Wood spurge
Euphorbia amygdaloides · Euphorbiaceae
📷 Robert Flogaus-Faust · CC BY 4.0
⚠️ Chiens et chats : sève hautement irritante, ingestion cause gastroentérite. Humains : contact cutané irritant, ingestion provoque troubles digestifs graves.
The gardener's calendar
In autumn, ease off feeding and take the chance to clean up around wood spurge and prepare for winter.
ID card
- Foliage
- Persistent to semi-persistent, blue-green
- Flowering
- March to May, discreet yellow-green flowers
- Adult size
- 60 to 80 cm tall, bushy habit
- Hardiness
- Hardy to -15°C, tolerates temperate winters
- Origin
- Western and central Europe (woodland areas)
- Growth
- Moderate to fast
- Soil type
- Well-drained soil, tolerates poor soils
✓ Taxonomy verifiedSource: AI estimate · hardiness: reliability high.
Expert tips
The key tip
In shaded and cool areas, it's the perfect perennial. It spreads gently and needs neither watering nor maintenance after the first year.
The common mistake
Exposing it to midday sun turns it pale yellow and limits its flowering to a short period.
The pro's trick
Divide the clumps every 3-4 years in September: you'll easily get extensive, very vigorous colonies.
Care
Watering
Wood spurge prefers moderately moist soil during active growth, especially after planting. Once established, it tolerates drought well and only needs regular watering during prolonged hot spells. Avoid excess winter moisture, which can promote root rot.
Light
This plant thrives in partial shade or dappled light, ideally at the base of trees. It also tolerates shaded garden areas, where it can revitalize difficult corners. Too much sun in warm climates risks drying out the foliage.
Pruning and cleaning
Prune lightly after flowering (May-June) to maintain a compact habit and encourage branching. Remove dead or damaged stems in spring. Regular removal of dead leaves helps prevent fungal diseases and improves appearance.
Fertilizing
Undemanding, wood spurge only needs moderate balanced fertilizer in spring. Light organic mulch is often enough to gradually enrich the soil. Avoid excess nitrogen, which promotes foliage at the expense of flowers.
Soil and planting
Prefer well-drained soil, even poor or stony. Wood spurge adapts to many soil types, as long as they're not waterlogged. Plant in spring or autumn, spacing 50 cm apart to allow for development.
Diseases and pests
This plant is generally robust and rarely affected by pests. Powdery mildew can occur in warm, humid conditions; promote air circulation by pruning regularly. Root rot mainly appears in poorly drained soil; choose a well-aerated location and draining soil.
Did you know?
Wood spurge has long been used in traditional European herbal medicine for its supposed anti-inflammatory properties, though these uses are not scientifically established. Its discreet yellow-green flowers are actually colored bracts, the true flowers being tiny: a remarkable botanical strategy for attracting pollinators with the arrival of spring in woodlands.
Where to buy it
Best planted in autumn so the roots settle in before summer, or in early spring once the frost has passed. Pick a plant with healthy foliage and roots that are not exposed. Best time: March, October, November.
Add this plant to my garden →Plants from the same family
- Caper spurgeEuphorbia lathyris
- Albanian spurgeEuphorbia characias
- Spiny spurgeEuphorbia spinosa
- Garden crotonCodiaeum variegatum
- Griffith's spurgeEuphorbia griffithii
- Hevea microphyllaHevea microphylla
Tips generated and checked by Viridia — adapt them to your local climate.