Flowering spurge
Euphorbia corollata · Euphorbiaceae
A native prairie spurge with an airy cloud of tiny white flowers from July to September, like baby's breath, and red autumn foliage.
- Size
- 2½ ft tall, 24 in wide
- Zones
- 3 to 9
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Early July to late August
- Pets
- Toxic (mild)
- Job in a bed
- Weaver
A bed built around flowering spurge
The planner designed this bed around flowering spurge when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) naturalistic planting in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 715 that suit those conditions and its dry soil, and says below why flowering spurge stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Flowering spurge × 3, white
- 2 Sedum 'Lidakense' × 36, pink
- 3 Common thyme × 8, lavender
- 4 Little bluestem 'The Blues' × 3, tan
- 5 Silver sage × 1, silver leaves
- 6 Purple coneflower × 3, purple
- 7 Star of Persia × 3, purple
- 8 Lady tulip × 7, red
Why this plant
- The only airy sprays. The others are dense clusters, spires, daisies and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- A classic partner for purple coneflower. Both are on this plan. A pairing gardeners have proved outranks a general rule.
- The only white. White sits between stronger colours and calms them.
Why here
- In the middle. At 2½ ft it is the step between common thyme (10 in) in front and purple coneflower (3 ft) behind: each is seen over the one before.
- 3 plants in 3 places. An accent is a punctuation mark: the repeat along the bed gives it rhythm.
- Beside purple coneflower. A recognised partner: the planner puts such plants together where it can.
Why now
- In flower for 9 weeks. From early July to late August.
- Part of the bed's peak. With sedum 'Lidakense', little bluestem 'The Blues' and purple coneflower in late August: 4 kinds at once. No week has more.
Planned as a naturalistic planting: low grasses and groundcovers, the matrix, make up 56% of the planted ground. The scheme leans cool (pink, lavender and purple) and uses red for warmth, with white and tan to calm things between them. For contrast, the bold leaves of silver sage sit beside the fine leaves of flowering spurge.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 5 Good. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where flowering spurge goes in a border
At 2½ ft it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium (24 in to 2½ ft). It is airy enough to see through, so it can also come forward and veil what is behind it.
Its job: weaver. A light, airy plant threaded singly between sturdier ones to knit the planting together.
It does what baby's breath does, a white haze that ties stronger plants together, without becoming invasive. Deep-rooted and slow, it is best dotted singly between clumps of coneflower and little bluestem.
- An airy white filler for dry, sunny beds
- Prairie planting
- A native substitute for baby's breath
What to plant with flowering spurge
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Purple coneflower: in flower together for nine weeks, from early July.
- Little bluestem: its blue-green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; happy in the same dry soil.
- Butterfly weed: in flower together for six weeks, from early July; happy in the same dry soil.
Questions about flowering spurge
Does flowering spurge need sun or shade?
Flowering spurge grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day) and part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun).
It wants dry, sharply drained soil, on the lean side, with no feeding, and little watering once settled. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does flowering spurge grow in?
USDA zones 3 to 9. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does flowering spurge flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers early July to late August. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 3 | Mid July to early September |
|---|---|
| Zone 4 | Mid July to early September |
| Zone 5 | Early July to late August |
| Zone 6 | Early July to late August |
| Zone 7 | Late June to late August |
| Zone 8 | Late June to late August |
| Zone 9 | Late June to mid August |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should flowering spurge be planted?
18 in (45 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 24 in (60 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 2½ ft (75 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many flowering spurge plants do I need?
At 18 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 5 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 7 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 17 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as one at a time, threaded between sturdier plants.
In the bed above, the planner used three in three groups.
Is flowering spurge poisonous to dogs and cats?
Yes: mild toxicity to people, dogs and cats. The sap can irritate skin and eyes. Can cause vomiting and diarrhoea if eaten.
Rated from NC State Extension. Where references disagree, the more cautious rating is used.
Is there a pet-safe plant like flowering spurge?
These come closest to doing what flowering spurge does, and no toxicity is recorded for them:
- Gaura 'Whirling Butterflies': the same job in a bed and the same colour; 6 in taller, flowers mid June to mid September.
- Rose campion: the same job in a bed, the same size and the same colour; flowers early June to late July, medium leaves, not fine.
- Mexican hat: the same job in a bed and the same flowering time; 6 in shorter, 4 in narrower.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Do deer eat flowering spurge?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer and rabbits. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
What flowers after flowering spurge?
Flowering spurge is over by late August. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Garden chrysanthemum: from mid September to late October, 24 in tall.
- White wood aster: from late August to early October, 24 in tall.
- Bottle gentian: from late August to early October, 20 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does flowering spurge look like in winter?
Flowering spurge dies down, but leave the stems standing: the seed heads stand through the winter, and songbirds eat the seed. Cut them down in early spring, before the new shoots come.
Is flowering spurge good for bees and butterflies?
Flowering spurge is visited by bees and songbirds.
It is native to the United States and Canada.
More Euphorbia
- Cushion spurge Euphorbia polychroma
- Cushion spurge 'Bonfire' Euphorbia polychroma 'Bonfire'
- Cypress spurge Euphorbia cyparissias
- Donkey-tail spurge Euphorbia myrsinites
- Griffith's spurge 'Fireglow' Euphorbia griffithii 'Fireglow'
- Mediterranean spurge Euphorbia characias subsp. wulfenii
- Purple wood spurge Euphorbia amygdaloides 'Purpurea'
- Spurge 'Ascot Rainbow' Euphorbia x martini 'Ascot Rainbow'
- Spurge 'Blackbird' Euphorbia 'Blackbird'
- Spurge 'Chameleon' Euphorbia dulcis 'Chameleon'
- Wood spurge Euphorbia amygdaloides var. robbiae
In these guides
- Deer-resistant perennials for full sun
- Rabbit-resistant plants
- Drought-tolerant perennials for full sun
- Garden plants toxic to cats
- Garden plants toxic to dogs
- Native perennials for pollinators
- Garden plants native to Canada
- Plants for bees
- Plants that feed garden birds
- Plants for a white garden
Zone guides: Zone 3 · Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8 · Zone 9
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 2½ ft (75 cm) tall, 24 in (60 cm) wide
- Plant
- 18 in (45 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium (24 in to 2½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Middle, or further forward: it is airy enough to see through
- Flowers
- Early July to late August; airy sprays; white
- Leaves
- Fine texture, herbaceous; green
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 9
- Light
- Full sun, part sun
- Soil
- Lean, dry and sharply drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Euphorbiaceae
- Comes from
- Southeast Canada to Central and Eastern U.S.A
- Attracts
- Bees, songbirds
- Stands up to
- Deer, rabbits, drought
Checked against NC State Extension and VASCAN (plants of Canada). Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.