Play Ball!

Nature 3 Minutes

The baseball plant (Euphorbia obesa) is a succulent perennial that is native to the Cape Province of South Africa. Since its discovery during the late 1800s, baseball plants have exploded in popularity as houseplants due to their unique appearance and low-maintenance needs. Though baseball plants are actually considered an endangered species in their native habitat due to unsustainable harvesting, they can easily be found in garden centers. Today, national and international legislation that prohibits harvesting baseball plants has been enacted in an effort to protect the remaining native populations of baseball plants.

These long-lived, slow-growing succulents are characterized by bulbous shape, V-shaped markings, and seam-like ridges that resemble stitching. Rather than branches or leaves, the plant consists of a single wide stem body from which the flowers sprout. Young baseball plants are round in shape but become more elongated and cylindrically shaped with maturity. Baseball plants are also called sea urchin plants since they loosely resemble that creature.

The plants are dioecious, with either male or female flowers that are yellow in color and rather insignificant in appearance. To produce seeds, the female flowers must be cross-pollinated by a male plant, and for this reason, the plant is rarely propagated by seed except in the nursery trade.

Baseball Plant Care

Baseball plants are relatively easy plants to care for as long as their light and water requirements are met. They thrive if grown in a standard coarse potting mix formulated for cactus and succulents and placed in a location that receives plenty of sunlight or at constant bright indirect light. They are slow-growing plants that can be allowed to fill their pots before repotting becomes necessary. Few houseplants require less care than baseball plants.

Baseball plants do not produce leaves or foliage but they do produce small, fragrant flowers in the summer months. The tough stem structures are largely impervious to pest and disease problems, but if over watered or allowed to soak in water, the roots may develop rot.

Light

In their native habitat, baseball plants are accustomed to plenty of bright, direct sunlight. When grown indoors, baseball plants should receive at least four hours of direct sunlight a day if possible. Loss of color and pattern, as well as a loss of shape, are all indications that your baseball plant is not receiving enough light; etiolated (“leggy”) growth is another indication. Place your baseball plant in a south or east-facing window in your home to ensure it receives adequate sunlight.

Soil

Baseball plants require coarse, well-draining potting soil in order to thrive and should be planted in a potting mix intended for cacti and succulents. Cactus soil is available at most commercial nurseries and garden centers, but if you don’t have one readily available you can easily make your own by mixing 3 parts regular potting soil, 2 parts coarse sand, and 1 part perlite. 

Water

Baseball plants, like most succulents and cacti, do not tolerate over watering. Water the plant only when the soil is thoroughly dry. Baseball plants require more water during the spring and summer months, and significantly less water during their dormant period in the fall and winter months.

Temperature and Humidity

Baseball plants appreciate warm temperatures. When grown inside, the average household temperature is more than sufficient. However, be careful to avoid placing your baseball plant in areas with cold drafts, as it can inhibit growth. If grown outdoors, they can tolerate occasional temperatures down to 30 degrees Fahrenheit.

Fertilizer

As with most succulents, baseball plants do not require regular fertilization, as they are accustomed to growing in nutrient-poor soil. However, fertilizing your baseball plant during the spring can help it to thrive during its peak growing season. Be sure to use a cactus/succulent fertilizer for the best results.

Propagating Baseball Plant

Like other species of Euphorbia, baseball plant is difficult to propagate from seeds, since male and female plants require cross-pollination in order to produce seeds. Further, the seeds are very slow-growing.

Euphorbias such as E. obesa, which have a single stem structure rather than individual branches, are normally propagated by first decapitating the plant at soil level. When small new growth structures emerge around the remaining root body, each new offset can be carefully cut away and replanted in coarse cactus/succulent planting mix. These are quite -growing plants that can take as much as eight years before they mature into flowering plants.

Potting and Repotting

Baseball plants do well in any coarse potting mix formulated for cactus and succulents. They do not require frequent repotting, and should only be repotted once the circumference of the plant is pushing against the edge of the pot. Protective gardening gloves should be worn at all times while repotting baseball plants as their sap can irritate the skin upon contact. 

Source: The Spruce

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Published by pat frederick

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164 thoughts on “Play Ball!”

  3. Liked by 1 person

  4. “Fauci’s successor at NIAID is a partisan democrat activist linked to gain of function cover up operation — FEC filings show Hugh Auchincloss is heavily involved in D.C. politics.”

    Jordan Schachtel
    53 min ago

    EXCERPT: “Hugh Auchincloss served as Anthony Fauci’s right hand man for almost two decades, and he is currently the top bureaucrat at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). With the Biden Administration showing seemingly no interest in appointing a new NIAID chief, Auchincloss has inherited his post in semi-permanent fashion. His role now includes being the chief decision maker for directing billions of taxpayer dollars into the coffers of research institutes and pharmaceutical companies. And with all of the attention turned to the semi-retired Dr Fauci, Auchincloss has been able to operate as the NIAID’s new head honcho without even a hint of a vetting process.

    If you thought Fauci’s infamous love letters to Hillary Clinton were bad, check out Hugh Auchincloss’s partisan political record.”

    https://dossier.substack.com/p/faucis-successor-at-niaid-is-a-partisan

    Liked by 1 person

  5. NF: Yes, I am being very pessimistic at this point but I wouldn’t guarantee this “Well, first, it won’t happen.” statement! Only 15 Senators out of 100? Think again, James!

    “WHO Is Dead Wrong on Salt Intake: Report Gives Us a Peek at What “Enforcement” of a WHO “Treaty” On Public Health Would Look Like — WHO hold an unscientific, incorrect and dangerous position on salt. It is an important example of why ethical physicians must ignore WHO’s advice, treaty or no treaty.”

    James Lyons-Weiler
    2 hr ago

    EXCERPT: “The presumption of power by the World Health Organization is arrogant and breathtaking – even if they are right. Their position on dietary salt levels shows their gall is paralleled only by their incompetence. Biden’s “Treaty”, thank goodness, is DOA.

    Let’s say in the near future the WHO has decided that countries around the world must adopt a new policy or protocol related to public health. Let’s say it’s about an infectious agent – one that is thought to cause illness in humans to the point where, say, some medical interventions, vaccines, and other public health responses are considered, by WHO, to be necessary. What will it look like now that Biden has given some assurance to the WHO that the US will abide by their recommendations?

    Well, first, it won’t happen. Fifteen GOP Senators have introduced a resolution making it clear that any WHO treaty with “legal force” relating to a pandemic response that creates “significant international commitments” must first be approved by the Senate.
    ————
    We can take a look ahead at the process of WHO-led US public health policies with the WHO’s reckless and ignorant call for “massive efforts” to reduce sodium intake via mandatory dietary salt intake restrictions. Today, WHO published a news release entitled “Massive efforts needed to reduce salt intake and protect lives”. The news release discusses a “first of its kind Global report on sodium intake reduction”, which the WHO claims to show that the world is off-track to achieve its global target of reducing sodium intake by 30% by 2025.

    From the WHO: “The report shows that only 5% of WHO Member States are protected by mandatory and comprehensive sodium reduction policies and 73% of WHO Member States lack the full range of implementation of such policies.”

    Did you catch that? “mandatory and comprehensive” Pardon us? This tells us that WHO will nudge with news releases, alerting useful idiots in member countries to create initiatives to make WHO’s dreams come true.”

    https://popularrationalism.substack.com/p/who-is-dead-wrong-on-salt-intake

    Liked by 1 person

  6. we’re leaving in about a half hour, so I’m gonna post all the last things I post every day so I don’t forget.
    I am adding a short daily prayer to the board. I would invite each of you, if you wish, to also add one or maybe two of your own liking. I do not want to stifle anyone but please limit yourself to one or two religious postings. here’s one I found that I liked.

    Like

  10. Ah! Snow has finally stopped and the sky is lightening up a bit. Up to 36 now. Dang, those critters eat a lot! Bird feeders all need to be re-filled again and the 2 big cobs of corn are almost gone already, too! Sheesh! Gonna eat me out of house and home!!!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I walked thru walmart this evening looking longingly at their bulb display…if i plant them in the yard, the deer will eat them. if i pot them on the deck, the squirrels or raccoons will eat the bubs.
      this is why i can’t have nice things…LOL

      Liked by 1 person

  28. What a jackass

    Colin Kaepernick calls his white adoptive parents RACIST because they told him as a teen that cornrows looked ‘unprofessional’ and that he ‘looked like a little thug’
    Kaepernick was adopted at five weeks old by Rick and Teresa Kaepernick
    They had two biological kids but had lost two sons in a row to a heart defect
    Kaepernick complains that he went through ‘some very problematic things’

    Liked by 1 person

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