Euphorbia 'Blackbird' Advice

I special ordered Euphorbia 'Blackbird' from my local nursery earlier this Spring, and when I went to pick it up it the bracts were intact and it was blooming, but didn't have a single leaf on it. I asked the staff about it, and they said that it should grow more leaves. It's now just about finished blooming and the bracts are starting to turn brown. No new leaves have sprouted on the existing branches, nor is there any sign of new growth. I've never grown euphorbias before, and am wondering what I should do...prune off all growth and hope it re-sprouts, leave it alone, etc. It's still in its original pot, as I'm redoing the garden beds...but I'd like to plant it soon if possible. Here is a (crummy) pic of the whole plant:

...and here's a pic of one of the bare stems:

Thanks in advance for the help :-)

I would take that plant back to your garden center. It shouldn't do that. Look at this page http://perennialresource.com/encyclopedia/view/?plant=1964

Thanks for your response, revclaus. Unfortunately it is now too late to return the plant. I kept waiting for it to show signs of new growth, but it certainly doesn't seem to be doing that. I do know how it's supposed to look, but am at a loss as to how to care for it in its current state. Do you, or anyone else know if it will eventually recover, or if it's a lost cause?

If it's a good nursery, they might be willing to do something for you since they were the ones who told you that it would grow new leaves. It's worth at least asking them--remind them that it was like that when you bought it and they assured you it would grow new leaves and it hasn't.

Thanks ecrane, I'll give it a shot. We shall see.....

I would take that one back also and find the person that you first talked to.

Thank you all for encouraging me to take it back! I went to the nursery and they suggested cutting off the bracts, to see if that will stimulate new growth. I'd lost my receipt, but since it was a special order that they have record of, I will be able to return it if it doesn't show signs of life in a few weeks.

Good job, I hope it works out.

Glad they're being helpful!

:-).

I'll update this thread if the plant shows some sign of life after its "haircut."
Thanks again!

This message was edited May 14, 2011 8:11 AM

when our euphorbias bloom we try to leave the unique looking flowers and then we do the haircut, all flowering stems go, and of course it get put back to an area where it can push out new growth and is able to resell, Regrowth to its original size has taken a month to a couple of months depending on the temps.

Thanks for sharing your experience, Buffy! I was hesitant to cut all the blooming stems back, as that was all there was to this plant. Instead, I gave it the funny "haircut" suggested by the nursery employee. I am happy to report teeny tiny new leaves are finally starting to sprout on the flowering stems. This looks odd, but hopefully this means that it will grow new stems as well.

I will take a pic of my two year Blackbirds and post as soon as I can. These were cut all the way to the pot in Feburary 2011. I am looking for the best way to propagate these euphorbias, I'd love to have them all over my yard without buying more from the garden center,

Blackbird is patented so you're not allowed to propagate it by cuttings. The chances that the patent holder would catch you doing it are small of course, but it's still illegal.