Propagating an African milk tree from a cutting is very easy to do. The steps are:
- Safety. Wear correct safety equipment (gloves and glasses) to protect your skin and eyes from the thorns and the toxic white sap.
- Get your cutting. Using a clean pair of secateurs or a utility knife, get a healthy cutting from an existing African milk tree plant. The cutting length should be at least 4-6 inches long.
- Prepare your cutting. Before potting the cutting, the cutting will need to sit in indirect light for 3-7 days to allow the end of the cutting to callus over. This will reduce the likelihood of the cutting rotting.
- Pot the cutting. Fill up a pot with cactus/succulent potting mix and plant and plant the African milk tree cutting 1-1.5 inches deep.
- Cutting care. Give the cutting and potting mixture a good soaking on the first day. Then afterward, water the cutting when the top inch of the potting mix is dried (the watering schedule will be once every 1-2 weeks). Place the cutting out of direct sunlight, where it will receive at least 6 or more hours of indirect/filtered light.
I have had a 100% success rate following the above method when propagating African milk tree cuttings. I hope you have the same success rate as me!
Watch my video from YouTube below on African milk tree propagation (Euphorbia Trigona propagation).
Introduction
The first plant I remember owning as a kid was an African milk tree (euphoria trigona). That was over 20 years ago now. When I recently saw and recognized the African milk tree I really wanted to get another one to replace the one I had as a kid.
Fortunately propagating the African milk tree plant is easy. Follow these 5 steps to do the same for yourself.
How To Propagate African Milk Tree in 5 Easy Steps
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Safety
When getting a cutting from an African milk tree you should wear the following protective equipment:
1) Thick gloves to protect your hands from the thorns and the toxic white sap when getting your cutting, and
2) Glasses to prevent any toxic white sap from getting into your eyes.
The toxic white sap can be irritating to some people when it comes into contact with your skin or eyes.The toxic white sap can be irritating to some people when it comes into contact with your skin or eyes.
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Get Your Cutting
Before taking your cutting you will need to prepare your tools. You will need to clean and disinfect your pair of secateurs or utility knife to reduce the chance of infecting your cutting with a disease.
Then identify a healthy stem on your “mother” African milk tree, then do a clean cut.
The ideal cutting length will be anywhere from 4-8 inches long.
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Prepare Your Cutting
Before the cutting can be potted, it needs to sit for 3-7 days to allow the end of the cutting to callus over. If you skip this step there is a higher chance that the African milk tree cutting will rot.
I did this for my cutting by sitting it on a paper towel in a tray and positioning it so it would only receive indirect/filtered light for at least 6 hours of the day. You do not want it to get direct sunlight as this might damage the plant.
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Pot The Cutting
Fill up a grow pot or any plant container that has good drainage with cactus/succulent potting mix. Then make a hole in the top of the potting mix that is 1-1.5 inches deep and wide enough to fit the cutting.
Insert the cutting into the hole and then lightly press around the cutting to secure it in the potting mix.
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Cutting Care
Once the cutting is placed in potting mix, it will need a good watering to get it started. Make sure each area of the pot and the potting mix gets watered.
After this initial water, it will need to be watered once every 1-2 weeks. A way you can check if it needs to be watered is if the top inch or so of the potting mix is dry. If dry then give it another good water.
Position the cuttings in filtered/indirect light. Once they start to grow roots and can better support themselves, they will be able to be moved outside or into direct light.
Tools:
- Utility knife or secateurs
Materials: Plastic grow pot Cactus/succulent potting mix Water
Progress Update (8 Weeks)
Here is a photo of one of my cuttings root development after 8 weeks from taking the initial cutting.
You can see that there has been a lot of root growth in such a short amount of time. Remember to not more your cutting outside into direct sunlight until it starts to grow its own roots.
Final Thoughts
Propagating an African milk tree from a cutting is very easy to do, you just need to be able to find someone willing to let you take a cutting from their plant.
FAQ
How long does it take for an African milk tree cutting to grow roots?
After a month your cutting will have some roots growing. Below is a picture of my cutting after 8 weeks, showing good root growth.
Can an African milk tree grow roots in water?
I have not done this myself yet. I will do this when I can get another cutting and update my blog accordingly with the results.
