{"product_id":"candelabrum-cactus-euphorbia-eritrea","title":"Candelabrum Cactus - Euphorbia eritrea","description":"\u003cp\u003eCandelabrum cactus is a tree euphorbia from Eritrea in the Horn of Africa, and what sets it apart is the way it builds. A short trunk throws up a great many thick, deep green arms, and each arm is pinched in at intervals into rounded segments, so the stems look jointed, like stacked links. Short paired thorns sit along the angles. Over many years it thickens into a dense, crowded crown, and old plants in frost free gardens become genuine succulent trees. Euphorbia eritrea is a trade spelling of Euphorbia erythraeae, the Eritrean form that botanists now include in the variable Euphorbia abyssinica.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is a plant for the long view. Growth is slow to moderate, so it holds close to its planted shape for several seasons, and it is chosen for permanent architectural planting: a dry bed beside a modern house, a gravel courtyard, a heavy pot on a sunny terrace, or a single sculptural shape against a rendered wall where the jointed outline shows.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eSun, sharp drainage and a frost free winter\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eGive it full sun. In shade the new segments come in narrow and pale and the whole crown leans towards the light, which spoils the symmetry for years. Soil must drain fast. In sandy coastal ground it can go straight in; in clay or loam, build a raised bed or a mound of coarse sand and gravel and plant into the top of it. In a pot it needs a gritty cactus and succulent mix and a wide, weighty container, because the crown becomes top heavy and a tall plant in a light pot blows over. Keep a new plant dry for its first week, then water sparingly: a deep soak every few weeks in hot dry spells is plenty, and almost nothing through winter.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt is frost tender. Outdoors it does well in coastal Queensland and New South Wales, Perth and the milder coastal suburbs of Adelaide; in a frosty inland garden it belongs in a container on a trolley, wheeled under a verandah from late autumn. Most losses come in a cold, wet winter. A segment turns soft and dull near its base, then brown, and rot can travel up through the whole arm. Cut any soft arm off cleanly at the joint below the damage the day you notice it. Do not confuse that with corking, the firm, dry, tan bark that older tree euphorbias form at the foot of the trunk, which is normal.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eCandelabrum or cowboy\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eBeside the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/cowboy-cactus-euphorbia-acrurensis\"\u003eCowboy Cactus\u003c\/a\u003e, this is the bushier and more crowded of the two tree euphorbias in the range. The difference is in the branching: candelabrum fills out sideways into a many armed crown and makes the heavier mass, while cowboy cactus stays a taller, sparser column with a cleaner vertical line. For a finer textured shape in a pot, \u003ca href=\"\/products\/firesticks-euphorbia-euphorbia-tirucalli-firesticks\"\u003eFiresticks Euphorbia\u003c\/a\u003e gives coloured pencil stems instead of thick arms. All three sit comfortably in a \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/low-maintenance\"\u003elow maintenance\u003c\/a\u003e planting, where the work comes down to watering rarely and keeping the roots dry in winter.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eSap, thorns and moving a big plant\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eEvery euphorbia bleeds a milky latex when cut or broken, and in the tree species it is caustic: it burns skin, can seriously injure the eyes, and is poisonous if swallowed by people, dogs or cats. Wear gloves, long sleeves and safety glasses whenever you prune or shift the plant, rinse any sap off at once with plenty of water, and give it a spot no one has to squeeze past, because the thorns catch skin and clothing too. To move a large specimen, wrap the arms in old carpet or a blanket and lift from the root ball, never by an arm, which snaps at a joint. Feed lightly if at all: a little low nitrogen succulent fertiliser in spring is enough, as rich feeding makes soft segments that sag. Mealybug sometimes hides in the creases between segments, and a firm jet of water shifts it. The guide to \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/news\/succulents-in-australian-gardens\"\u003esucculents in Australian gardens\u003c\/a\u003e covers drainage and winter wet in more depth.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3 class=\"pd-size-guidance\"\u003eChoosing a size\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis plant is available in 2 sizes, from 300mm up to 400mm, priced from $269.00 to $719.00 per plant. The size shown is the pot the plant arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. Every size here is established stock rather than a starter plant, so this line is intended for immediate effect rather than for growing on. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/news\/low-water-gardens-australia\"\u003elow water gardens\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Plant Drop","offers":[{"title":"300mm","offer_id":67670560899441,"sku":null,"price":269.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"400mm","offer_id":67670561620337,"sku":null,"price":719.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1017\/1049\/6113\/files\/candelabrum-cactus-euphorbia-eritrea.jpg?v=1791514234","url":"https:\/\/plantdrop.com.au\/products\/candelabrum-cactus-euphorbia-eritrea","provider":"Plant Drop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}