A slow-growing euphorbia that builds a dense, low cushion of four-sided gray-green stems. It looks like a cactus, needs almost no care, and adds strong texture to rock and succulent gardens.
Living with it in the Phoenix Valley
Watering
Follow the shrub, groundcover and succulent schedule in our Landscape Care guide. Once established it needs little or no extra water for most of the year, with occasional help in the hottest months. It tolerates alkaline soil but must drain well.
Pruning
None needed. If you remove a stem, wear gloves and eye protection and wash your hands afterward.
Heat
It handles normal Phoenix summers, but record heat can scorch even established plants. A spot with a little afternoon relief helps in the hottest exposures.
How our designers use it
Texture among boulders
Its tight, spiny mound fills gaps between rocks and reads like a natural outcrop.
Contrast with upright plants
It grounds tall columnar cacti and spiky agaves with a low, rounded form.
Containers
It makes a tidy, long-lived planter accent.
Good to know
Sap
Cut or broken stems release a white latex that can irritate skin and eyes and is poisonous if swallowed. Wear gloves when handling it, and keep it away from spots where children play.
Around the pool
It drops almost nothing, but its stems carry short spines. We generally keep it back from barefoot areas at the pool edge.
