Griffith’s spurge

Griffith’s spurge: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Upright, sparsely branched stems 60–80 cm tall, spreading by rhizomes into a wide, loose drift.

Leaves

Narrowly lance-shaped, dark green with a red or pink midrib; red, orange and yellow in autumn.

Flower

Small, inconspicuous flowers in clusters at the stem tips, surrounded by brightly coloured bracts, from May to July.

Colour

Orange to brick red, depending on the cultivar; brightest in full sun.

Sap

All parts contain a white, milky sap that runs from any wound and irritates the skin and eyes.

Roots

Creeping rhizomes: in moist, rich soil it spreads quickly.

Flowering: May–July · Plants: March–April and September–October · Pruning: March and November

Why grow it?

• One of the brightest colours in the border: orange-red bracts from May into July.
• A second season in autumn, when the leaves turn red, orange and yellow.
• Grows in sun and partial shade, even in moist soil where most other spurges rot.
• Rabbits and deer usually leave it alone because of its bitter sap.
• Bees visit the small flowers, which produce nectar.
• Quickly fills a large space: lovely in a natural border or in moist soil near a pond.

Griffith’s spurge: where does it grow best?

• Sun to partial shade. Colours are brightest in sun; in partial shade the soil stays moist for longer.
• Moisture-retentive, humus-rich soil: sand, loam or clay, acid to chalky. It also tolerates wet spots.
• On dry, sandy soil it stays smaller and spreads less; add compost and water in dry spells.
• Give it room: plant 60–80 cm apart and not right next to small, delicate plants it could swamp.
• Avoid planting it right beside a path or play area: anyone who snaps a stem gets sap on their skin.

Light

Sun and partial shade

Soil type

Sand, loam or clay

Acidity

Not fussy

Moisture

Normal or wet

Size

0.8 m tall, 0.9 m wide

Hardiness

Hardy (to -25 °C)

Goes well with

• Siberian iris: Narrow, upright leaves and blue flowers in the same moist soil, at the same time.
• Daylily: Carries on flowering when the bracts fade, in sun or partial shade.
• Cranesbill: Blue or purple flowers as a cool contrast to the orange.
• Lady’s mantle: Fresh green leaves and lime-green frothy flowers at its feet.

Griffith’s spurge: when and how to plant it?

Plant in March–April and September–October.

1. Plant in March–April or in September–October, when the soil is neither frozen nor too wet.
2. Wear gloves: roots or stems sometimes snap while planting and release sap.
3. Dig a hole twice as wide as the root ball and mix in compost, especially on sandy soil.
4. Set the plant at the same depth as it was in the pot, firm in and leave 60–80 cm between plants.
5. To limit its spread, sink a root barrier 25–30 cm deep around the planting spot.
6. Water in well straight away and mulch with leaf mould.

Care

Water

Keep the soil moist in the first year. After that, water only in dry summers, especially on sandy soil or in full sun.

Feeding

A spadeful of compost in spring is enough; too much fertiliser gives floppy stems.

Mulching

Leaf mould or wood chips in spring keep the soil cool and moist.

Spread

Every spring, chop off any runners that go too far with a spade.

Support

Usually not needed. In heavy shade or very rich soil the stems fall open; a ring then helps.

Gloves

Always wear gloves and do not touch your eyes while working on the plant.

Tip: To keep it in check, plant it in a bottomless bucket or inside a root barrier 25–30 cm deep: you enjoy the colour without it taking over the border.

Griffith’s spurge: when to prune it?

Pruning months: March and November.

When: Cut the stems down in November, after the autumn colour, or leave them standing and cut them away in March, before the new shoots appear.

How:

• Cut all old stems back to just above the ground.
• Wear gloves and mind your eyes: sap runs at once from every cut stem.
• Put the prunings on the compost heap or in the green waste bin, out of reach of children and animals.
• Wash your hands and your secateurs afterwards.

Caution: The sap irritates the skin and eyes. Wear gloves, do not touch your face and rinse at once with plenty of water if you get any on you.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Division

In March–April or in September: chop a piece of rhizome with shoots from the edge of the drift and replant it at once. Wear gloves.

Basal cuttings

In April: cut young shoots of 8–10 cm at the base, dip the cut end briefly in lukewarm water to stop the sap flowing and insert them in moist cutting compost.

Griffith’s spurge: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy to −25 °C.

• Hardy to about −25 °C: no protection is needed in Belgium.
• It dies back in autumn and reappears in spring with reddish shoots.
• It copes with wet winter soil far better than most spurges.
• In a large pot: stand it against a wall in winter and wrap the pot in hessian in severe frost.

Diseases and pests

• Spreading: It spreads by rhizomes and pops up some distance away. Chop off runners every spring or plant it inside a root barrier.
• Falling open: Too much shade or too rich a soil makes the stems splay. Move it to a lighter spot and feed less.
• Poor colour: In deep shade the bracts stay dull. A spot with at least half a day of sun helps.
• Aphids: Sometimes on young shoots in May. Spraying them off with water is usually enough.
• Skin irritation: Red, itchy skin after working on the plant: that is the sap. Rinse with water and wear gloves from now on.

Through the year

• March: Cut away old stems if you did not do so in autumn. Plant and divide.
• April: Plant. Chop off runners. Take basal cuttings. Add compost.
• May: The first orange-red bracts colour up.
• June: Full colour. Water in dry spells.
• July: Last colour of the bracts. Water in dry spells.
• September: Plant and divide.
• October: Autumn colour in red, orange and yellow. Plant.
• November: Cut down the stems after the autumn colour, wearing gloves.

Edible and useful

Not edible. All parts of spurges contain a white, milky sap that is poisonous and caustic. On the skin it causes redness, itching and sometimes blisters; in the eyes it is extremely painful and can damage the cornea. Whenever you work on the plant, wear gloves, long sleeves and ideally safety glasses, do not rub your eyes, wash your hands and secateurs afterwards, and teach children not to break off the stems. If sap gets in your eyes, rinse them at once under running lukewarm water for at least a quarter of an hour and see a doctor. Swallowed, it burns the mouth and causes vomiting and stomach ache, in dogs and cats too; horses and livestock fall ill from it: never throw clippings into a field. If any is swallowed, call a poison centre (in Belgium 070 245 245) or your doctor at once.

Good for wildlife

Bees

Nectar and pollen for honeybees and wild bees.

Did you know?

• The name Euphorbia refers to Euphorbus, physician to King Juba II of Mauretania, some 2000 years ago.
• The species is named after the British botanist William Griffith, who collected plants in the 19th century, including in Bhutan.
• What looks like a flower is a cyathium: a little cup holding one female and several male flowers without petals, surrounded by coloured bracts.