Plant Review: Euphorbia ‘Jessie’

I’ve just planted a Euphorbia ‘Jessie’ that I got from Barry Glick at Sunshine Farms and Nursery.

‘Jessie’ is a cross between the tender E. griffithii – a really tall species and E. polychroma (epithymoides) only about 18″ tall but very hardy and self-sows with abandon to earn a spot on my thug-list. Barry assures me the seeds from this particular cross are sterile and won’t be a problem. This is a patented plant and a first for Barry so he’s quite excited about it.

Now Barry is a bit of a plant collector (understatement if there ever was one) and a bit of an enthusiastic marketer (also understated given his penchant for wearing purple robes and crowns) and a good guy. So you can imagine how excited he is about this plant.

I’m going to run this plant in a USDA zone 4 garden and we’ll find out how hardy it is. But I have to tell you I’m a little excited about a 5 foot tall Euphorbia in my garden. The link above is to Barry’s website where he describes the plant and offers it to you for sale as well. As you can see, the bracts are a bright yellow and according to Barry, we’ll likely get a good 6-8 weeks of show in mid-summer and then a fall display as the Euphorbia foliage takes on the species yellow/red combinations.

Ah yes, just one last tidbit to entice you – and one more reason I’m pleased to have this plant – it is deer proof as are all Euphorbia. I mean – deer don’t eat it unless they’re out and out starving and then it’s the last thing they’ll pick.

I’ll be updating these posts as the plants emerge next year and we declare the survivors and then the winners in plant performance.