Lakeshore Garden Centres Plant Finder

Other Names:  Baby's Breath Euphorbia, Chamaesyce hypericifolia

Description:

Mounded perennial has beautiful, rich green foliage, contrasting the airy, abundant white flowers that are non-stop from spring to fall; adapts to varied soils, deer tend to stay away; milky sap can be a skin irritant to humans

Ornamental Features

Graceful Spurge features airy cymes of creamy white flowers with red eyes and white bracts at the ends of the stems from mid spring to mid fall. Its oval leaves remain dark green in colour throughout the year.

Landscape Attributes

Graceful Spurge is an herbaceous annual with a mounded form. It brings an extremely fine and delicate texture to the garden composition and should be used to full effect.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and should only be pruned after flowering to avoid removing any of the current season's flowers. Deer don't particularly care for this plant and will usually leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Graceful Spurge is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• Rock/Alpine Gardens
• Border Edging
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting
• Hanging Baskets

Planting & Growing

Graceful Spurge will grow to be about 18 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 24 inches. Although it's not a true annual, this plant can be expected to behave as an annual in our climate if left outdoors over the winter, usually needing replacement the following year. As such, gardeners should take into consideration that it will perform differently than it would in its native habitat.

This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers dry to average moisture levels with very well-drained soil, and will often die in standing water. It is considered to be drought-tolerant, and thus makes an ideal choice for a low-water garden or xeriscape application. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in sandy soils. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This species is native to parts of North America, and parts of it are known to be toxic to humans and animals, so care should be exercised in planting it around children and pets. It can be propagated by cuttings.

Graceful Spurge is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor containers and hanging baskets. It is often used as a 'filler' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination, providing a mass of flowers against which the thriller plants stand out. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.