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How to Grow and Care for Your Purple Wood Spurge

Euphorbia amygdaloides 'Purpurea'

This plant grows best with full sun for most of the dayThis plant requires shade during the heat of the dayOnce established this plant requires little or no supplemental wateringThis plant will tolerate some drought, but benefits from periodic wateringNo DeerSome or all parts of this plant may be toxic or poisonousYellow flowering plantGreen flowering plantA photograph of Purple Wood SpurgeHow to Use the Plant Care Icons at The Garden Helper
Stiff, purplish-green leaves spiral outward around thick, burgundy colored stems.
Upright clusters of greenish-gold flowers appear from mid spring until early summer.
Purple Wood Spurge is an upright growing, evergreen perennial that is hardy in USDA planting zones 5-9.
Typically, these rhizome spreading plants grow from 18-24" tall, but they will occasionally reach 3 feet.
Angus the Garden Gnome The striking architectural structure of Purple Wood Spurge make it an excellent choice as an evergreen background planting or as a dramatic specimen plant.
This beautiful Euphorbia also grows quite well in containers.
In spring, the new foliage emerges as a hazy burgundy color, then changes to dark green before maturing to deep purple in the summer sun.
The cooler temperatures of fall and winter turn the stems and foliage an even darker color.
In mid spring, a profusion of clusters of bright chartreuse flower bracts begin to emerge from the previous years growth.
In mid summer, when the flowering has finished, you can prune the whole flowering stem back to the base to tidy up the plant.

Growing Requirements for Purple Wood Spurge Plants

Purple Wood Spurge grows and flowers best when it is grown in full sun.
When it is grown in the shade, the foliage may stay green, and flowering will decrease,
but the plant will still be beautiful, nonetheless.
Wood Spurge can be grown in most garden soils, as long as it is reasonably fertile and well-drained.
It is a fairly drought tolerant plant, but grows best with regular, deep watering.
Purple Wood Spurge tends to be short lived in zones 5 and 6, but they self seed easily, ensuring a regular supply of new plants.

Propagating Purple Wood Spurge

Purple Wood Spurge plants can be propagated by dividing large clumps in the early spring.
New plants can also be grown from seed sown directly in the garden or planted indoors in early spring.
Maintain a temperature of 65°-70° within the growing medium.
Germination takes 15-20 days.

A word of caution regarding all Euphorbias, they have poisonous, milky white sap
that is a potential skin irritant so wear gloves when working near them.

Purple Wood Spurge
Euphorbia amygdaloides 'Purpurea'
The Flower Bracts of a Purple Wood Spurge Plant Close View of Purple Wood Spurge Flowers, Euphorbia amygdaloides A Purple Wood Spurge Plant Blooming in the Garden, Euphorbia amygdaloides


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