Crown of Thorns combine beautiful flowers and foliage with unique, almost scary-looking stems. In my experience, this plant is very resilient, low maintenance, and can easily rebloom.
IMAGES FROM: NEW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN, @ROBINHOUSEPLANTHOBBY, @CAPTURINGGROWTH
Botanical Name: Euphorbia milii
Commonly known as Crown of Thorns, Christ Plant, Christ Thorn
According to North Carolina State Extension "its historic presence in the Middle East led to the belief by some that the stems of this plant had been used in Christ's crown of thorns, hence the common name," Christ Plant or Christ Thorn
Crown of Thornes can grow upwards of 5-6' tall but normally as a houseplant, they won't grow much larger than 2-3' tall. They are known for their spiny, dark stems where bright green foliage and bright flowers growing on the ends of them. Flower colors can span white, yellow, pink or red depending on the variety or hybrid.
Sun Requirements:
For the fullest foliage and most blooms, putting this plant in bright light is ideal but bright indirect light also works! Once you try medium light, you may notice the plant can get leggy and minimal blooms.
For BEST blooming, this plant does need darkness so make sure at night, this plant does get some appropriate darkness.
If you need any guidance to understanding light, or are in need of a grow light to help increase your light, check out the links!
Water Requirement
Crown of Thorns does best with dry to medium moisture. It is best to allow this plant to almost dry out before re-watering.
In my experience, if you wait too long to water, you can loose some foliage so you want to be careful not to under water. I've seen that this plant is very resilient so even if you do loose some foliage, you may be able to gain some back!
Extra humidity is not necessary for the Crown of Thorns so no need to place near your humidifier or consistently mist!
Fertilizer
In multiple resources, they say overfertilizing can cause a reduction in flowers so I would recommend using an all purpose fertilizer and reducing the recommended ratio to help prevent overfertilizing.
There have been mixed suggestions online. It doesn't require fertilizer to thrive but I you wanted to try something, I would concentrate on a using a balanced fertilizer or a nitrogen focused fertilizer that helps with foliage/stem growth. It is also best to use less than the recommended amounts on the fertilizer packaging.
For this, I would use my I currently use Fox Farm's Grow Big Liquid Fertilizer and I would fertilize about every 2 weeks, starting around the end of February through October. I only fertilize once or twice in winter because the plant isn't as active!
There are MANY ways to fertilize and it is completely up to you! If you need more information, check out Fertilizer Explained!
Propagation
It is best to propagate using the stem cutting method. For best success, water your Crown a Thorns a day or two before propagating so the stem is full of moisture.
New York Botanical Garden explains this process best... "With a sterile cutting tool, cut off the top 3 - 4 inches of a healthy, young stem. Older stems have less of a capacity to generate new leaves, so only take cuttings from young stems; thinner than your pinky is a good rule to follow. You may wish to cut off a longer piece to shape the parent plant, but then trim it to 3 - 4 inches for propagation purposes. Make sure the stems you cut have leaves on them. Spray the cut end with cool water to stop the sap from flowing." "Place cuttings on a paper towel for 2 - 3 days to give the wound time to callous over. Remove most of the leaves on the cuttings, leaving on 3 or 4. Keep the cuttings out of direct sun at this time. Pot up in a soil mix that has good drainage, like the potting soil and perlite mixture described above."
Please take precaution when propagating since the white, latex sap can cause irritation when it comes into contact with your skin. Also, make sure to keep away from your eyes!
Other Facts
All part of the Euphorbiaceae Family AKA Spurge Family.
Crown of Thorns is native to Madagascar but varieties of Euphoria are found to be native all around the world! That being said, most are found in tropical or temperate climates.
Under stress, this plant can defoliate completely. A couple of the most common issues causing stress are severe underwatering and growing in higher temperatures (for outdoor growth).
As some varieties mature, the foliage will continue to fall off and mostly the tips of the stems will be covered in foliage. This is normal! To help keep your plant compact and fuller, you can consistently trim your Crown of Thorns. Just make sure there is foliage on the stems below where you are trimming.
Since these plants like to be dry in between waterings, I would recommend potting in a well draining soil which could include simply contain increased sand or perlite.
Yes these are poisonous to pets! According to Pet Poison Hotline "Euphorbia species plants may cause irritation to the mouth, gastrointestinal tract, skin, and eyes following exposure. This is largely due to the milky sap within the plant that contains numerous irritants." If you are interested in learning about more pet friendly plants, check out Podcast Ep#31 for more info or the corresponding blog post!
Instagram Q&A
I always ask followers if they had any specific questions, opinions or hot-takes I can address in this podcast and blog. Here are what people told me and and my answers for this topic:
This wasn't a Insta Q&A but it was a convo I wanted to share from @robinhouseplanthobby on Instagram! You can see the plant image they shared at the beginning of the blog!
Robin "I've had her for 2 year this month and she flowers regularly, even inside!"
Holly "What do you think has been the key to its success? Lighting? Watering?"
Robin "Possibly a combo, it seems to like bright indirect lighting. I hosed it once a week in the summer outside. And in winter, maybe every other to every third week waterings. (I'm a chronic under waterer.). Other than that I leave it alone. Only repotted once to get it out of its nursery pot and into a ceramic pot."
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Love, Holly (Owner & Creator of Houseplant Homebody LLC)
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