Euphorbia Trigona, or “African Milk Plant”, has shown the most vertical growth out of all the plants I own! It’s very easy to care for, and it’s absolutely beautiful. 

Out of all my plants, it probably gets the most compliments 😀🏆🌵

It’s not a cactus: it just looks like one! It’s a succulent (cacti do not have leaves with a few exceptions). 

Its botanical name is Euphorbia trigona. It is sometimes also referred to as African milk bush, African milk tree, candelabra cactus, cathedral cactus, friendship cactus, good luck plant or good luck cactus.

Sunlight

• No surprise here - Euphorbia Trigona like bright light, and need at least 4 hours of it per day! The light does not need to be direct. In fact, it’s better if it’s not direct.   
• If at some point you want to move your plant from a low-light to a brighter environment (EG: outdoors), take the extra care to slowly transition the plant, so that it gets used to the brighter environment. For example, rather than immediately placing it in direct sunlight outside, it would be better to place it in a shaded area outdoors.

Water

• Similarly to many other succulents, Euphorbia Trigona prefers soil that is too dry rather than too wet. As a general rule of thumb, you want to let the top two inches of the soil dry out completely before watering the plant again. 
• When you do water, you can be fairly generous with the water. The idea is to replicate what would typically happen in the arid climate where Euphorbia Trigona grows: there will be long periods with no rain, followed by a downpour. 
• Avoid over-watering! Leaves starting to turn yellow is a sign that you are overwatering. It’s particularly risky to over-water this plant. Since it has a small root ball, and grows to be very tall, it can sometimes tip over if the soil is kept too moist.  
• Note: if you under-water the plant, you’ll noticing leaves drying up and turning crispy. You should not worry too much if this happens, and the plant can sustain the loss of many leaves, and as mentioned above, it’s safer to err on the side of keeping this plant drier.

Soil

As will all succulents and cacti, it’s ideal to plant in well-draining soil and a well-draining pot.

Propagation

Before propagating the Euphorbia Trigona, we recommend you first make sure that you have the following equipment: 

• Scissors or garden pruners
• Gardening gloves (to protect your skin from the sap)

Proceed with caution: the sap from Euphorbia Trigona is poisonous, and will irritate your skin, and can even cause temporary blindness if you get it in your eyes.

Steps: 

1. Cut a branch off at its base 
2. Place the clipping in a jar of water for about two weeks, so that it starts to root
3. Re-pot it! 

Note there are many effective way to propagate this plant. Planting directly in moist soil can also work, if the soil is kept moist for the first two weeks to encourage the clipping to take root. Using plant growth hormones and fertilizer like Miracle Gro can help as well, but is not necessary in most cases.

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