Coral Cactus

Believe it or now I'm a succulent hybrid. My amazing colourful crest is from the Euphorbia lactea, and then grafted onto the upright spiky stem of the Euphorbia neriifolia. It's like I'm the best of both! Amazing hey! 

Botanical name - euphorbia lactea cristata

Origin - Africa

Bright Sunlight

I'm a sucker for the sun so if you have a bright sunny spot I'm your guy. It builds me up and makes me strong. I can also tolerate slightly away from a bright window as long as the I'm getting between 3-5 hours of full sunlight a day I'll be happy.

Infrequent Watering

As I am a combination of two euphorbias I don't like to be treated exactly like a normal cactus. A long period of drought can cause irreversible damage to the coral crest part of me. 

Instead of waiting for me to completely dry out like you would a cactus just let the top 2 inches of soil dry out in between waterings.  In spring summer, my growing months I will require a little more water than usual. Be sure once the top few inches of soil is dry to give me a deep water, wait to see water come out of the bottom of the pot. But whatever you do don't leave me sitting in water for days at a time as I will go mushy and rot. In the winter months you can reign back the watering to maybe once a month as I will be in a dormant phase. 

REMEMBER TO ALWAYS CHECK THE SOIL BEFORE WATERING! 

Care Tips

Overwatering is my biggest killer so remember if my soil's not looking dry or I'm heavier than normal to pick up don't give me any water. If you see mould on my soil the spot I'm in is too dark and I would like to see more sun. 

When watering water the soil and not the plant directly as if the water settles or gets trapped in the crest it can cause rot.