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Shrubs - Euonymus
Euonymus is a jewel among the evergreens and brings beauty to your garden year round. Euonymus is available in shades of silver and gold and can be maintained in a variety of shapes limited only to your imagination. The image below depicts Euonymus Emerald Gaiety. This variety has white etched leaves which contrast beautifully against green foliage. The Emerald Gaiety provides interest year round and is hardy to zone 4. It is a compact shrub and lends a bloom like appearance to my front garden.
What can you do with Euonymus? Here is one example. The electrical stack located at the side of my house is an unwelcome site as it is silver and runs up the wall of my home. The electrical meter is another unattractive piece attached to the stack. I knew a tree would not be feasible as the meter would not be accessible to read. After thinking about the problem I decided upon a solution, Euonymus. I trained the Euonymus to grow up the stack thereby covering the metal. The meter is available to read as I pruned a circle into the vine to correspond with the area that is read monthly. The following picture depicts the beauty of Euonymus although above the eaves you can see the electrical stack. Imagine that stack on the wall without the Euonymus. Also the Euonymus Emerald Gaiety provides brightness and texture to the area thereby reducing the hard look of brick and metal.
The picture below is Euonymus Emerald Gaiety as a shrub. This shrub always looks beautiful and is easily maintained by clipping into a circular shape a few times a year. This shrub presents greenery during the winter months whereas many of my plants at the front of the house are deciduous. My Bengal Cat Lucy Law thoroughly enjoys posing and the Euonymus provides a gorgeous backdrop.
Blondy is another beautiful Euonymus with a splash of yellow and green margins. Blondy has a neat growing habit and can be trained as a vine. Blondy looks fantastic year round and I have this Euonymus climbing the edge of my garage. Blondy attains a height of approximately two feet and requires partial to full sun. Blondy is hardy to zone 5 and tolerates any soil with the exception of wet conditions. The proper name for this Euonymus is fortunei 'Interbolwi'.
My shade garden at the front of the house lacked depth and interest but Euonymus corrected the problem. The Emerald Gaiety grown as a vine provides an interesting canvas for my plants in the raised bed. In my opinion the brick, concrete and stone presented a harsh appearance in the absence of the Euonymus. The Euonymus softened the overall look however the vine has not completely covered the brick below the window. I planted a Japanese Hydrangea which is beginning to fill in the gap. The Japanese Hydrangea is deciduous but has gorgeous silver foliage with white flowers.
Two years ago while attending a garden tour I noticed the most interesting upright shrub. I asked if it was Euonymus because it had all the attributes of the Canadale Gold Euonymus. I was informed the Euonymus was staked to a piece of wood and trained to grow as an upright Juniper. I found this specimen utterly amazing because it keeps the greenery year round and the shape was beautiful. I thought about the wood and remembered that her specimen while lovely had somewhat shifted to the right so I purchased a few pieces of angle iron. After planting the Euonymus I drove the angle iron in the center of the plant and loosely tied a few pieces to the iron. As you can see from the image below the plants are not tall but they are a good size and I wanted to purchase a larger plant for this experiment.
In the following image the Euonymus which is behind Lucy my Bengal Cat has grown and is now above the rock. Within two months the Euonymus reached the top of the angle iron.
This image below is another Euonymus that was staked to a four foot piece of angle iron and at the far right of the image the plant which looks like a variegated tree is actually Euonymus which filled in nicely after approximately three seasons.
The following image is the same Euonymus from a different angle and as you can see the little tree at the right of the image is Euonymus trained to grow upward and shaped to resemble an upright Juniper.
What is the biggest danger to your newly planted Euonymus? I call it the silent killer, Euonymus Scale (Unaspis euonymi). You must regularly inspect the tree, shrub or vine as scale can be treated in the early stages. Heavy infestations cause complete defoliation and plant death. The insects are small, white or gray in color and can be found on the stems and under the leaves. Yellow spotting on the leaves is the first sign of scale and leaves falling prematurely. If scale settles they produce a scale-like waxy covering and remain there to feed. To control scale apply horticultural oil in the spring and late fall. In June or July spray the Euonymus with Insecticide Soap to eliminate crawlers. Maintain the health of the plant through regular deep watering and deep root fertilization. Inspect Euonymus regularly and if you locate white dots on the underside of leaves there is a presence of scale and I cannot emphasize enough the importance of treating scale in the early stages. To assist you in determining whether or not your Euonymus has scale please refer to the picture below. Look at the leaves and stems that are infested with scale and look at the leaves and stems that are healthy. You can detect scale in the early stages however ignoring the problem with result in plant death. I am sharing this information with you because I lost a gorgeous Euonymus tree because it was infested with scale. The mature tree was healthy for years and looked sensational but I was not aware of the scale infestation which literally defoliated the tree and coated every single branch with a waxy substance.
Another wonderful use for Euonymus is completely covering areas that are unattractive. The image below depicts the Euonymus Colorata which is hardy to zone 5. This vine is deep green and turns plum in the fall. It is a wide spreading vine with upright growth. The area was not appealing because the bricks looked horrible and there was only grass in this area. I wanted to utilize my entire back garden so I cut out a garden, made a little raised garden, put a few two by two patio stones for the barbeque and added little window boxes to the enclosed area which houses the heater and filter for the pool. This area while tiny required a lot of thought because I wanted to make it functional yet attractive. Prior to planting the Euonymus Colorata I affixed a large piece of lattice to the back of the garage for the vine to cling and within three years the entire garage was covered. The raised flower garden and the little garden beneath the Euonymus add color to an otherwise dull piece of land.
The image below is a garden at the front of my house. Canadale Gold Euonymus, Emerald Gold Euonymus and Emerald Gaiety Euonymus surround the annuals. Two are trained to grow in a pyramidal shape and the others are shaped as round shrubs. The beauty of this garden is the succession of bloom from May until October and the specimens include Euonymus, Purple Sand Cherry Tree, Japanese Painted Fern, Chrysanthemums, Double Impatiens, Tri Color Geraniums, Variegated Geraniums and a large fieldstone.
Euonymus has a moderate growth rate approximately six to twelve inches per year. The mature height of a shrub is two to three feet and more if allowed to climb. The mature width of Euonymus is approximately four to six feet. Euonymus is hardy to zone five and should be planted in full to partial sun. Euonymus will also thrive in shaded locations which is an asset to every gardener because your scope of plant choices is greatly increased. Plant Euonymus in well drained soil and the recommended spacing is two feet apart.
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