruning Fireplace Stick Vegetation
Euphorbia is used as a hedge plant in Africa as a result of its dense rising behavior. Indoor vegetation might have trimming and tidying as much as management dimension and enhance look.
Out of doors vegetation capable of develop freely won’t want as a lot pruning. It’s a good suggestion to skinny the stems now and again to permit mild and air circulation.
Indoors or outside, be sure you prune in a balanced method so the plant doesn’t turn out to be top-heavy, inflicting landscaping vegetation to interrupt and fall and potted vegetation to tumble over.
All the time prune stems again to the primary trunk. Don’t chop them off within the center, as this produces an unsightly look and causes the plant to department out.
Drop lower branches into a bathtub of chilly water to manage the sap spillage. Wipe sap off the primary trunk with a cool, damp material to assist cease its movement and to forestall by accident coming in touch with it as you’re employed.
When pruning, take nice care to not get the sap in your eyes or in your face. Topical publicity to the diterpene esters discovered within the sap may cause numbness, tingling, and burning sensations.
Getting the sap in your eyes may cause corneal harm and will end in momentary blindness.
If you happen to get sap in your pores and skin or in your eyes, flush with copious quantities of recent water instantly.
When washing milk bush sap from the pores and skin, wash gently with clear, operating water. Don’t scrub or rub.
When flushing the attention, use clear, operating water and proceed flushing for about twenty minutes to make certain each hint is eliminated.
In both case, if this doesn’t relieve your signs utterly, search medical help.
What To Do In Case Of Unintentional Ingestion
In case you have youngsters or pets, pay attention to the signs to observe for within the occasion of unintentional ingestion.
- Burning in and across the mouth
- Irregular heartbeat
- Abdomen cramps
- Pores and skin Rashes
- Vomiting
- Seizures
- Bronchial asthma
The kind of signs current and their severity depend on the quantity of the plant that’s ingested. In case of ingestion, take away any remnants of the plant from the kid or pet’s mouth and rinse with clear water.
If the sufferer is a toddler, comply with up by calling your pediatrician or the Poison Management Heart at 1-800-222-1222 instantly.
Observe directions fastidiously, and keep in mind to take a pattern of the plant together with you in case you are instructed to go to the emergency room.
In case your little one is experiencing excessive temperature, shortness of breath, seizures and/or unconsciousness, don’t waste time. Name 911. [source]
The latex sap present in Euphorbia can be poisonous to cats, canines, and equines (horses, donkeys, and mules). [source]
If you happen to discover your cat or canine is vomiting and/or experiencing irritation in and across the mouth, chances are you’ll suspect pencil cactus poisoning.
With equines, you’d see oral irritation, hassle swallowing, and signs of ache within the abdomen and scour, however these animals can’t regurgitate.
If you happen to assume your pet has consumed Euphorbia tirucalli, name your veterinarian or the ASPCA poison hotline (888-426-4435) for recommendation. In case you are instructed to carry your pet into your vet’s workplace or to an emergency clinic, be sure you take alongside a pattern of the plant. [source]
Is It Secure To Hold The Euphorbia Firestick Cactus At All?
Dire as all this sounds, you needn’t go overboard with alarm.
There are many doubtlessly toxic vegetation, however fortunately most of them style horrible and unintentional ingestion is uncommon.
If you happen to place your pencil tree plant sensibly so folks and pets will not be continually knocking up towards it, you might be unlikely to have issues with unintentional pores and skin contact publicity.
Simply keep in mind to be very cautious when pruning, put on gloves, and put on eye safety. Pencil tree cactus doesn’t simply drip sap. It has been identified to squirt or spray it! [source]
Even The Worst Gardener Can Develop Comfortable, Wholesome Pencil Plant Cactus
In case you have a brightly lit, heat, dry area, you’ll be able to count on your Pencil Tree to rapidly and simply develop.
These unique-looking vegetation make engaging and weird specimen vegetation within the backyard, solarium, or greenhouse. They pair nicely with a phenomenal container to decorate issues up.
It’s doable to manage your plant’s dimension with common pruning, however be sure you comply with all the protection precautions we outlined right here. Bear in mind to put your plant the place it may be seen however not bumped!
In case you are a forgetful gardener or one who tends to be absent steadily, this drought-loving plant could also be simply the suitable alternative to your sunny window, deck, or rock backyard.
Pencil vegetation are straightforward to take care of and demand so little. In case you have a number of mild and slightly water, you and your pencil cactus will get alongside simply wonderful.
