Succulents bring winter color and possible danger

Green and black Aeoniums and orange Firestick Euphorbias seem to be closing in on the Agave for the title of the most popular drought tolerant plants used in desert landscapes or for lawn replacement. They are showing up everywhere, it seems, from small front garden plots to street side plantings to pots on patios.  So this post was originally going to be about some attractive plantings of these succulents that I have seen recently.

But as I did more research, I learned that, as beautiful as they are, some can pose a real danger to pets…and potentially to people. Some are quite toxic.

Firestick succulents (Euphorbia tiruccailli ) are used as a hedge outside a restaurant in Pasadena California.  You can trim them to keep the plant smaller, but be sure to wear gloves and even goggles: the white sap is toxic.  Place cuttings into a plastic bag that you can tie up tight so pets will not be exposed to the sap.

In Pasadena’s Arlington Garden Firestick euphorbias have been left untrimmed for over a decade and are now approaching 25 feet in height. The cactus in the center has also become a tall, beautiful focal plant.  

The mix of plants in this curbside border–aeoniums, daisies and a firestick succulent–looks great now, but the firestick will grow up to 30 feet tall if left untrimmed. As with all flower/plant borders, it is important to think ahead as to how large each plant will become at maturity. Or be willing to prune some big plants and replace others to maintain the appearance. In this group, the daisy plant will die long before the succulents do.

A mix of succulents in a curbside planting demonstrates the variety of color these tough plants can provide. Lurking in the middle, however, is a potential giant: the Firestick euphorbia!  But its orange color is a nice complement to the blue-ish Secenio Talindoides, the green Aeonium, and the brown-ish Kalanchoe.

I love how the color of the bell-like Kalanchoe blooms coordinate with the glass ball on the top of this ornamental garden statue! You may be more familiar with one variety of the Kalanchoe known as the “flapjack” plant. It has large pink 
and green leaves.The blossoms appear to be sprouting up from the bright green Aeoniums, but actually are from the pink-ish Kalanchoes on the left.  

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