Red Pencil Tree is a striking upright evergreen succulent shrub grown for its with brightly colored, pencil-thin branching stems. The stems emerge reddish gold with small inconspicuous leaves that soon drop, fades to yellow in summer and turns a blazing red for winter. Best shape with afternoon shade and sharply-drained soils. Good drought tolerance. Broken stems have a poisonous white sap when damaged.
Syn. with 'Firesticks'
MAINTENANCE NEEDS: Low Maintenance. Wet soils, especially in winter, will kill the plant. Watch for mealybug, nematodes, aphids and spidermites. Wear gloves while handing this plant. In containers best planted with coarse loams soils, and enriched with peat moss or leaf mold and gritty additives such as broken clam shells.
LANDSCAPE USES: Accents or Group Plantings, Borders, Naturalized Areas, Rock Gardens, and Containers.
COMPANION PLANTS: Allium, Hakone Grass, Sedum
IMAGES: Photoset by cultivar413, (1) 190504 034 Fallbrook Garden Tour, (2) 180323 026 Waterwise Botanicals Nursery, Bonsall CA, (3) 170411 849 Vista - Euphorbia tirucalli 'Sticks on Fire' Red Pencil Tree, (4) 190608 013 Kensington Garden Tour, (2) Mike Boucher, IMG_8563
*As plants have ranges in appearance they may not appear as the images shown.
