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Euphorbia Robbiae

jamesharcourtjamesharcourt Posts: 465
in Plants
Has anybody used this plant in borders at all?

I'm thinking of planting it at the front of a border.  Some places say it grows to 1.5m wide ... others say 30-60cm :smile:

Curious as to people's experiences with it.
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Posts

  • nutcutletnutcutlet Posts: 27,445
    there is no limit, it will grow as wide as you let it 


    In the sticks near Peterborough
  • jamesharcourtjamesharcourt Posts: 465
    Sounds a bit wild ...

    Try not to snigger ... but will it try to break out of the border and invade the lawn if planted at the front of a bed?
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited October 2018
    No, not unless you totally neglect the area for several seasons. It’s a really good plant if you’ve got a place that suits it  :)

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • jamesharcourtjamesharcourt Posts: 465
    So yeah I think I have a place for it which is a curved border about 4 metres round the  curve.  If I buy young plants in a small 1.5-2 litre pot to fill that space, should I leave big gaps knowing it will fill in?  
  • BorderlineBorderline Posts: 4,700
    In my experience, it can spread into the lawn. This is on heavy clay soil and in shade. Nonetheless, if you want to fill space, this plant will do it, and you can leave reasonably large spaces between them. They should be filled up soon.
  • jamesharcourtjamesharcourt Posts: 465
    That’s interesting @Borderline because one of my worries was that I have clay soil and this Robbiae variety apparently prefers sand/chalk/loam according to RHS.  

    Did it grow fast for you on clay?  Mine will be in a fairly sunny location with some shade.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited October 2018
    My experience on clay/loam in a fairly sunny west facing border is that if you keep your lawns edged it will stay in the border.  :)

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • BorderlineBorderline Posts: 4,700
    In a space of around 3 years a 1 litre size plant spread to around 80cm. I would regard that as medium spread. Others may take a different view. I do not mind happy and 'easy' plants. If they are nice looking, I will grow it. I knew what to expect and it did start growing bit into the lawn, but I simply mowed them down and don't have issue weeding them out in the border. 
  • jamesharcourtjamesharcourt Posts: 465
    I planted this Euphorbia Robbiae last October and the plants are starting to grow albeit slowly.  Does anybody know how much you can expect in a season, in terms of spreading across ground?  Or whether it spreads at all during first year?
  • TheveggardenerTheveggardener Posts: 1,057
    It got into to my lawns, spread under the fence  and between paving slabs even though I dug some out each year. I've dug it all out and have the blusters to show for it, even though I was wearing glove I managed to get it on my arm's. 
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