Anybody know this plant? They're at my local Lowe's. The tag on them says Euphorbia Budda Belly - nothing else, no Latin.
The tips of the stalks spread out to several "fingers", standing upright, with red berry-looking things on them. The base of the trunk, at the dirt line, swells out.
I can't find any info on this plant. I'm wondering what it's hardiness is, sun-tolerance, etc.
Anybody have one?
Steve
Euphobia Budda Belly
Steve, I believe you have purchased Buddha Belly Plant (Jatropha podagrica) Euphorbiaceae Family
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/2445/index.html
Jess,
Thanks. Once I found out what this plant was, and did some reading on it, I discovered how extremely poisonous it is. It's flowers "explode", sending poisonous seeds several feet. Since the dog rules the back yard, I think it would be wise to stay on the safe side, and consider other tropicals.
Anybody want to trade?
On the other hand you have to be realistic, too... most of these toxic plants (which Jatrophas, like all Euphorbias, are toxic). However, they also taste horrible... and their toxicity is generally limited to gastric and oral inflammation so ingestion rarely occurs (burns being tasted/chewed). I have 8 dogs and hundreds of these toxic plants in the yard. As a vet, I see very few toxicities in dogs (and less in cats), though they do happen. However, toxicities due to Euphorbiaceas is really rare, with most perhaps coming in as unknown causes of vomiting, and get over it soon after. My dogs stay away from everything toxic (though they do love to chew on non-toxic stuff unfortunately for those non-toxic plants)... so I do have to construct barricades anyway sometimes. But I see them sniffing Euphorbias (particularly new introductions) and Cycads (another toxic category of plants) and rarely, if ever, even put their mouths on them. So far, no signs of toxicity in any of the dogs, and I am pretty sure I will not see any, either. The few times I have seen serious toxicity in pets it has almost always been specificly 'good tasting' things, like walnut toxicity (toxic mold in walnut shells) or mushrooms, or in INDOOR plants, where plants, for some reason, seem to be more attractive to pets (not sure why)- lilies, philodendrons, Diffenbachias, Sansevierias, etc.
palmbob - thanks for that input. Nothing like getting it from the horse's mouth.
Palmbob, I agree. My Bleu will chew my fig trees down to nubs and not bother most of the toxic stuff. His favorite plant to steal is purple sugar cane. He knows the big canes are the best to chew on.
Bleu dug up a jatropha once and ran around the yard with it in his mouth like it was a great prize. He did not get sick, but he hasn't bothered them since. Maybe it tasted bad. He bit a big stem on an elephant ear once, and once was all it took to learn to leave those alone!
If you don't want the seeds from your jatropha to pop all over the place, just pinch off the immature green pods.
Steve, is it the same as this? I grew mine (2) from seeds a few years ago.
Way to go, Linda. Looks great. I think this is the one I'm waiting seeds on.
:) Donna
I ended up buying one - $10 at Lowe's. I had to - it kept calling me.
Steve
I think you got a great deal, Steve!
:) Donna
Good deal, I love mine. It blooms almost non-stop. My leaves get huge, a most unusual plant.
Linda,
Do you grow yours in full sun? I've read some comments by other people who grow it, and it seems to do better with at least some protection. I would imagine that must be especially true here in FL - the sun is brutal in the summer.
Steve
Man!
I think saw this at Lowe's Saturday in the clearance rack.
Some Caud anyway.
I'm pretty sure thay had a half dozen or so at at least 1/2 price.
Picked up a bunch of hanging baskets at 3 bucks and really didn't pay much attention to the Budda.
I'll be stopping there tonight.
Ric
I've grown mine as house plants, not too much water. My Lowes is very low on plants now.
Ric,
The PlantFiles page for it says zone 10, and I'm in 9. I don't know how it will do here, if I'm pushing it.
Will you grow it in a pot, to over-winter it?
Steve
I live in Houston, TX, and the summer sun couldn't really be much more brutal than that. I have several of these. They are in full sun and don't seem to mind a bit.
These are very cool plants. Mine branched in 2004 - just too cool!
Steve,
I just ran across this thread and noticed you didn't get an answer on your zone thing.
I just wanted to tell you that I brought one of those up here in a pot a year ago when I moved here. As with everything else, it appeared to have died. Come spring when I was cleaning out all the pots with dead plants, this one had sprouted new leaves. Keep in mind, our lowest temp last winter was 17 degrees for about 4 hours.
So I planted it in the ground and it did grow some new leaves, a bloom and maybe even a seed pod. I will be mulching with pine straw this weekend so I think this plant will get some too.
Molly
:^)))
Molly and Hetty,
I planted one this summer, but I planted a Spiral Ginger and a Brug close by, and they both got huge. Remember, I'm new at this tropical plant thing. They got so big that I haven't seen the Buddha Belly in a while now, and I don't know how it's doing.
I'll check on it tomorrow, when I go in to take a banana pup.
Steve
And speaking of shade Steve, with all those brugs growing and thriving you ought to have plenty of shade by now.....right?
:^)))
Molly,
I do, but I can't get at it. The garden is way over-grown, and plants are extremely crowded. I need to thin it out some.
Steve
Glad to find this thread as I've got four big, fat seed pods on my plant. So, they will "explode" when ready? Is there not a time to harvest them before the big bang??????????? Guess I could just cover them in a nylon kneehigh stocking and wait.
NmNut,
Put a net bag or something over those seeds. I could never catch mine before they disappeared. You'll go out there and they will be gone if you don't bag'em.
Molly
:^))))
Thanks for the heads up. They're wearing little socks now. :-P
Skaz421
In that picture you posted the bloom in the back looks like it has a seed on it, or is my eyes playing tricks on me?
Jeri
Jeri,
Looks like it, doesn't it? That was a long time ago - didn't know what to do with it, then.
Steve