Pencil cactus

Pencil cactus Euphorbia tirucalli

What is the plant

Pencil Cactus (aka Euphorbia tirucalli) is not a cactus. It is a rugged succulent plant that can grow to be over thirty feet high in the wild. However, it can also be kept to a more moderate height of 6′-8′ feet when kept as a houseplant.

These attractive, interesting and beautiful fire stick succulent plants take on a great deal of character as they age, and older plants develop thick inner branches with rough, gray, highly textured bark. The foliage is an attractive shade of green throughout most of the year and transitions to yellow, orange or red during the cooler months. The plant originates in South Africa and India and has a lot of common names including Rubber-hedge euphorbia (Eng.), Kraalmelkbos (Africa.), Indiantree spurge, Firestick Cactus, Pencil Cactus, Sticks on fire, Pencil plant, Finger Tree, Naked lady, Red Pencil tree, Milk bush, ET. Euphorbia tirucalli produces small yellowish flowers that attract butterflies, bees and other insects. Euphorbia tirucalli flowers grow in clusters in the apex or angle of the branches during the cooler months of the year.

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Humidity

Dry

Lighting

Part Sun

Temperature

15°C - 30°C

Hardiness zone

10a - 11b

Difficulty

Easy

Hibernation

Cold Period

Toxicity

Poisonous

Water
In general, most cultivated cacti will be desert denizens, so watering overhead should be avoided. Potted plants can be set in a saucer of water to intake moisture through a roots. Remove a plant from a saucer after a soil is saturated halfway up. Another method of cactus plant watering is to simply apply it to a surface of a soil.
Sunlight
Grows it's best and fastest with full sun exposure, but it can do well in partial shade.
Fertilizer
Most cacti and succulents don't need a specific blend. They grow healthy and happy when fed with a highly diluted all-purpose fertilizer. However, a low-nitrogen content, water-soluble fertilizer is best suited for the job. Use a 5-10-10 blend or 10-10-10 fertilizer diluted to 1/4th strength.

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Soil
Mix together three parts potting soil, three parts coarse sand or gravel, and two parts perlite or pumice. Don't use a potting soil mix that contains fertilizers because the fertilizer can burn cacti roots and cause leggy growth.
Pruning
Use sharp pruning shears to remove the sucker branches and the errant branches that are growing in the wrong direction or making it difficult to fertilize the tree. Since lemon cypress has a conical habit, trim the tree as per its natural shape. Trimming should be done every week during the summer.
Temperature
Although this plant can tolerate temperatures from 25º-100ºF, it prefers temperatures ranging from 50º – 70ºF. Ideal firesticks plant temperature range is 65º – 70ºF, so it does well year-round indoors at normal household temperatures.

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Container
Plants that don't like a lot of moisture will need a drainage hole for moisture to escape and for airflow to circulate through the pot. Another important function of drainage holes is to allow water to flush the soil of excess salts from fertilizers. Terracotta containers are a good choice for cactus gardens. They let water evaporate faster than other materials. Terracotta containers are a good choice for cactus gardens. They let water evaporate faster than other materials.
Popularity
7,496 people already have this plant 1,632 people have added this plant to their wishlists