Crown of Thorns Plant Care: My Easy-Blooming Balcony Plant
🌸 Crown of Thorns Plant at a Glance
Crown of Thorns is one of the easiest flowering plants growing in my balcony garden. I received my first cutting from my parlour didi, and what started as an unfamiliar thorny stem slowly became one of my favourite low-maintenance plants.
Also known as Euphorbia milii, Crown of Thorns loves bright sunlight and needs watering only when the soil has dried out. Here is my experience of growing, propagating and caring for this colourful balcony plant.
| Feature | My Experience |
|---|
| 🌱 Plant | Crown of Thorns |
| 🌱 Difficulty | Beginner-friendly |
| ☀️ Light | Bright, direct sunlight |
| 💧 Watering | Water only when the soil has dried out |
| 🏡 Where I grow it | Balcony |
| 🌿 Maintenance | Very Low |
| 🌸 Flower/Bracts | Colourful bracts for much of the year |
| 🌱 Propagation | Stem Cuttings |
| 👩🌾 Best for | Beginner plant parents |
How I got my first Crown of Thorns
I got this one from my Parlour didi.
She had this small garden outside her parlour.When she closed her parlour she handed over cuttings of this plant and Tulsi.
Gently wrapped in newspaper she handed it over to me and warned to be careful while potting as it has thorns around it .
"Make sure you apply oil on your hands as stem has sticky white liquid that ozzes out." she added.
Her advice made me realise that this was a plant I needed to handle carefully.
When you are plant parents, sometimes that is enough to create an instant connection with another plant parent. Age, profession or gender doesn't really matter. Green babies have their own way of bringing people together.
What Is Crown of Thorns?
I didn't even know the name of this when I got it home.This was so not me.So far all the plants I had in my little garden had got place there after much of thought.Considering limited space that I have in my balcony and light situations I had chosen my plants carefully.Also being cautious of being newbee I had simple easy to grow plants which can survive my experiments.
This one was different.
I took a photo of its flowers and searched using Google Lens. That's how I discovered its name — “Crown of Thorns” or “Christ Plant.”
"Name carry cultural symbolism and it has botanical characteristics adapted to arid region native to Madagascar" google said.
Reading this gave me some relief and pride at the same time.Relief thinking it won't die if I forget to water a day or two and pride to have open my small garden to a foreigner plant.
It was surprising to learn that it is a drought-tolerant plant looking at its bright lush green leaves and lovely red flowers.What I thought were colourful flowers are actually colourful bracts surrounding the tiny true flowers.
The thorn covered stems and red bracts in a way symbolise blood and pain and the new plant in my house is not just an ornamental plant but it is interpreted as a symbol of passion and patience.
I was truly overwhelmed reading all the gyan google baba has shared.
How to Propagate Crown of Thorns From Stem Cuttings
When I received the stems wrapped in newspaper, I removed a few leaves from the lower part of the stems and potted the cuttings.That was my simple way of getting the new plant started.
Looking at thorn covered stem and Sticky white substance bright red coloured bracts I wondered how wonderfully nature adapts plants to dry environments.
It is an attractive potted plant, but if you have children or pets at home, it is worth taking extra care. The thorny stems can hurt if touched accidentally, and the plant produces a milky sap that can cause irritation.
For a fraction of a second, I thought I was seeing green flowers for the first time.But then I remembered gyan google baba shared these are not actually flower petals but leaves indeed hence green.
The new bracts start green and gradually change through pinkish-red and orange shades, sometimes looking like little flames shining in bright sun. These bracts color the plant without rest throughout the year.
Crown of Thorns Plant Care: What Works for Me
☀️ Sunlight
As it is adapted to dry conditions, my Crown of Thorns thrives in bright sunlight.
💧 Watering
I water it only when the soil is completely dry and avoid overwatering.
✂️ Pruning and Propagation
Over a period of time leaves at bottom of stem gets dried and fall off eventually.If stems are growing too tall with leaves only at top portion I feel free to cut it and repot cut healthy stems.Soon it will develop new green leaves and bracts.
Would I Recommend Crown of Thorns to Beginner Plant Parents?
For me, Crown of Thorns has been one of the easiest flowering plants to grow. It needs plenty of sunlight, doesn't need frequent watering and has very low maintenance requirements. That's why I would recommend it to beginner plant parents who have a sunny balcony.It will give you red charming bracts for much of the year in balcony.
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🌿 ZZ Plant – a low-maintenance plant that surprised me with its growt
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