Other Names:  Bottle Euphorbia, Coral Plant, Gout Plant

Description:

A deciduous ornamental plant with thick, swollen, silver-gray stems, topped with attractive, large, lobed palmate green leaves; clusters of small, coral red flowers rise above year-round; a wonderful addition to rockeries, beds, or containers

Ornamental Features

Buddah Belly Plant features showy cymes of coral-pink star-shaped flowers with orange overtones and gold anthers rising above the foliage from early winter to late fall. It has attractive dark green deciduous foliage. The large crinkled lobed palmate leaves are highly ornamental but do not develop any appreciable fall color. However, the fruit can be messy in the landscape and may require occasional clean-up.

Landscape Attributes

Buddah Belly Plant is an open multi-stemmed deciduous shrub with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.

This shrub will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and should only be pruned after flowering to avoid removing any of the current season's flowers. It is a good choice for attracting butterflies and hummingbirds to your yard. Gardeners should be aware of the following characteristic(s) that may warrant special consideration;

• Self-Seeding

Buddah Belly Plant is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Mass Planting
• Rock/Alpine Gardens
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Buddah Belly Plant will grow to be about 3 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 24 inches. It has a low canopy. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 30 years.

This shrub does best in full sun to partial shade. It is very adaptable to both dry and moist growing conditions, but will not tolerate any standing water. It is considered to be drought-tolerant, and thus makes an ideal choice for a low-water garden or xeriscape application. This plant should not require much in the way of fertilizing once established, although it may appreciate a shot of general-purpose fertilizer from time to time early in the growing season. 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 not originally from 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..

Buddah Belly Plant makes a fine choice for the outdoor landscape, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. With its upright habit of growth, it is best suited for use as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.