Common Name: spurge
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Euphorbiaceae
Zone: 6 to 10
Height: 1.00 to 1.50 feet
Spread: 1.50 to 2.00 feet
Bloom Time: May to June
Bloom Description: Yellow
Sun: Full sun
Water: Dry to medium
Maintenance: Low
Suggested Use: Ground Cover
Flower: Showy
Leaf: Colorful
Tolerate: Rabbit, Deer, Drought, Dry Soil, Shallow-Rocky Soil, Air Pollution
Culture
Best grown in dry to medium, well-drained soils in full sun. Appreciates some afternoon shade in hot summer climates. However, clumps tend to open up and lose their attractive shape in too much shade. Must have sharply-drained soils. Wet soils, particularly in winter, can be fatal. Plants are tolerant of some poor soils, including rocky-sandy ones. Plants generally prefer a Mediterranean-type climate and may show some stress in hot and humid summers.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Euphorbia is a genus of about 2,000 species of annuals, herbaceous perennials, trees, shrubs and succulents found in temperate, subtropical and tropical areas. All plant parts are toxic and can cause severe discomfort if eaten. The milky sap can cause skin irritation.
Genus name probably honors Euphorbus, physician to the King of Mauretania.
'Blue Haze' was discovered by Anthony Robin White of Great Britain in July 2000. It resulted from the cross of an unnamed Euphorbia seguieriana as the seed parent and an unnamed Euphorbia nicaeensis as the pollen parent. It is distinguished by narrowly lance-shaped, powder-blue foliage on red stems and small clusters of tiny, yellow flowers surrounded by prominent, chartreuse-yellow to soft yellow bracts. Blooming in spring, the flowers are held on terminal stems and born axial to the leaf joints. It forms a compact, semi-spreading mound that is evergreen in warmer climates and grows 1 to 1 1/2 ft. tall and 1 1/2 to 2 ft. wide. United States Plant Patent PP#14,868 awarded June 8, 2004.
Problems
No serious insect or disease problems. Use gloves when working with this plant. Some gardeners experience skin rashes from contact with the toxic plant sap of euphorbias. Deer tend to avoid this plant.
Uses
Beds, borders and rock gardens.