Euphorbia Amygdaloides or Wood Spurge

Euphorbia Amygdaloides is an evergreen perennial with small yellow-green flowers and vigorous mat-forming growth. It’s one of the very few plants that will grow in dry shade to cover bare patches beneath trees.

Euphorbia Amygdaloides originates from Europe and Turkey and it’s the ancestor of our garden spurge cultivars. Better known as Wood Spurge, it’s native to our woodlands where it thrives in moist to dry shade beneath trees and hedges. Wood Spurge has reddish stems and remains evergreen year-round, but in spring it will bush out, spread, and produce fresh new leaves in a lighter shade of green. From April to June small cup-shaped yellowy-green flowers emerge on short erect stems. The flowers don’t have petals but clusters of bracts that are attractive to bees.

This is a useful dry shade plant but do be aware that its milky sap is an irritant, so gloves should be worn when handling it.

Height And Spread of Euphorbia Amygdaloides
Wood Spurge is fast spreading, especially in moist soil. This is a low-growing plant to a maximum height and spread of 50cms in 2-5 years.

How Hardy Is Euphorbia Amygdaloides
It’s a native plant so wood spurge is capable of withstanding UK winters. It needs some shade from hot drying sun and is rarely affected by pests.

How To Use Euphorbia Amygdaloides
Wood Spurge is essential for dry shade patches beneath trees and hedges in informal spaces. An excellent ground cover plant in shade, it spreads quickly and will cover a shaded slope or the space beneath tall shrubs in a mixed border. Wood Spurge also suits shaded areas of rock or gravel gardens and will tolerate poor soil.
It’s best left to spread of its own accord in wildlife-friendly low maintenance spaces and looks particularly good paired with bluebells in spring.

How To Care For Euphorbia Amygdaloides
Euphorbia Amygdaloides is easy to grow and requires very little care once established.
Plant it in any type of soil including sand or chalk in full to partial shade and water it well until you see new growth. There is no need to prune, but if you’d like to encourage bushier growth, remove the flower bracts immediately after flowering.