All i have experience from those is E. Neohumbertii. I had 3 plants, killed one, and as of now one is looking OK. And the other one is looking great putting out lots of new growth. I have it in a bit of morning sun and a bit of after noon sun and water once a week. It is in a very well draing soil, probably about 60% pumice 20% bark 20% perlite.

The only thing i hate about getting into rarer things is that you cant find any info and end up killing something expensive and rare, and finding something else is usually very difficult. If they are all tropical like neohumbertii im sure they can handle alot of water.

Well, that isn't exactly true. While several are from Madagascar, some are from the southern or western portions of the country and require more arid treatment and water restriction, especially in their dormant season.

Hi Howard. I know nothing about your new plants but was wondering where you found them. I'm always interested in finding some of the less common succulents, though not necessarily euphorbias. I'm only familiar with a few online nurseries. I've come cross some eBay sellers that are outside of the US but don't know how reliable they are. The shipping w/phyto certificate is often significantly more expensive then the plant so I definitely want a reliable seller.

Good luck with your new euphorbis.

I wish I could help, but Malagasy Euphorbias are one of the few plant groups that never seem to thrive in my care. The few I've tried show virtually no growth, and the small ones eventually wither and die. I don't know what it is about them (or maybe more accurately, my care), but I'll be watching this thread as well.

Karyn, I don't know where Howard got his plants, but Out of Africa carries many of these Euphorbias as well as many other unusual African succulents. I've purchased quite a few plants there and have been happy with all of them.

-Chris

Karyn, as Chris has mentioned, all of these plants came from Mike Massara at Out of Africa Plants. They all were of good quality and size as per his website pictures. Mike does something many other online vendors don't do. He sends out potted plants, not bare root. It may add a bit to the postage but it sure makes a difference in reestablishing the plants!

What a great selection! I like that he has photos of his stock. There were several that tempted me but I am still trying to find ceropegias that I don't already have.

Karyn, from the little I know of you, I am certain you are resourceful and will find them somewhere!

I don't know much I could tell you since our climates are so different... I grow all my Euphorbias outdoors... and those that are too delicate die. I have had good success with Euphorbia suzanne-marnierae and capmanambatoensis, though I do bring the latter plant indoors in severe cold (for us, that means 32 or less) and they have done well. The E suzanne has managed fine outdoors year round and does seems to have a pretty good cold tolerance. Watering both of these rather randomly and heavily has not lead to their demise... in fact, E capmanambatoensis seems to like a lot of water and looks a tad unhappy if I forget to water it a few weeks. E neohumbertii is a finicky plant outdoors and I have not managed to keep one alive, but it is very commonly done so in slight better climates nearer San Diego. Euphorbia esculenta I have found to be very easy plant in the ground but finickier in a pot. E primufolia and apoda are large caudiciform types with very little going on on top except during those short times when they make leaves and some flowers... both need careful watering strategies and you might be careful watering them at all when they are not leafing out. These are kind of pricey so one failure and I am done with them. E unispina and venenifica are popular plants here in shows and many succeed with them... but they, too are pricey so I have not tried them yet... both are pretty cold sensitive.

S. suzannae-marnierae, like all the others in that decary-esque group, actually like a goodly amount of moisture when growing, and bright light with less sun. The two things I've found to really make that bunch happy are HEAT (plenty of it) and a fast draining medium so you can water frequently. Temps in the 80's F are good. They do well under lights, but play with the distance from the light a bit - they tend to stall if too close/too bright.

I have had good luck with poissonii, unispina, and venenifica by treating them like the more vigorously-growing cactuses - water once a week or twice a week in hot sunny weather (I'm in Laredo Texas and grow them in a solarium connected to my house) but let them become fairly dry between waterings and no water at all in December and January. I have them in clay pots and cactus soil mixed with blasting sand. I don't let them get much colder than 60 degrees fahrenheit, nor much hotter than 90. They are very slow growers all. My capmanambatoensis and neohumbertii like more water than the three above, and I don't give them a completely dry winter. I've had less luck with the others, especially labatii, moratii, and primulaefolia/subapoda, partially because I can't seem to figure out their growing season.