Mediterranean Spurge

Mediterranean Spurge (Euphorbia characias subsp. wulfenii) brings architecture to a dry sunny bed rather than more flowers. It forms an upright dome of blue grey stems to about 1.2m tall and 1.2m wide, then throws large domed heads of lime green and yellow bracts in late winter and spring, before most of the garden has woken up. It asks for sun and drainage and little else.

Why you'll love it

• Structure that holds all year. Whorled blue grey foliage on stiff upright stems reads as a solid form even out of flower.
• Colour when nothing else has it. The lime green heads open in late winter and hold for months, filling the gap before the summer perennials start.
• Built for hard sites. Drought tolerant, frost hardy, salt tolerant and happy in poor soil, which is a rare combination in one plant.
• Very little maintenance. One cut a year to remove spent stems is close to the whole job.

Where it works best

Mass planting and drifts. Plant 80cm apart for a massed display. At that spacing the domes touch without crowding, so the bed reads as one sweeping form rather than a row of shrubs.

Coastal gardens. It handles salt laden wind, so it works on exposed frontages where softer perennials burn. Combine it with rock rose and other grey leaved coastal planting.

Feature planting, borders and rockeries. A single plant against a rendered wall earns its place on shape alone. In a rockery it wants the top of the slope, where drainage is sharpest.

Growing Mediterranean spurge in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun and open air. It suits Mediterranean, warm temperate, cool temperate and arid or semi-arid gardens, which covers most of southern and inland Australia. It is genuinely frost hardy. Humid summer rainfall areas are the weak point, because warmth combined with wet is what rots the crown.

Soil. Free draining above all. Sandy, gravelly and rocky soils are ideal, and poor soil is fine. On clay, plant on a raised mound with coarse sand worked through, or use a large pot instead.

Water and feed. Water weekly for the first summer, then only through extended dry spells. It rarely needs feeding, and rich soil produces floppy growth.

Pruning. Cut flowered stems right to the base once the bracts brown off, usually in early summer. Wear gloves and eye protection: the milky sap is a genuine skin and eye irritant and should be washed off promptly.

What to expect when it arrives

It is grown in three sizes: tube, 140mm in a pack of 10 and 200mm in a pack of 6. The packs suit the way it is normally planted, in numbers rather than singly. Tube and 140mm plants arrive as young rosettes 10cm to 20cm high; the 200mm plants are often already branching. Expect the first full flowering display in the second spring.

Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95 and a minimum order of $300 before delivery, and every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee. One warning worth taking seriously: the sap is toxic to pets as well as irritating to skin, so this is not a plant for a bed where dogs chew or dig.

Plant care guides and related reading

• How to plan a waterwise garden
• Browse the drought tolerant range
• Compare coastal and salt tolerant plants
• Plants that cope with poor soil

Common questions

How far apart should I plant it?

Set plants 80cm apart for a massed display. That gives each dome room to reach its full 1.2m spread while the group still reads as a single planting.

Is the sap dangerous?

The milky sap irritates skin and eyes, and the plant is toxic to pets if chewed. Wear gloves and glasses when pruning, wash contact off straight away, and choose something else for a garden where animals graze.

When and how do I cut it back?

Cut each flowered stem to the base in early summer once the bracts have browned. New shoots are already coming from the crown by then, and removing old stems keeps the plant dense rather than leggy.