Description of the plant
Winged spindle tree (Latin Eunomus Alatus) is a representative of the Euonymus family. In nature, the plant is found in the Far East, China and Japan. Its habitat: mixed forests, highlands, meadows, river valleys. The shrub was first studied and described by Japanese scientists.
Euonymus is a deciduous shrub. Shoots are green, erect or creeping. The plant got its name from the tetrahedral branches with horizontal outgrowths resembling wings.
The leaves are small, dark green elliptical, 2 to 7 cm long and 1 to 3 cm wide. The leaf blade is shiny, dense, without pubescence. In May-June, small flowers bloom, which are invisible against the background of green foliage. At the end of summer, bright crimson fruits are formed in the form of bolls. The fruits of the bush are poisonous; if ingested, they cause poisoning.
In autumn, the leaves change color to crimson, orange or purple. The color depends on the variety and place of cultivation. The foliage is brightest when exposed to the sun. In the shade, the color becomes muted.
The dimensions of the winged euonymus depend on the variety. Under natural conditions, the shrub grows up to 3–4 m. On personal plots, it reaches 2–2,5 m. It is characterized by a weak growth force. Over the year, the size of the shrub increases by 10-15 cm.
The frost resistance of the winged euonymus is high. It can withstand up to -34 ° C. The shrub is suitable for growing in the middle lane, as well as in the northern and mountainous regions. Autumn preparation, which consists in watering and mulching, helps to increase its frost resistance.
Use in landscape design
Euonymus is used in single and group plantings. The shrub helps create a hedge. For a solitary planting, more free space is allocated under it. Low-growing plants are planted nearby. In autumn, a bright bush looks spectacular against the background of the lawn.
The winged euonymus looks good next to other trees and ornamental shrubs. It is combined with conifers, jasmine, viburnum, wild rose, broom, barberry.
The shrub is suitable for decorating personal plots, recreation areas, alleys and parks. The varieties tolerate gas pollution and pollution of cities. You can plant a shrub next to a pond, fountain, terrace, gazebo.
The plant looks good in a minimalist Japanese style in the neighborhood with miniature wide bushes and conifers.
The height of the winged euonymus varies in decorative conditions from one to two meters, therefore, from different species, you can create a composition with compact bushes or focus on flaming trees.
On the site, the bush is used as a hedge or whole alleys are planted, framing garden paths.
Preparation for winter
This type of euonymus is also frost-resistant. It can withstand temperatures down to -25 degrees. Therefore, there is no need to cover it in the winter. However, young plants are still vulnerable. They require cover. For this, spruce branches are used or covered with a coarse nonwoven material on top.
Caring for this plant is not particularly difficult. At the same time, it is frost-resistant and tolerates air pollution well. This is a great option for both urban gardens and suburban areas.
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Winged euonymus varieties
There are several varieties of this species. All of them differ in the size of the bush, the color of the leaves and fruits.
Compact
According to the description, the winged euonymus Compactus reaches a height of 1,5 m, in a girth – 2 m. The crown is of the correct shape, thickened, openwork at the edges. In summer, the leaves are bright green, in autumn they turn reddish-purple. The leaf plate is round, 3-5 cm long.
Small flowers bloom in May-June. They are yellow-green in color and are hardly noticeable against the background of green leaves. In autumn, orange-red fruits ripen, which hang on the branches until the onset of winter.
Winged euonymus Compactus in the garden is planted in a sunny place. In the shade, decorative properties are significantly reduced. The variety needs frequent watering.
Fireball
Winged euonymus shrub of the Fireball variety is a deciduous shrub with a spherical crown. The plant is thickened and compact. The variety grows slowly. Shoots are ribbed, hard, with cork outgrowths. In the middle lane it grows up to 1,5 m in height. It reaches 1,5 m in girth. It grows 5–10 cm per year.
The leaves are green, elliptical, lighter on the underside. The length of the leaf plate is 2–5 cm. In autumn, the leaves become red with purple and purple tints. In the shade, they are mauve.
The flowers are inconspicuous, green-yellow, collected in umbrellas of 3 pcs. Abundant flowering occurs in late May – early June. Fruits are orange-red, in capsules. The Fireball variety is frost-resistant, tolerates urban conditions well.
The shrub prefers fertile soils of moderate moisture. In spring and autumn, pest control is required. The plant is planted in the light, but partial shade is also allowed.
Chicago fire
The Chicago fire variety grows up to 1,2 m in height. The width of the shrub is 1,5 m. The crown is round, the shoots are horizontal. Leaves are simple, elliptical. In summer, the color is dark green. In autumn, winged euonymus changes color to bright crimson. The flowers are inconspicuous, appear in May, do not stand out against the background of foliage. Fruits, 8 mm long, ripen in a dark red shell.
The Chicago Fire variety grows well in shady and sunny places. It is unpretentious to the composition of the soil, the main requirement is fertility. Growth rates are moderate. The variety has high frost resistance, but freezes in severe winters.
Little mozes
Little moses is very similar to the Fireball cultivar, but has slightly elongated leaves and an unusual carmine leaf color. Such a tree is grown on a trunk so that the shoots can reach the sun, which is vital for the brightness of the colors.
Macrophilis
The euonymus of the Makrofilis variety is a deciduous shrub up to 1,5 m high and 1,2 m in diameter. Shoot growth is moderate. The flowers are small and inconspicuous, almost invisible.
The Macrophilis variety differs from other varieties in its elongated leaves. In summer they are dark green, while in autumn they take on a carmine color. Fruits are orange-red, ripen in capsules.
The winged euonymus tree prefers sunny places, but it is planted in partial shade. With a lack of lighting, the color becomes less bright. The Macrophilis variety requires fertile soil and moderate watering.
Advantages and disadvantages
Among the advantages are worth noting:
- Among the main advantages of the shrub is its frost resistance. Even with severe frosts of cold, the plant does not freeze.
- Good tolerance to smoke and air pollution makes it possible to grow it even in urban conditions.
- Not picky about fertilizers, tolerates a variety of types of fertilizers.
- The acidity of the soil for this shrub is not of particular importance, the main thing is that it is fertile and well dendrized.
- With proper care of the shrub, you can get a lush and dense crown.
- Winged spindle tree has rightfully earned popularity among landscape designers, since thanks to the color of its leaves and shoots, it will noticeably stand out among many other plants. In addition, the fact that it can grow quite large and “fluffy” will make it the main object and pride of a garden or other plot.
- Its contrast is attractive and mesmerizing, and the fruits that have changed their color from reddish to orange seem to be flowers, and this gives the impression that the euonymus is able to bloom all year round.
- The main attraction of the Winged Euonymus and the fact that fully explains its name are its beautiful fruits. They are located in a box and when it opens, it will fly away, carried away by the wind.
Cons:
- Euonymus does not like shadows and it would be best for him to have a separate place without being surrounded by other large plants casting a shadow on him.
- The shrub is picky about the watering regime. Therefore, you need to constantly look after him in dry weather and carry out high-quality drainage.
- This shrub grows rather slowly.
Landing on the site
Correct planting is half the success in growing winged euonymus, so we will consider how to plant it correctly.
The planting of winged spindle tree in spring is characteristic; in the first season, the plant requires the most careful care. You can also plant a shrub in late autumn, the varieties are distinguished by good frost resistance.
Site selection and soil quality
For winged euonymus, a sunny place or partial shade is chosen, but the color of its foliage and fruits depends on the lighting. On the shrub, which is located in a lighter and more spacious area, the fruits and leaves acquire bright shades by autumn. The soil should be light and nutritious.
The root system of the plant is thin and spreading, therefore it is sensitive to the mechanical composition of the earth. It is advisable that before planting it was cleared of the roots of weeds, stones and other impurities.
Sour soil is lime before planting. Since the bush grows over time, it is removed from buildings and other crops by 3-4 m. A site with a close occurrence of groundwater should be avoided.
Step by step guide
A landing hole must be dug in advance, at least two weeks before the planned landing date. In volume, it should be one and a half to two times larger than the root system of the seedling.
To plant an euonymus, you must perform the following steps:
- A hole 60 cm deep and 80 cm in diameter is dug under the seedling.
- A drainage layer of broken brick or expanded clay is poured onto the bottom.
- The pit is filled with a mixture of black soil and compost and left for 3 weeks to shrink.
- The seedling is placed in a hole, the root collar is placed at ground level.
- The roots are covered with soil, compacted and watered abundantly.
To prevent moisture evaporation, the trunk circle must be mulched with peat or fallen leaves.
Correct disembarkation
In fact, winged euonymus is not very difficult to care for. The plant is planted in autumn and spring, like many other shrubs. However, due to the fact that this plant loves warmth, it is recommended to plant it in the springtime.
Euonymus is a light-loving shrub, but it also feels good in shaded areas. In the shade, the shrub grows even more slowly, and under the scorching sunlight it can quickly turn yellow. The soil must be slightly alkaline or neutral. Another significant requirement for the soil is full aeration. The earth must be loose and fully let air through itself. The most optimal planting soil consists of:
- compost;
- sand;
- garden soil with the addition of lime or wood ash.
It is also useful to add complex fertilizers to the soil.
For disembarkation, you must first make a hole. Its size should be twice the size of the rhizome with a lump of earth. Despite the fact that euonymus is considered a very unpretentious plant, stagnant water in the soil with it can cause the development of diseases and even lead to the death of the shrub. Therefore, on the bottom of the hole, effective drainage must be provided, using coarse sand, gravel, broken brick or gravel. After planting, the soil must be carefully compacted, watered and mulched.
Care of winged euonymus
The plant needs care mainly in the summer, and in the wild it does without human participation at all. But if you want to get the most attractive result from an aesthetic point of view, it is worth organizing the correct agrotechnology for the euonymus.
Watering
Timely watering is the basis for caring for winged euonymus. This species belongs to the number of plants that equally do not accept both inappropriate waterlogging and drying out of the soil, so the gardener will have to constantly monitor the degree of moisture in the trunk circle. The euonymus is watered not so often, but always abundantly – moisture in a significant amount should reach the root system, which is located at a depth of a good half a meter.
To reduce the frequency of watering, experienced gardeners resort to mulch – a layer of peat or humus inhibits the evaporation of moisture from the soil surface. They also have another beneficial effect, interfering with the normal germination of weeds.
The root system of the winged spindle tree needs not only moisture, but also a sufficient amount of air, but abundant watering greatly contributes to the subsidence and compaction of the soil. To avoid this, after watering or heavy rain, it is advisable to loosen the ground, providing air flow to the roots.
Feeding
For greater aesthetic appeal, it is necessary to feed the winged euonymus bush throughout the season. The official feeding season starts in early spring, when nitrogenous organic matter is introduced into the soil – most often it is a mullein or an infusion of bird droppings. Thanks to this fertilization, the intensive growth of the shrub begins, and in fact the leaves, turning purple with the onset of autumn, provide the decoration of the garden.
In the summer, it is much more important to provide the plant with a full range of minerals – euonymus needs nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus. A mineral complex with all these components can be purchased in the store, they are created specifically for ornamental shrubs.
At the end of autumn, 1 grams of potassium sulfate and 400 grams of superphosphate must be added to 500 square meter of soil – they are dug into the ground to a depth of about 10 cm.Wood ash and compost can also be used at this stage – now they are replacing mineral fertilizers.
Trimming
Since winged euonymus is an ornamental crop, many gardeners try to give it a beautiful shape so that the bush decorates the garden not only with the color of leaves and fruits. When choosing the future shape of the crown, they most often give preference to either an ellipse or a cone.
Pruning is carried out in March, when active sap flow inside the stems has not yet begun, or already in the fall, when the leaves have fallen, then it is possible to form the crown more correctly, taking into account the fact that the fruits are still hanging on the branches.
In addition to shaping, experienced gardeners also do sanitary pruning, which has a positive effect on the appearance of the plant. Dry, broken and frozen branches must be removed – even if they no longer seem alive, the bush still spends strength and nutrients on them. The procedure, usually carried out in early spring, reduces unnecessary waste of valuable substances, instead redirecting them to new shoots.
A timely cut shrub is distinguished by more efficient growth and increased decorative effect.
Preparation for winter
Winged spindle tree has good frost resistance, so adult bushes do not require careful preparation. In late autumn, the bushes are watered abundantly and then covered with peat, dry leaves or sawdust.
The first three seasons after planting, young bushes require more attention.
- In the root circle, mulching is also carried out after abundant watering, or the roots are covered with spruce branches.
- Then a frame of boards or metal arcs is built around the bush, which is covered with a polymer breathable fabric. It is important to prevent damping, which threatens the occurrence of fungal diseases.
The shelter is removed without waiting for the onset of heat. From the beginning of the melting of the snow, the shrubbery can already be released.
Diseases and pests
Winged euonymus is interesting to various pests and diseases, therefore a responsible gardener is simply obliged to take measures to protect his green ward from adversity. Most often the shrub is exposed powdery mildew – a fungal disease, which is very easily recognized by the characteristic bloom on the leaves, similar to flour. The fight against this disease consists in spraying, Bordeaux liquid or copper oxychloride act as drugs.
It is necessary to choose the right weather for spraying – it is desirable that the day is cloudy, but dry. After spraying, the gardener monitors the results, if final success is not achieved within a week, the procedure will have to be repeated.
Among the insects near the euonymus there are a lot of different enemies – these can be counted caterpillars, aphid, spider mite… All these uninvited guests either drink the juice of the plant, or do not disdain the pulp of its leaves, which disrupts the processes of photosynthesis, the foliage withers or dries, and the plant dies. Despite the fact that we are talking about different types of pests, the control measure is always about the same – it is necessary to spray with insecticides, such as “Confidor” and “Fitoverm”.
Given the high mobility of insects, you should not rely on one episode of spraying – individual enemies, most likely, managed to hide and endure, so the procedure should be repeated on average every ten days until you are convinced of the final victory over the enemy.
Please note that in many cases, prevention is much more effective, reliable and easier than cure. To protect against insects and fungi, the plant can be sprayed with insecticides and fungicides in the spring. In addition, you should not leave optimal conditions for reproduction and wintering in the form of fallen leaves for future generations of pests – they should be removed after the leaf fall is complete.
Digging the soil in autumn will also be useful – if there are insect clutches or fungal spores on the surface, you will bury them, not allowing them to develop next year.
Watering and top dressing
Euonymus does not need large volumes of water, therefore
carried out as necessary – when the earthen coma dries up. In seasons with regular precipitation, it is better to refuse watering altogether, since waterlogged soil has a bad effect on the development of its root system.
During the season, this crop is fed three times. The first time this is done in the spring with nitrogen-containing fertilizers, in the summer they give any complex mineral preparation, and in the fall, an emphasis on phosphorus and potassium is needed. In addition, every autumn it makes sense to apply humus or compost under the plant at the rate of 2/3 of a bucket per 1 m² of its trunk circle.
Trimming
When caring for this plant, special attention should be paid to the annual formative
pruning
, which will add decorativeness to the plant. Do not be afraid to shorten the branches of the euonymus – he is very fond of “getting a haircut” and after such a procedure begins to actively branch.
Euonymus is very fond of getting a haircut
The crown of the euonymus can be given any shape – spherical, conical or elliptical, or a standard tree can be formed from a shrub. This event is best carried out in late autumn or early spring, and in summer it should be limited to pinching the tops of the shoots and cutting out damaged branches.
Wintering
Adult specimens of many spindle trees tolerate our unpredictable winters well, therefore they do not require additional
shelter
… And in the case of a young plant that has not yet reached the age of three, it is better to play it safe and insulate its root system with a thick layer before the onset of stable frosts
mulch
from fallen leaves, sawdust or spruce branches.
How to propagate
You can plant a shrub using seeds, layers and cuttings. It is especially convenient to propagate the plant by dividing the bush. Strong roots make it easy to separate multiple shoots.
Seed method
Seed propagation is considered difficult and labor-intensive, in most cases it is used by breeders who are trying to breed new plant varieties. But complexities can also be of interest to avid gardeners who are already successful at everything else.
To begin with, the harvested seeds should be subjected to a stratification procedure – for this, the seeds are kept at low temperatures throughout the cold half of the year, not exceeding +10 degrees, and are soaked in potassium permanganate closer to spring.
Even such measures do not guarantee that the seed will sprout, but you should try to plant the material in pots, watering and caring for the seedlings. Young shoots will be ready for planting in open ground only in the third year.
Reproduction by layers
If you want to propagate the bush by layering, choose a healthy shoot growing closer to the ground in early spring. It just needs to be bent to the ground so that the free end of the twig sticks into the ground, sprinkle this place with earth and fix the layering so that it does not break out.
Further, the layering is looked after as if it were already a separate plant – watered, fed, and so on. You will have to wait a whole season, but on the way out you will get a root system at the opposite end of a living branch.
In autumn, when the movement of juices has slowed down, the rooted shoot can be separated from the mother bush and planted – now it is an independent specimen of euonymus.
Cutting
In order to propagate a plant by cuttings, it is necessary to select high-quality planting material in the summer. For these purposes, even shoots 10-12 cm long are suitable.
The following recommendations should be followed:
- It is necessary to cut off at an angle.
- We process the cut-wounds on the branches of the mother bush, and each cut of the cutting is treated with a growth stimulator for the correct formation of the root system.
- We place the cuttings in a nutrient medium with peat and sand.
- It is advisable to place the scions in a high temperature environment. Ideally in a greenhouse.
In about a month, the first shoots will appear, and by the beginning of autumn a powerful root system is formed. Now the cuttings can be transplanted into the growing area.
The main factor for the successful grafting of euonymus is the absence of damage to the stem. In addition, you need to monitor soil moisture and avoid early exposure to sunlight.
Division of the bush
A simple breeding method is dividing the bush, which is especially appropriate if you were going to transplant euonymus anyway.
After digging up the plant, clean the root system of adhering dirt and use a shovel to divide it into parts so that each part has its own underground and aboveground parts. Burn the wounds with charcoal, then plant each piece of the mother shrub as a separate plant.
Winged spindle tree is a beautiful shrub that can diversify even a small garden area. It is compact, but at the same time strikes with bright shades of foliage. Plant varieties are unpretentious in care, frost-resistant and grow well even in urban conditions.
Diseases and pests
Almost all varieties of this shrub are prone to attack by insect pests and diseases.
If chemical spraying is necessary, the best time to control and combat pests is between mid-spring and early summer.
If the lesion is small, then the infected branches can be cut off.
Powdery mildew is one of the most common fungal diseases.
Usually it is a milky white or gray-brown coating on the top of the foliage, which often causes yellowing, and in more advanced cases, leads to the death of the plant.
The disease is very difficult to track, it is better to immediately take up prevention, it is easier, and ultimately it will be cheaper.
IMPORTANT! The bush must receive the required amount of sunlight.
Ensure good air circulation at the planting site and a minimum level of humidity around the foliage. Top watering should be avoided if possible.
In the spring, the shrub should be treated with antifungal agents that can prevent the occurrence of disease and the appearance of harmful organisms and parasites.
With due diligence in care, since the plant is not the easiest to care for, bereklest will delight you and become a real star on your site, to the envy of your neighbors.
In conditions of high humidity, this culture can be affected
… When signs of disease appear, the plants should be sprayed 3-4 times with a solution of a suitable
(“Skor”, “Previkur”, “Fundazol”, etc.) with an interval of 7-10 days.
But such a fungal disease as trunk rot, sometimes affecting euonymus, will be difficult to cure. In this case, preventive spraying in spring and autumn with a solution of a copper-containing preparation (1% Bordeaux mixture, copper sulfate, “Hom”, etc.) will serve as protection.
The euonymus must be protected from pests
In addition to its numerous advantages, euonymus has one drawback, which may seem significant to some gardeners – pests are very fond of it. In the warm season, the plant is often affected by hawthorn, apple moth, aphids, thrips, spider mites and other “unkind” insects. To protect against them, it is better to use broad-spectrum insecticides (Aktellik, Fufanon, Ratibor, etc.).
