Crown of Thorns Propagation

I have beautiful Crown of Thorns . The big original stalk -stem-whatever, is really tall. It is blooming good but the tall middle stalk is loosing it's leaves. How would I start a plant off mine? Any help will be appreciated. Lou

I have the same question, no one on C&S forum has replied. Mine is over 18" tall and leaning, I really need to cut it down. Will it sprout back from the cut-off rooted part too?

"making cuttings is no problem. You have to cut in the woody part of the branch. To stop the bleeding (latex) put the cutting in warm water or take your lighter and heath the wound, bleeding will stop imadiatly. Wait a couple of days to let dry the wounded plant and then you can put it in a pot. Do not water in the first weeks, wait till you see roots are forming."

submitted by albleroy in Plant Files.

Ive rooted the green cutings also

bbinnj - the parent plant will likely sprout a couple of new growths after a short while during growing season...but may remain dormant if trimmed during fall/winter....at least,...mine always has when I trimmed it. Follow Dawn's instructions if you want to start new plant(s) from the trimmings.

Dave placed the new list on to the frontpage showing the last activities. I just happened to see this and so I had to jump in, since these are amongst my favorite Succulents. I grow them in several colors for many years now.

Just for clarification - are you talking about Euphorbia milii (mostly var. splendens) which are commonly called "Crown of Thorns" ( small bracts/"flowers"), or are you talking about Euphorbia x lomi which go usually by the name of "Thai Giants", since the bracts on those get really large and make it look like the flowers are huge. The Thai Giants are hybrids of Euphorbia lophogona and Euphorbia milii, hence the name Euphorbia x lomi
Propagation for both are simple, take a cutting, dip into Rootone and place it into a Cactus-type soil. ( I think it is almost even easier to root the cutting of the smaller flowered milii in water first after dipping in Rootone and then potting it up a few weeks down the road. ) Works for me! Others may have different methods...
Beverly, on an E.x lomi/ large 'flower" plant you may cut the center stem ANY TIME and root it. ( of course now inside and warm). The only thing is, the stump will not branch out precisely where you made the cut, but it will eventually branch out at the base.
I personally always wait before I cut the center stem until there are already lower branches present, since the plant simply looks better in the interim. And if a plant constantly tips over, I would simply pot it on into a larger pot. If you would see these plants growing all over Thailand, you would realize they are not small little plants but rather good size plants/bushes in good size pots.
Anyway, I hope this helps.

Ursula

edited for clarification

This message was edited Oct 27, 2006 1:29 PM

Thanks for all the information. I have the small type I think. My plant has several branches from the base that have bloomed and it will look much better if the center is cut. I was afraid if I cut the center , it might mean certain death. LOL I will root the center and it will be a nice size plant by itself. Thanks again. Lou

Ok I am going to have to try this. I have small flowered types- no names I bought at the grocery store, still pretty.

Someone better stop me if I have misunderstood this: I am going to cut the center, woody stem, stick that in warm water so that it stops bleeding, take it out and let it dry a few days, dip it in rooting hormone, put it in cactus type soil, don't water until I see roots forming- is this correct? Sounds so easy.

Aprilwillis,
I will repeat what I said in different words
the first method works for both kinds:
1. take a cutting
2. dip into Rootone, that will stop the dripping of the white latex and help in rooting.
3. stick into well draining soil.
4. carefully water, depending on how warm and sunny you keep the cutting.

What I also said was, if I wanted to root a small"flowered" milii, I have on occasion done the following:
1. take a cutting
2. dip into Rootone, it will stop the bleeding/dripping of white latex (see above)
3. place into water ( never mind that it looks a bit messy)
4. wait for roots to appear, this usually takes a few weeks, but less than a month
5. pot up in well draining soil
6. do water carefully

DawninTx quoted a different method, which is surely one of several ways to do this.

Thx will give it a shot.

Thanks Ursula, I just performed the surgery and am waiting a bit for the latex to dry before proceeding to the Rootone step. I'm going to root on the heat mat near the plumeria under the extra light, that should help it a bit.

I have rooted many of these plants. Never thought of using Rootone or water, I just prune the Momma plant, let the end dry for about 24 hrs, then stick it in a sandy well draining mixture, do not over water. I got mine from a tiny branch pruned from a very large plant several years ago. Mine has got to about 4ft, top heavy so I prune it back about once a year.

Nice! I just finished potting mine.

One more question, how long do you think it takes to root- weeks or months? I used Rootone and have it on a heat mat, potted in perlite/C&S mix near the Ott-Lite where I'm rooting a plumeria. It's getting a lot of light, not as much as the plumie. Afraid to do the lifting test in case lifting it damages the roots.

Hi, Beverly
I would expect it to root within weeks. Your conditions sound good!
Have fun growing,
Ursula

One more thing, I pinch out the tip of the cuttings, this will cause it to branch out, the more branches, the more blooms!!

Hi Azalea, Pinch the tips? My cutting is pretty thick, do you mean the little green tip? That's the only thing I think I can pinch on it.

Yep - just the little green tip! Don't get stuck - use your pruners!

Good advice, the thorns on this guy are serious! Glad I bought a set of mini-pruners too. The cutting is still blooming and had more buds on the way.