Euonymus Hedging Guide
iThe Ultimate Guide to Euonymus Hedge Plants
Euonymus are simply brilliant, ornamental shrubs. You might know them better by their common name, spindle, and their great attraction lies in their sheer versatility. They can be grown for a formal, structured look in garden borders, the evergreen varieties make unbeatable hedging and they always look classy showcasing pathways or low borders in kitchen gardens. When left to grow naturally, they have a bushy habit that creates an informal look which is great for cottage, seaside or gravel gardens. If you want to create a more formal garden style, why not try topiarising or growing them against a sunny wall?
Euonymus is a family of over 130 flowering species including the ever-popular deciduous and evergreen shrubs. However there are some small trees too, so it’s no surprise that here at Hedges Direct we have a fantastic selection of the best Euonymus plants Euonymus plants for your garden. For those looking for instant evergreen hedging or attractive garden divisions, we also offer mature instant hedging.
- Euonymus fortunei Emerald ‘n’ Gold is every bit as regal as its name suggests with marbled green leaves edged in rich gold. Its colourful interest doesn’t stop there, since its autumn foliage fades to attractive soft shades of pink and red.
- Euonymus japonicus ‘Ovatus Aureus’, offers variegated dark green leaves with rich yellow margins. In addition to its delightful foliage, pale green flowers appear in spring, occasionally followed by pink fruits.
- Euonymus fortunei ‘Emerald Gaiety' has elegant semi-evergreen silver-edged foliage, or you might enjoy the bushy Euonymus japonicus ‘Kathy,’ with its elegant polished, fresh mid-green leaves and appealing creamy edging.
- Euonymus japonicus ‘Jean Hugues’ displays lush, dark green, glossy compact foliage and makes a popular alternative to Box (Buxus sempervirens) without suffering from any of the problems of Box blight. Discover more options in our Box alternatives guide.
Planting Euonymus
Why plant Euonymus?
Euonymus is universally loved for its outstanding leaf colour ranging from plummy purples to vibrant greens that can be gold or silver-edged. Whilst they are loved for their appealing foliage, they have foaming sprays of pretty pink or creamy flowers in spring often followed by attractive pink, and white berries so they earn their stripes in offering colour and interest throughout the year.
As many of our Euonymus plants are evergreen, their fantastic foliage provides long-lasting shape and colour giving enticing year-round interest. No matter what size your garden is, you’ll find a stylish Euonymus to suit every outdoor space and many compact varieties can be grown in pots on a sunny or lightly shaded patio.
When to plant Euonymus
Spring and autumn are the ideal time to plant Euonymus when the soil is warm because this gives the plant’s roots time to settle down. Naturally, if you are planting a pot-bought plant, you can plant them at any time of the year but avoid planting in frozen or waterlogged soil.
Where to plant Euonymus
The wonderful thing about Euonymus is they are pretty unfussy and can cope with any reasonable, well-drained garden soil in sun or light shade although many of the evergreen varieties fare better in full sun as it retains the colour of their contrasting foliage. You’ll be delighted to learn that some varieties can cope with shady areas as well as windy or coastal conditions, so there’s a plant for every location.
How to plant Euonymus
There are a few useful tips to consider when planting Euonymus to ensure they get a good start and keep them looking their best.
- Always water the potted plant before planting.
- For the best flower displays, choose a sunny spot if you want an abundance of blooms. If you are planting one of the variegated types, they like a sunny spot to retain their vibrant leaf colour.
- Dig a hole about twice as wide and deep as the pot the plant is currently in.
- Add a handful of well-rotted organic matter to the bottom of the hole, and be sure to remove any surrounding weeds as well as rocks and debris from the hole before planting.
- Place the Euonymus plant in the hole and backfill it with soil, making sure to firm it down well before watering the plant again.
Euonymus pruning and aftercare
When to prune Euonymus
Most Euonymus require nothing more than a light trim and tidy-up. Euonymus are usually trimmed back to retain their size and shape after flowering, however, it’s always a good idea to remove any dead, broken or diseased branches in spring to keep the plant healthy and looking its best. As a general rule of thumb, trim shrubs lightly to encourage light growth and prune harder to generate stronger growth. If you’ve inherited a large, unruly garden shrub that has outgrown its space or is crowding other plants, you can prune the evergreen types such as Euonymus japonica much harder and reduce the overall growth by about 30-50%. It might look unsightly for a bit but the following season it will be restored to its former beauty.
How tall does Euonymus grow?
Depending on the variety you’ve chosen to grow, Euonymus ranges widely in height from 60cm to 2.5m tall, so even if you have no garden at all, the smaller varieties will thrive very happily in pots or containers.
How fast does Euonymus grow?
Euonymus can put on between 10-20 cm of fresh growth each year so they are super -easy plants to maintain and you shouldn’t need to clip them more than once a year.
Add a Euonymus hedge plant to your garden with Hedges Direct Pruning, Planting and Aftercare.
If you’ve decided to grow Euonymus in your garden, you’ve wisely chosen a dependable ally since spindles are incredibly reliable, pretty much trouble-free and low maintenance.
For seaside gardeners who are faced with extreme weather conditions where plant choices can be limited, don’t worry, you can achieve all of your gardening goals no matter what your location since Eeuonymus is a tough species with an impressive success rate in all kinds of exposed locations and coastal environments.
Get in touch with our Hedges Direct expert team today on 01257 494 257 or email us at [email protected] for more information on our Euonymus hedge plants.
Varieties of Euonymus Shrubs
Show more >>>
Show less <<<
