Hello,

I hired a gardener from my neighborhood to tear out and replant an area in front of my house. I am not too happy with the work that he did yet before I talk to him, I wanted to do some research to be sure my concerns are valid. This is probably the last time I'm going to use him. He's cut corners in the past on other projects I've hired him for. He planted what looks like society garlic, yet there is an odd cactus like growth present. I abhor cactus. I thought he was going to put the money paid to him to good use and buy something decent and nice looking. I like society garlic, but I'm not loving this cactus mutation or whatever it is. I also don't like the condition of some of these plants, particularly the one on the very right. It's like he planted a dying mutated throw away. I've been watering these plants every other day. They've been here for two weeks now. I'm not yet seeing any improvement in their health, again, the one on the far right is the main concern. It has been very hot here, maybe that's why. I'm hoping I'm wrong about all this. I would love to hear that this cactus growth is normal and that these plants will grow and flourish and prosper and look great eventually. I would also love to hear that I'm wrong about him ripping me off by planting unhealthy dying plants. Maybe this look is normal and the plant will improve? Thank you for your help with this.

The cactus thing is a succulent called Euphorbia "Mother of Thousands". That should give you a hint of what you can expect if you leave it.

Did the plants look like that when they arrived? Did you see nursery pots? I suspect your "gardener" is recycling plants he pulled out of someone else's landscaping.

It's very hard, to transplant plants in our summers. Your plants, actually look, well off ! From what i can see, on my phone.
Give them proper care, and, don't under/over water !
Throw lite rag over, if they start to get any sign of sunburn. I think they will be fine !
😎😎😎

Pull out those Mother of thousands, or you will have your whole bed full of them. They are nice plants if contained, and not allowed to drop plantlets everywhere.

So this is not society garlic? It looks identical with the exception of this succulent thing sprouting from it. Maybe its both!? Maybe this euphorbia is a separate plant!? It sure seems to be one plant coming from the same root though. I can provide more pics if necessary.

@numinous !

The Euphorbia is the succulent plant growing in with the other plant. It probably was in the soil he used. I'm with Daisy. Bet he is recycling stuff from other gardens. That succulent can be quite a pain if it gets a good foothold in your garden. If you want to see it grow and bloom, save some and put it in a big pot on a cement pad or brick pad where the babies can't grow.

This Mother of Thousands Euphorbia is apparently poisonous - fatal if ingested by small animals (!!!???). I have a indoor/out door cat that loves to sit in this planter and she tends to chew and eat plant parts!!

Yes, you do have Society Garlic...but as several people have mentioned, you also have an undesirable plant that will take over your garden. The extra plant is named Mother of Thousands; it is a type of Kalanchoe. It is proof that your not-so-professional hired gardener got his soil from someone else's garden. He used contaminated soil and left you holding the bag...or the hoe.

If it were me, I would tell him to come back, remove everything, and start over. He needs to show you bags of soil and a receipt from the store so you will know that he is using fresh, new, uncontaminated soil for the project.

Oh, and looking at the photo, the plants are not evenly planted and they are not looking very healthy.
Newly planted items need to be protected from direct sunlight for several days so they have time to adjust to their new environment. A professional would have known that.

Just to appease the lady of the house who is not convinced this is Euphorbia as she cannot find a visual match via Google image search - does someone have a link or a pic they can share? I've already removed those bastards and put them in my garage so my cat and other animals won't be poisoned. This guy Perfecto doesn't speak good English whatsoever. One of his trucks is always parked in front of one of the houses in my neighborhood even when he is not around. He somehow managed to get the business of many people in my tract. He seems to give me a different level of service than the others. Which is bizarre. I have a few theories as to why. To avoid miscommunication I'm going to draft a brief letter to him convert it into Spanish and leave it on his truck that way he'll be very clear about the problem so I won't have to use hand signals and gestures when talking to him lol. This really angers me. Wait till you hear what else he did. I have a question about that too. I'll post that question separately. Thank you very much new friends. It's great to have found you.

I believe this is close to your "Mother of Thousands", there are thousands of versions.

https://www.google.com/search?...:

Good luck with the gardener.

Hi and welcome. So sorry for your gardener troubles. It sure is hard to get someone really good to help in a garden. I agree, they don't look like plants that he got from a nursery or garden center. If they are, he got them off the discount rack, to be in such a sorry state.

I think your Society Garlic is just suffering from being transplanted during such a very hot time of year. Spring or fall would have been a better time. The plants needs extra water, a good, deep watering every morning would help a lot to get them established and growing. They are clumping plants, and in amongst the clumps you have the Euphorbias popping up, not helping the situation. They should be easy to pull out right after you've watered your Society Garlic.

I would call the guy back and ask him to come and 'weed' your newly planted bed for you, then if/when he shows up ask him where he got the plants and ask to see the receipt if he says he bought them.

numinous said: Wait till you hear what else he did.

We here on NGA can help to identify your plants and we can answer all kinds of garden-related questions, but if you want to bash someone publicly even going so far as to give his name, maybe this is not the best venue for that. I would suggest you either stop using the gardener in question or seek legal advice to solve the problem.

greene said:


We here on NGA can help to identify your plants and we can answer all kinds of garden-related questions, but if you want to bash someone publicly even going so far as to give his name, maybe this is not the best venue for that. I would suggest you either stop using the gardener in question or seek legal advice to solve the problem.

I only used his first name. I am not at all bashing him. I need help fixing the mess. I have to describe what he did in order for you all to provide feedback. I am going to post my other problem concerning my lawn. I don't bash people.

Just pluck out the mother of thousands and all will be well. Those are nice healthy society garlics.

RickM said: @numinous !

Thanks!

dave said:Just pluck out the mother of thousands and all will be well. Those are nice healthy society garlics.

Okay. I'll do that. I disagree that the one on the right is healthy, but what do I know. As long as it will flourish if cared for.

They are all pulled out right now and quarantined in my garage. I'll perform the surgery and replantation tomorrow.

Does anyone here know if indeed Euphorbia is truly poisonous and deadly to small animals?

I think our brains all sprang a leak yesterday and I led the charge. "Mother of Thousands" is a Kalanchoe, not a Euphorbia. But yes, poisonous to small animals.

The bottom line on the Society Garlic: If you aren't happy, ask the gardener to replace the plants. He is working for you.

Stop hiring him.

Ryan,
You need some mulch around those plants. Water them well, spread a good layer of mulch, and water again. Otherwise, you may end up with sun-roasted garlic.

Daisy,
PLEASE tell me that squirrel and chipmunk like to chew on the mother-of-thousands. If so, I'm going to have literally thousands of them around the place next year. (Those darn critters are tearing up everything.)

Kalanchoe is toxic to pets.
https://www.vetary.com/dog/con...