Quote:
Originally Posted by Lance Carbuncle
Hello,
I am looking for a recommendation for a good drought tolerant plant that I can use for a non fenced property line. I saw a plant being used at Tropic World Nursery in Escondido as that was planted along their fence that I think they said was some kind of Euphorbia.... it had a lot of sharp pointy spikes on it. I think this would be great for what I want to do. Does anyone know what this plant might be? will it grow thick enough to deter critters like Coyote's from going through it? I was told that Euphorbia can produce some toxic sap... how toxic is it?
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I don't think you can grow anything thick or spiny enough to keep coyotes out. Can't recall what Euphorbia Tropic World has planted, though I have been there dozens of times. A good hedging plant that grows rapidly is Agave americana... I know several growers with expensive collections that use this as their hedge, and I know I would never try to cross it.
As for the Euphorbia sap, it is toxic, but how toxic is a hard question to answer. It is caustic more than actually toxic. You could eat it and it would fry your mouth and throat, but not sure what serious toxic principles it has other than that. And not all Euphorbia sap is equal. And not all people are equally sensitive. I hacked up my Euphorbia leucodendron yesterday and got oodles of dripping sap on my face, hair and hands and felt like I had a mild sunburn for a few hours. But I know people that that experience would send them to the hospital for a week or more. And you can rub the sap from a Poinsettia all over you and it would probably do very little harm, yet the sap from a Euphorbia tirucali (aka Pencil Cactus) burns the hell out of my skin. Still I hardly think any self respecting coyote could possibly care less about getting Euphorbia sap on itself, though I am sure none would ever try to eat one. And Coyote fur is pretty spine-resistant, so doubt the spines of any Euphorbia species would bother one too much. You want coyotes to stay out, build a 10' fence.