Everone says that the sap is an irritant, from Monty Don downwards. It has never affected me but, as I have been warned, I wash it off quickly.
What nobody says, is keep it off your clothes.
The sap is a rubber latex, a bit like Copydex or artists' masking fluid. If it dries it is impossible to remove with water/detergents or available solvents.
If you catch it early, then lots of water will remove it. A wee bit later and household ammonia does the trick. After that, nothing.
I treat any white latex sap the same. Dandelion? Guilty until proved innocent, but then I don't want to 'pis en lit' either.
location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand. "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
Euphorbia sap brings me out in a nasty blistery rash if I get any on my skin, even if I wash it off straight away, so I don't grow the stuff (I don't much like it anyway, so it's no great loss). Different people have different reactions, and some none at all, but it's best to be careful unless you know that it doesn't affect you.
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
I have Euphorbia amygdaloides "Robbia" in my garden. My plant doesn't look as dense as yours, but that may be culture.
BTW. I tidy up dead flowers when they are finished. I have to be very careful and sysematic to avoid the sap. I start at the back and transfer each cut stem carefully to a pastic bucket. I stack them dripping cut-end down, and don't overfill the bucket. It's not a quick job, but lots of "mindfulness".
location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand. "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
I leave mine till mid winter before cutting down, no need to worry so much then. It's also the best time to dig them out. I like mine (Fireglow), but it expands every year and would take over the entire bed if I let it!
About forty years ago on a hot sunny day I cut down a lot of 'mole plants' euphorbia lathyris, and not knowing about the sap issue, I had rubbed my face near my eye. As @B3 says, it's very unpleasant. Weals appeared on my eyelids, face and bare arms where the sap had splashed me. I read somewhere that sunlight exacerbates the effect, so maybe that's why it is sometimes worse than others. The euphorbia had no effect on the moles by the way, but forty or so years later, in a different garden, I still get a few plants popping up each year, no doubt from seed brought with plants from the previous garden. I am very careful when handling them.
The author Val Bourne talks about cutting down Euphorbia just before family were arriving for dinner. The dinner was called off as she had sap in her eye and had to go to A and E.
I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
They are very useful plants, but it always makes me cringe on TV garden progs when it is suggested or planted somewhere, without mention of the risk, especially if there are young children that might come into contact.
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What nobody says, is keep it off your clothes.
The sap is a rubber latex, a bit like Copydex or artists' masking fluid. If it dries it is impossible to remove with water/detergents or available solvents.
If you catch it early, then lots of water will remove it. A wee bit later and household ammonia does the trick. After that, nothing.
I treat any white latex sap the same. Dandelion? Guilty until proved innocent, but then I don't want to 'pis en lit' either.
"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
BTW. I tidy up dead flowers when they are finished. I have to be very careful and sysematic to avoid the sap. I start at the back and transfer each cut stem carefully to a pastic bucket. I stack them dripping cut-end down, and don't overfill the bucket. It's not a quick job, but lots of "mindfulness".
"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
The euphorbia had no effect on the moles by the way, but forty or so years later, in a different garden, I still get a few plants popping up each year, no doubt from seed brought with plants from the previous garden. I am very careful when handling them.