- How often should a spit palm be watered?
- What should be considered when repotting the spit palm?
- Can the spit palm be cut?
- Which pests can become a problem when caring for a spit palm?
- Are there common spit palm diseases?
- How is the spit palm optimally fertilized?
- What should be considered when overwintering the spit palm?
The spit palm (Euphorbia leuconeura) belongs to the spurge family and originally comes from the rainforests on the north coast of Madagascar. Despite its poisonous milky sap, this euphorbia, which is suitable for the windowsill, is a very popular houseplant due to its visually attractive growth form as a stem succulent shrub.
The spit palm is poisonous and not hardy
How often should a spit palm be watered?
So that a Euphorbia leuconeura can enjoy almost the same growth conditions indoors as in its natural home, its root area in the pot should never dry out completely. However, you don't get waterlogging very well either, so the spit palm should be watered relatively regularly and sparingly. Watering should be done about twice a week between spring and fall. In winter, on the other hand, watering once a week should be sufficient, especially if it is installed in a slightly cooler room.
What should be considered when repotting the spit palm?
With the spit palm, you can use the pot size you choose to influence the size of the plant. If the trained taproot finds little space to develop in a pot that is too low, the shape of the spit palm remains somewhat more compact and squat. The maximum growth height of 1 to 1.8 m, on the other hand, can only be achieved with a planter that is at least 30 cm high and sufficiently large, even under favorable growth conditions.
Can the spit palm be cut?
As a rule, a spit palm grows unbranched and quite compact, which usually makes pruning unnecessary. If the plant is cut anyway, the damage to the plant poses greater risks to plant health, the larger the cross-section of the cutting point.
Which pests can become a problem when caring for a spit palm?
Fungus gnat larvae can be problematic for young spit palm seedlings. Otherwise, the spit palm is relatively insensitive to pests.
Are there common spit palm diseases?
Especially during the winter months, you should not panic if the leaves fall off the spit palm. With a lack of light and cooler temperatures, this is definitely the case. The plant usually develops a large number of fresh leaves all by itself in spring.
How is the spit palm optimally fertilized?
When fertilizing you should consider the following things:
- a monthly fertilization between April and September is sufficient
- The nutrient supply with liquid fertilizer is uncomplicated
- after repotting in fresh cactus soil (usually pre-fertilized), it does not have to be fertilized for half a year
- No peat should be added to the substrate in the pot
What should be considered when overwintering the spit palm?
Like most other euphorbia species, the spit palm is not hardy. It can either be overwintered at normal room temperature in any room of the apartment, or at least 10 degrees Celsius in a correspondingly cooler room. During the winter time, it is essential to ensure a regular water supply, since the roots of the spit palm should never dry out completely.
tips
Since the milky sap of the spit palm contains toxins such as ingenols, phorbol esters, diterpene esters and triterpene saponins, you should only carry out care measures with suitable protective gloves, as with other poisonous species of Euphorbia.