Other Names:  Christ Plant, Christ Thorn

Description:

A visually striking shrub; vertically upright stems are woody and very thorny, crowned with gray-green oval leaves; blooms year round with clusters of scarlet red flowers; an excellent choice for a bright indoor area

Features & Attributes

Giant Red Crown Of Thorns features showy clusters of scarlet round flowers with gold eyes held atop the branches from early winter to late fall. Its attractive oval leaves emerge light green, turning grayish green in color throughout the year.

This is a multi-stemmed evergreen houseplant with a narrowly upright and columnar growth habit. This plant may benefit from an occasional pruning to look its best.

Planting & Growing

When grown indoors, Giant Red Crown Of Thorns can be expected to grow to be about 6 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 24 inches. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 20 years. This houseplant requires direct sun for optimal performance, and should therefore be situated in a room that gets bright sunlight for a good part of the day; it is not a good choice for rooms lit only by artificial light. It prefers dry to average moisture levels with very well-drained soil, and may die if left in standing water for any length of time. This plant should be watered when the surface of the soil gets dry, and will need watering approximately once each week. Be aware that your particular watering schedule may vary depending on its location in the room, the pot size, plant size and other conditions; if in doubt, ask one of our experts in the store for advice. It will benefit from a regular feeding with a general-purpose fertilizer with every second or third watering. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in sandy soil. Contact the store for specific recommendations on pre-mixed potting soil for this plant. Be warned that parts of this plant are known to be toxic to humans and animals, so special care should be exercised if growing it around children and pets.

There are many factors that will affect the ultimate height, spread and overall performance of a plant when grown indoors; among them, the size of the pot it's growing in, the amount of light it receives, watering frequency, the pruning regimen and repotting schedule. Use the information described here as a guideline only; individual performance can and will vary. Please contact the store to speak with one of our experts if you are interested in further details concerning recommendations on pot size, watering, pruning, repotting, etc.

-- THIS IS A HOUSEPLANT AND IS NOT MEANT TO SURVIVE THE WINTER OUTDOORS IN OUR CLIMATE --