Euphorbia characias 'Tasmanian Tiger'

Euphorbia characias 'Tasmanian Tiger' – Variegated Mediterranean Spurge

'Tasmanian Tiger' is a variegated Mediterranean spurge, its narrow grey-green leaves edged creamy white and spiralling up stiff upright stems. From early spring the stems terminate in broad conical heads of cream bracts marked green at the centre, closer to lime and cream than to any conventional flower colour, and they hold that look well into summer. The variegation lasts all year, carrying a garden through the months when nothing is in bloom.

Grow it in full sun with sharp drainage. It will take light shade, but sun is where it keeps its density and its colour; in deeper shade it thins and flops. Pests leave it alone and frost has not troubled it in our own beds. It suits gravel plantings, pots, and any position where it can sit against dark foliage. Cut flowered stems to the base once the bracts fade. Wear gloves: the milky sap irritates skin and eyes, and every part of the plant is toxic if eaten.

• Mature height: 1 m
• Mature width: 1 m
• Light needs: Full sun
• Fragrance: Nil
• Evergreen, drought tolerant, very low water once established
• Sap is a skin and eye irritant; toxic if eaten