Euphorbia, Cushion Spurge 'Blackbird'

Everytime I see one of these they are either half or completely dead. I kept one for a couple years in a container but it just got hit by...Read More mealybugs. That seems to be the most common culprit. And they hit hard. I would not recommend.

Blackbird is the best black foliage euphorbia, better than purpurea as the flowers are black too. The downside is its not that vigourous ...Read Morewith about a third of the growth speed of wulfenii or martinii and its difficult to get to root from cuttings which is probably why you never see it for sale very often.
The slow growth is also a problem as it must be well sited and grown as if it gets set back by anything then it takes along time to recover if it ever does.

Ive also never seen it seed anywhere after 3 years of growing it (unlike wulfenii).
It does seem to take woodland edge type conditions well and ive dug it up and moved it on a few occasions without it being affected, again this is in contrast to wulfenii which often/usually dies if dug up.
I grow quite a lot of euphorbia, around 10-20different types, and i think blackbird is the best looking. Despite it being not very fast growing and only 18inches tall, its still worth growing.
Looks good with many other planting combinations like artemisia valeris finnis or oriental limelight.

This is less hardy than E. amygdaloides 'Rubra'. Unlike the latter, it is not reliably hardy here. Here it is mainly useful for seasonal ...Read Morecontainers, not as a border plant.

Blackbird Cushion Spurge is tolerant of most soils including clay, both dry and moist, as long as they drain fairly quickly. It doesn't ...Read Morelike being in waterlogged soils for prolonged periods. It can tolerate drought but looks better with an occasional deep watering. It usually doesn't need any supplemental watering in my location.