Pencil Cactus
Euphorbia tirucalli
📖 About this plant
A striking, architecturally bold succulent with slender, cylindrical, pencil-thick green branches that grow in a candelabra-like form. In bright sun, branch tips turn orange, coral, or yellow, creating a vibrant display. Despite its common name, it is not a true cactus but a Euphorbia with caustic milky sap. Fast-growing and extremely drought-tolerant.
🧑🌾 Care requirements
Full sun to bright indirect (6+ hrs)
Every 2-3 weeks
Low (20-40%)
15-30°C
Well-draining sandy or cactus soil; very tolerant of poor soils; must never sit in waterlogged soil
Balanced liquid fertilizer at half strength every 4-6 weeks during spring through fall
🌐 Common Names
📋 Plant facts
- 🌍 Origin
- Africa (widely distributed), India; naturalized in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide
- 📏 Max height
- 150-900 cm (tree-like outdoors); 60-180 cm (indoors)
- 📐 Spread
- 60-150 cm
- 🕰️ Bloom time
- Spring
- 🎨 Bloom color
- Yellow
- 🍃 Foliage color
- Green, Yellow
- ⏳ Lifespan
- Perennial
- 📈 Growth rate
- Fast
- ☠️ Toxicity
- TOXIC — sap is a severe irritant to skin, eyes, and mucous membranes. Temporarily causes blindness if it contacts eyes. The sap contains diterpene esters that are carcinogenic. Keep away from children and pets.
- 🌱 Propagation
- Stem cuttings in spring — wear gloves and eye protection; let cut ends dry for several days to stop sap flow before planting
🛡️ Health & Safety
TOXIC — sap is a severe irritant to skin, eyes, and mucous membranes. Temporarily causes blindness if it contacts eyes. The sap contains diterpene esters that are carcinogenic. Keep away from children and pets.
Common issues
- Stem rot from overwatering
- Mealybugs on stems
- Sap irritation to skin and eyes when pruning
💡 Care tips
- Produces toxic milky sap so always wear gloves when handling
- Grows into a large shrub-like structure over time
- Drought-tolerant and thrives on neglect
- Prune to control shape and size as it grows quickly
