I got this plant from a friend. It's supposed to become orange at the tips or have orange flowers. Honestly I don't remember that part!

I am not sure of the name-is it firesticks?



It is very root bound and in need of a new pot.

Should I get a bigger pot or attempt to separate it into different ones?

Firesticks (Euphorbia tirucalli). Be careful as the sap can be extremely toxic and irritating. DO NOT handle the plant and then rub your eyes. That usually leads to a trip to the Emergency Room!

As far as a pot, it might be easier to get a larger pot than try to handle it for separation. You can scrape the bottom or the sides of the root ball to allow the roots to grow more and not be root bound. Or take cuttings and repot being careful of the sap. Just be very careful with it.

I agree with SongofJoy on all counts, except it might be the regular E. tirucalli that doesn't get the orange tips.

Could be the regular green variety or 'Firesticks.' I believe (could be wrong), their orange/yellow appears in the winter. It's personal preference if you want to separate them. I like the multiple plants in one pot look, maybe you do/don't. It won't affect the health of the plant by leaving them in one pot.

If you do decide to repot, I would recommend giving it fast draining potting mix (I don't know what it's in currently). I use a mix of Miracle Gro Cactus and Succulent potting mix and rinsed perlite (a ratio of about 50/50). To ensure you don't have any issues with the roots, it's best to remove all old potting mix and give it the same "type" of mix throughout the entire pot. The soil it's in may not dry as fast as the mix I suggested, so just placing the rootball inside a new pot with the old mix "attached," you will have different mixes drying out at different times... That can create problems.

I had a ZZ Plant that I failed to remove the old mix from. I put it in fast draining mix. While the outside of the rootball was drying out faster, the inside of the rootball was slowly rotting from excessive water. The two types of mix were drying out at different rates. I lost it.

You might end up putting it back into the same pot if you do this, I've found once the old mix from these is removed, they don't have much of a root system going on and mine didn't end up needing a bigger pot. You may have to get some rocks to hold them down if you do this, until they anchor themselves, they can be a little top heavy and want to topple over.

Planto

If I was going to separate the pictured plant, I'd use my gardening knife (old serrated kitchen knife dedicated to doing things like this) to cut them apart.

I'm one of the unfortunate few who are sensitive to the latex sap, which gives me a rash nearly identical to poison ivy if it gets on my skin. I have this plant, but now take precautions to avoid getting the sap on me when taking cuttings of this or repotting. Unless the surface is broken to expose the sap inside, casually handling this plant should be harmless.

I have some gardening shears laying around, those work well too. I have to be mindful cleaning them off afterward though, to avoid the toxic sap.

Planto

here is a pic of mine
https://www.flickr.com/photos/...
I put it in the garage in winter here in NM and it goes outside for 9 months of the year. It is just green inside but turns orangey red after being in the sun a few weeks.

Now I wonder if I should move it from the spot I placed it.

I acquired a plant labeled Euphorbia tirucalli 'Firesticks'. 'Firesticks' isn't shown in the database. Actually the first two entries in the database aren't really clear about what distinguishes the two. I'm not sure whether 'Rosea' is a cultivar or a ssp. It seems 'Firesticks' or 'Sticks on Fire' are used in both entries. I'm guessing the 2nd entry in the db is the generic one?

Donald,
That's a good question. I think the DB can be repetitive sometimes as there are sometimes numerous cultivar names for the same plant. You say tomatoe, I say tomato sort of thing.

I believe 'Sticks of Fire' and 'Firesticks' are the same plant, just two different names. Now I've never seen it called 'Rosea,' but with pictures that resemble 'Firesticks, I just assumed it was a third cultivar name for it (I never researched it so I don't know).

Now 'Mahogony,' I have no clue. The generic one is all green and as far as I know, doesn't have a cultivar name. If it does, I'd hope it wouldn't be 'mahogony,' as that doesn't sound very green to me.

Planto

The University of Arizona website is the only place I've seen it called 'Rosea'.