Common Name: Martin’s spurge
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Euphorbiaceae
Zone: 6 to 10
Height: 0.50 to 1.00 feet
Spread: 1.00 to 1.50 feet
Bloom Time: June to July
Bloom Description: Yellowish-green bracts
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Dry to medium
Maintenance: Low
Flower: Showy
Leaf: Colorful
Tolerate: Rabbit, Deer, Drought
Culture
Best grown in dry to medium, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. Must have sharply-drained soils. Plants have good drought tolerance, but appreciate some moisture in dry summer periods. Plants are generally tolerant of poor soils, including rocky-sandy ones. Wet soils in winter can be fatal. Plants are considered to be evergreen in warm winter areas. Plants prefer a Mediterranean-type climate and may show some stress in hot and humid summers. Plants are not reliably winter hardy in USDA Zone 5 where they should be sited in protected locations with a root mulch. Pinch stems back to 6" in mid-spring immediately after flowering to encourage bushy growth. Wear gloves when working with this plant to avoid suffering harm from the toxic milky plant sap (eye inflammation, temporary blindness, skin rash/burning). No part of this plant should ever be ingested.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Genus name probably honors Euphorbus, physician to the King of Mauretania.
Hybrid name is presumably in reference to the person who first identified the hybrid.
‘Waleutiny’, commonly sold under the trade name of TINY TIM, is a dwarf cultivar that was discovered in December of 2000 as a naturally occurring single branch sport on an individual Euphorbia x martinii plant growing at the nursery of the inventor (Albert Crowther) at Walberton, West Sussex, United Kingdom. It is much shorter than the typical x martini hybrid plant, having smaller leaves and inflorescences and typically growing in a rounded mound to only 12” tall with a spread to 15” wide. It features the same tiny, non-showy flowers held within and subtended by yellowish-green petal-like bracts which form showy flower-like cups each with a contrasting red eye. Flowers/bracts appear in spring and summer in open sprays/clusters. The bracts acquire attractive pink tones in fall. Leaves (each to 2 1/ 4” long by 3/8” wide) and stems are burgundy-green. U.S. Plant Patent PP16,930 was issued on August 1, 2006.
Problems
No known serious insect or disease problems. Noted for good resistance to powdery mildew. Gardeners with skin allergies should consider using gloves when working with this plant because of its toxic plant sap.
Uses
Beds and borders. Rock gardens. Small area ground cover. Edger. Best in groups. Containers.