Euphorbia Species, Slipper Plant

Drought and heat tolerant. Will tolerate frosts into the upper 20s without damage. Attractive to humming birds but I've not noticed bees...Read More or butterflies visiting. Blooms freely spring through summer, followed by seed pods. Easy to propagate through cuttings. Sap is toxic, avoid getting in open cuts. Use gloves when pruning.

Central Phoenix -- I have both the straight-stemmed gray Pedilanthus macrocarpus and the curly-stemmed lime-green cultivar growing in my ...Read Moregarden. Both do well and tolerate almost full sun to moderate shade. However in moderate shade the gray one has elongated stems that tend to grow sideways instead of straight. These plants get once-a-month summer water at most. None have winter protection and have survived freezes into the low 20s.

I also have a dwarf variety about a foot tall. It blooms with the same pink slipper flowers as the large varieties I grow it in a pot, in deciduous tree shade and once-a-month water in summer.