Euonymus shrub. Description, features, types and care of euonymus. Euonymus shrub: its varieties and types, planting and care Green euonymus

Admiring the bright colors of the autumn forest, you involuntarily freeze in front of a bushy tree of extraordinary beauty. Its branches with multi-colored leaves are decorated with delightful fruit earrings. People call them “robin berries” - nimble birds peck berries from elegant bushes in the fall. This plant is euonymus (Euonymus).

They say that a poisonous bush was grown by a witch who was offended by people. But then she still took pity on them and made the plant medicinal. And she herself turned into a robin - a gray bird that is not poisoned by the fruits of this beautiful plant and spreads it: it eats the fruit, the seed soon ends up in the ground and a charming bush appears in its place.

There is another legend. During the creation of the plant world, the goddess Flora lost a brooch with flowers from her dress and an earring from her ears. She did not look for her jewelry, but turned them into plants: one with dead flowers from a brooch, the other with earrings.

And as punishment for being lost, she made the plants poisonous. Both the brooch and the earring were lost in one place, which is why the euonymus was born, which bears dead wax flowers in the spring and earring berries in the fall.

All shrubs have a beautiful openwork crown. The leaves are usually dark green in spring and summer. Flowering begins at the end of May, but it does not attract attention either. The plants are especially beautiful in autumn.

At this time, the bushes are completely transformed: in September, in just a week, white, yellow, orange, pink, red, carmine and purple “flashes” flash on them. A single sheet can be painted in 5-6 colors!

By October there are more and more red colors. And with their bright fruits, euonymuses decorate the garden until the onset of severe frosts.

It is no coincidence that the name of the genus - Euonymus - is translated as “alluring beauty” (from the ancient Greek “ey” - the best and “entanglement” - calling, alluring).

The fruit is a dry, leathery, usually four-part capsule containing white, red or brown-black seeds. They are covered with fleshy tissue - the appendage.

Depending on the species, the appendix is ​​colored orange, red or red-brown. The fruits give the plant a special decorative effect in the fall.

Immature pale green boxes, invisible in summer, acquire a bright color in September, which, depending on the species, can be yellow, pink, scarlet, crimson, burgundy or dark purple.

When ripe bolls crack at the seams, it seems as if parachutes with parachutists (several seeds covered with acetum) are hovering on the plant. Only euonymus has such original fruits.

However, it must be remembered that they contain a number of poisonous alkaloids and are not suitable for human consumption.

Young shoots, covered with greenish or brownish bark, in some species are round in cross-section (large-winged, Sakhalin, few-flowered species), in others - tetrahedral (European euonymus, Siebold, Maack, Bunge, Hamilton), persistent longitudinal ridges of gray color.

But there are those (winged, cork) in which, instead of rollers, four sharp cork ribs run along the young shoot, giving the bush a unique appearance, especially in winter, when snow lingers on these ribs.

Euonymus, although distinguished by its decorative nature and unpretentiousness to growing conditions, does not yet receive due attention from our gardeners. Some species are quite winter-hardy, and their cultivation in the middle zone is very possible.

Varieties and types

For landscaping a garden plot, it is good to use the following types:

European - deciduous tree no more than 5-7 m high (sometimes grows as a bush), young branches are green, tetrahedral. In September-October, the leaves become purple-red, and the fruit boxes, cross-shaped, are dark red or pink, with hanging orange seeds.

To produce more fruit, you need cross-pollination. To do this, at least two specimens of this species are planted on the site. European euonymus is undemanding when it comes to soil. Shade-tolerant. At the same time, for the bright autumn color of the leaves, a sunny location of the plant is necessary.

Winged is a deciduous shrub. Shade-tolerant. Its homeland is the Far East, where it grows up to 2 m. In our conditions - up to 1 m, but it can be higher.

Young branches are green, rounded-tetrahedral, with longitudinal brownish cork wings up to 0.5 cm wide. Fruit capsules are dark red, four-membered. The leaves turn bright red in autumn.

Fortune is a creeping evergreen shrub 30-60 cm high (homeland - China). The branches reach a length of 3 m, take root at the nodes, and cling to support, if any. The leaves are small, pointed, leathery, up to 2-6 cm long.

Euonymus Fortune loves loose, fertilized soil. Frost-resistant. Prefers partial shade. It has many decorative forms.

Dwarf is an evergreen ornamental shrub with beautiful leathery leaves. Shade-loving. Vertical shoots reach a height of 1 m. Leaves are 1-4 cm long, finely toothed.

The fruits are pale yellow-greenish capsules and ripen in August-September. When trimmed, the plant makes a wonderful border. And if you graft it onto a Japanese euonymus, you can admire the amazing weeping form of the plant.

Semenov's euonymus is an evergreen shrub up to 1 m high, often creeping. The mountains of Central Asia are considered its homeland, where it grows under the forest canopy. The leaves are leathery, yellowish-green, with short petioles (1.5-6 cm long and 0.5-2 cm wide).

The flowers are small, dark purple, collected in small umbrellas along the edges of the branches, petals with greenish edges. Blooms in July, bears fruit in August. Winter-hardy. Prefers to grow in shady places with moderate humidity.

Japanese in nature (in the south) is an evergreen shrub or liana up to 7 m, in our country it is a shrub up to 0.5 m high. The leaves are 3-8 cm long, leathery, dark green, sometimes shiny on top.

Many of its variegated and small-leaved forms are known. Requires shelter for the winter.

The plant is wonderfully suitable for growing indoors (landscaping apartments, offices, loggias, winter gardens). Variegated forms with yellow or white spots and a border on dark green leaves are photophilous.

The Japanese species easily tolerates dry indoor air, thanks to its leathery leaves, and tolerates partial shade. In summer, it is advisable to take pots with plants out into the open air; in winter, keep them in a cool room (at an air temperature of +5-10 degrees) with sufficient lighting. Water as the soil dries out.

In spring and summer, feed once every 2-3 weeks. Plant the plant in a mixture of turf and leaf soil, peat and sand (2:3:1:1). This plant is very plastic, lends itself well to shaping by pruning (in May and again in early autumn), pinching, bending and twisting shoots. The stem quickly thickens.

Japanese euonymus makes a wonderful bonsai, as well as various geometric shapes (balls, cubes, cones, pyramids) and figures.

From historical sources it is known that Pliny the Younger had formed figures of various animals - deer, elephants, tigers, etc. - growing on green lawns.

Application in the garden

When choosing a shrub for landscaping your garden, consider its dimensions. Thus, there are very impressive plants that, given sufficient space and good care, reach a height and crown diameter of 7-8, and sometimes 10 m.

These are Euonymus macroptera, Maak's, Maksimovich's, Hamilton's, European, broadleaf.

Medium-sized representatives of the genus (corky, Bunge) are more characteristic of the shape of a tall bush, reaching a height and diameter of 4-5 m.

Small shrubs, such as warty, winged, Siebold, and Sakhalin shrubs, are suitable for small gardens. The height of these plants is usually 1-2 m, they grow 2-2.5 m wide. But in all cases there is no need to be afraid of large species, they all tolerate any pruning that can be used to restrain growth and create a dense, compact crown. Many of these plants can be used to create hedges.

Fortune's, dwarf and Koopman's euonymus are creeping and have practically no trunks, but they have many thin recumbent or slightly erect stems, densely covered with numerous evergreen leaves.

With good care (regular feeding and weeding), you can create thick green mats from these plants. And if Fortune's euonymus is light-loving and not very winter-hardy, the last two species are suitable for creating a wonderful lawn in shady areas of the garden. These “creepers” look beautiful in the form of clumps in tree trunks and on an alpine hill.

Care

Shrubs cannot tolerate stagnant moisture. For successful cultivation, neutral or slightly alkaline soils are required; lime should be added to acidic ones.

Different types of shrubs have different attitudes to light. It is better to plant Maak's euonymus in an open place. In partial shade, among tall, overgrown trees, the European and warty species will be comfortable.

When creating a decorative group on a slope, it is better to choose large-winged and Sakhalin shrubs, where they can grow well due to the rooting of the lower branches.

Diseases and pests of euonymus

The main diseases and pests are mold, aphids, caterpillars, mealybugs, etc. At the same time, it was noticed that if everything on the euonymus planted near fruit trees is covered in cobwebs with nests of caterpillars, then on the apple trees growing nearby it is completely clean.

So it can be used to protect the garden from pests, especially since this plant can be easily treated with any pesticide without fear of causing damage to the crop.

Reproduction

Most species reproduce well vegetatively - by dividing the bush, root suckers, and green cuttings.

For cuttings in June-July, young but already quite elastic shoots are chosen. Cuttings 4-6 cm long with one internode are cut from them. They are planted in a greenhouse under a film in a substrate of fertile soil, on top of which sand is poured in a layer of 5-7 cm. The roots develop in 1.5 months.

Seed propagation is somewhat more complicated. When sowing without stratification and in nature, the bulk of seeds germinate only in the second spring. Therefore, immediately after collection, the seeds should be stratified, for which they are mixed with coarse calcined sand or slightly decomposed moistened sphagnum peat (1:2).

For 3-4 months, the seeds are kept at a temperature of 10-12 degrees. When the shell of most of them (70-80%) bursts, the temperature is reduced to 0+3 degrees. And in such conditions they are stored for another 4-5 months.

To prevent them from rotting, before planting they are cleaned of their roots and pickled in a 0.5% solution of potassium permanganate.

Sow euonymus seeds on beds in shallow (about 2 cm) grooves in a substrate of leaf and turf soil, humus and sand (4: 1: 2: 1). Shoots appear in 2-3 weeks. In spring and autumn, it is recommended to mulch the seedlings with peat crumbs in a 3 cm layer.

During the summer, the plants are watered and fed with mullein, and covered with spruce branches for the winter. In the 3rd year they are transplanted to a permanent place.

Euonymus is gas- and smoke-resistant, so it grows well in urban environments.

By properly caring for plants, you can get a dense crown of an interesting shape, because this is where their beauty lies.

Euonymus juice is poisonous! Be careful and careful when pruning plants.

All representatives of the euonymus genus are especially valued by landscape designers for their versatility, unpretentiousness, ability to grow in the shade and in the sun, and adapt to any climatic zone. The euonymus presented in the photo in all its diversity amazes the imagination with the absolute dissimilarity of the different species in leaf shape and habit. Such species diversity is characteristic of very few plants.

All types of euonymus (and there are about 200 of them): deciduous and evergreen trees, shrubs and creeping ground covers, find worthy use in design developments both for gardening and for urban park landscaping. This versatility is due, first of all, to the plant’s resistance to natural disasters and its ability to easily tolerate high levels of urban air pollution.

The beautiful, neat crowns of deciduous euonymus are especially beautiful in the autumn, when they are painted in unusually bright, rich tones from yellow to purple-carmine. Probably no other plant can boast of such gorgeous foliage color. The flowering is so inconspicuous and unremarkable that it often goes unnoticed, although the ripe, bright catkin fruits are very picturesque and decorate the bush until the cold weather. Robins feed on these fruits, which then spread the euonymus seeds, facilitating their natural reproduction.

For euonymus and all its species forms, planting and care are generally carried out according to the same principle.

In order to place an euonymus like the one in the photo in the garden, at the very beginning the location is determined, and depending on the illumination and purpose, the type of plant is chosen, since its height, habit and attitude to light are directly related to it.

Planting an euonymus seedling of any type is carried out in the spring and comes down to preparing the soil, as for any plant. Well-drained, fertile, non-acidic soil is preferred. When purchasing, you should pay attention to the age of the seedling: three-year-olds take root without problems and winter well.

Euonymus (Euonymus) is completely picky when it comes to care. Loosening of the soil is carried out shallowly, 2-3 times per season, as compaction occurs in the root zone. Two feedings with complex fertilizers - in spring and autumn - are quite sufficient for successful cultivation. High drought resistance speaks for itself - euonymus does not cause any special trouble with watering. In hot, dry summers you can increase it a little, but in general, once a week is enough. Euonymus pruning is carried out as needed, mainly sanitary, by removing broken, damaged and frostbitten branches in the spring. They practically do not need formative pruning, only hedges require regular trimming.

Winter hardiness varies, depending on the type of euonymus. For young plants, root mulching is recommended to protect the roots located close to the soil surface. Adult euonymus do not need this.

Euonymus is not susceptible to diseases. Among the pests, aphids and spider mites are possible. Container plantings and indoor plants are mainly prone to this. Treatment with appropriate medications allows you to quickly get rid of annoying guests.

Tree peony bushes, whose large carved leaves and delicate flowers are very decorative, can become a wonderful…

Euonymus propagation

Reproduction of euonymus is carried out mainly by layering and cuttings, some low-growing species - by dividing the bush, less often - by root suckers. Of course, methods without disturbing the root ball are preferable, since euonymus are long-lived, and there is a risk of causing damage to the adult plant.

Seed propagation, although possible, requires a fairly long period for growing the seedling on a seedling bed. In addition, long-term stratification is required, followed by warm germination; the germination rate of even freshly harvested seeds does not exceed 50%. The seedling is planted in a permanent place in the third year.

Cuttings are carried out from late spring to mid-summer, depending on the region. Cuttings with 3-5 internodes, 5-9 cm long, are cut from adult plants (at least 4 years old), the lower pairs of leaves are removed, planted in a cold greenhouse, in poor, well-drained soil, compacted, and watered generously. It is advisable to shade the greenhouse tunnel to avoid overheating. Rooting occurs completely within a month, after which the greenhouse is opened. After a year, the grown cuttings can be planted in a permanent place. Cuttings are carried out when it is necessary to obtain a large amount of planting material, usually for commercial purposes.

Reproduction by layering is the easiest way to obtain daughter plants. This method is especially convenient for creeping species of euonymus. The long forcing is placed on previously loosened soil, in a prepared shallow (3-5 cm) groove. Pin along the entire length, at the internodes, water abundantly, and cover with soil. A root system is formed in each pinned node. The next year, the shoot is separated from the mother plant, and the resulting bushes are separated using pruning shears. They are ready to be planted in a permanent location.

Euonymus in garden design

The use of euonymus in design is not limited to any specific type. Depending on its purpose, you can choose either a large solitaire shrub or tree, or a low-growing shrub to organize a border or border larger plants, to create a magnificent accent in a rock garden or rock garden, or a ribbon composition against the backdrop of a rocky slope.

The following types of euonymus are most interesting for designers and gardeners:

Tall euonymus, trees and shrubs

• • • Greatwing (Euonymus masropterus)- deciduous shrub or tree growing up to 9 m in height. Quite shade-tolerant, but most decorative in well-lit areas, used in solitary single plantings.
    • Hamilton (E. hamiltonianus)– a deciduous shrub or neat tree with a regular oval crown, no higher than 8 m, light-loving; in autumn the foliage turns lemon-golden.
    • European (E. europaeus) is a deciduous bush or tree with a genetic curvature of the trunk, no more than 7 meters in height. The large, glossy, rich green leaf reaches 10 cm; the European euonymus (photo) is most decorative in the fall, when the fruits ripen, the boxes of which are brightly colored and look very stylish against the background of leathery foliage. You can find out more about the culture.
    • Maaka (E. maackii)- perhaps the most beautiful of the tall representatives of the euonymus genus. It is a deciduous openwork spreading shrub up to 3 m tall, with a very beautiful crown. It is remarkable not only for its habit, but also for the color of its leaves, glossy rich green in summer and lilac-pink shades in autumn. Frost- and drought-resistant, the fast-growing Maaka euonymus prefers organic-rich soils and a sunny location. Tolerates transplantation well up to 5 years of age.
    • Maksimovich (E. maximowiszianus)– a tree no more than 8 m, unusually good during the fruiting period, when dark red berries ripen.
    • Sakhalin (E. sachalinensis)- a wide, rounded shrub, reaching 5 meters in height, tolerates low temperatures, grows slowly, prefers rich, moist soils. Tolerant to heat and drought.
    • Winged (E. alatus)– medium-sized, up to 2.5 meters, slow-growing spreading shrub, feels great in conditions of increased gas pollution in the city. The leaves are glossy, deep green in summer, red-orange to carmine in autumn. It requires light, prefers bright sun and humus-rich soils. It got its name because of the longitudinal growths on the trunks in the form of wings.
    • Warty (E. verrucosus) or few-flowered- a magnificent medium-sized shrub up to 2 meters, covered along the trunk and branches with lentil growths, which is why it got its name. The leaves are large, soft green, almost light green in summer, turning pink in autumn. It is used both in single solitary and in group strip plantings, tolerates formative pruning well, and is excellent for creating a hedge. You can find out more about warty euonymus.
    • Sacred (E. sacrosanctus)– shade-tolerant, unpretentious shrub, up to 1.5 m, decorative during the fruiting period with large dark carmine-red fruits. Looks good on a rocky hill as a tapeworm, in group plantings against the background of gray rocky screes.

Euonymus warty or few-flowered
Sacred euonymus

All tall species of euonymus can easily tolerate pruning, which can be used to regulate the height of the plant.

Low-growing species of euonymus

The steady trend of using low-growing plants in landscape design makes creeping euonymus increasingly in demand.

• • • Euonymus dwarf (E. nanus) differs from all species in the form of evergreen leaves, lanceolate, narrow, curved at the ends, bright green on the outside and bluish on the inside. Dwarf euonymus is a creeping shrub; long thin shoots take root at points of contact with the soil, forming picturesque clumps. With a height of no more than a meter, it can quickly fill space, is excellent in border plantings, against the backdrop of tall bushes, and can grow on rocky, poor soils. Shade-loving, very effective and in demand. threatened with extinction, it is listed in the Red Book.
    • Euonymus semenovii- an evergreen shrub up to a meter high, with cascading, creeping shoots. The leaf is large, leathery, broadly lanceolate, up to 5 cm in length, yellow-green. Bright, rich purple flowers are collected in whorls at the ends of the shoots.
    • Koopman's euonymus (E. koopmanni)- a shade-loving evergreen creeping shrub with tetrahedral, sometimes winged shoots that easily take root when lodged. The leaf is dense green, leathery.
    • Japanese euonymus (Euonymus japonicus)– does not overwinter in open ground in the middle zone. For landscape design it is only interesting as a tub plant, as it can withstand slight drops below zero. The leaf can have either green or variegated color. In the photo, Japanese euonymus, variegated form, is a spectacular container plant for patios and terraces.
    • Fortune's euonymus (E. fortunei)- the most decorative of all evergreen euonymuses. It has many varieties, different in leaf color. Shade-tolerant, slow-growing, absolutely unpretentious, easily tolerates drought and prolonged periods of high temperatures, undemanding to the soil composition, although it prefers aerated rich organic soils. Does not tolerate stagnant moisture. It is most in demand in landscape design due to its variegated color.

Euonymus dwarf
Beresklet Semenova

Japanese euonymus
Euonymus Fortune

The most interesting varieties of euonymus Fortune

"Minimus"

"Minimus"- one of the smallest euonymus. The branches are thin and dense. Leaf up to 1.5 cm, dark green, with light veins. It grows slowly, forming compact “shaggy” clumps, and can be damaged by return frosts.

"Emerald gold"(“emerald in gold”) is perhaps the most brightly colored variety, a leaf up to 2 cm, bright green with a wide golden-yellow border.

"Emerald Gaiety"- a flat-growing shrub up to 30 cm high, capable of climbing support and stones, leaves up to 4 cm, green with a creamy-white edge, which turns pink in autumn.

"Silver Queen" ("Variagatus")– stylite up to 20 cm, the leaf is small, elliptical, with a clear white edge on a bright green background.

"SunSpot"(“sunny bunny”) - a dense, slow-growing bush up to 20 cm in height, a leaf up to 2 cm, bright green with a golden-yellow elliptical spot along the entire axial vein.

"Emerald gold" "Emerald gaiety"
"SunSpot"

"Sheridangold"– a rounded compact shrub up to 35 cm, large leaves, bright lime green when young, turning green over time. Cold-resistant, slow-growing variety.

Euonymus is a unique garden shrub that combines excellent qualities: fast growth, unpretentiousness, a variety of varieties, and also has excellent decorative properties. This plant has become widespread in Asia, Europe, and America. Under natural conditions, it lives in mountains, deciduous forests, floodplains and valleys.

Euonymus is often used in the organization of hedges, but its scope of use is not limited to this. This shrub is magnificent in group and solitary plantings. In spring and summer, it does not stand out much from the rest of the garden vegetation, providing an excellent green background for other ornamental plants. During flowering, the euonymus can only boast of dim, small and, one might even say, somewhat inconspicuous flowers. But in the fall, not a single person will be left indifferent by the beauty of the bush. Also, its appearance will perfectly improve the appearance of the winter garden.

Among the various types of euonymus there are also small evergreen creeping shrubs that grow well in rockeries, flower beds and rocky hills.

Common types

Euonymus macropterus Rirr.

This tweed of euonymus prefers to grow in groups or alone in moist and shady spruce and cedar-broad-leaved forests in the Primorsky, Khabarovsk territories, Kurilki, Sakhalin, China, Korea and Japan. It is very rarely used as an ornamental plant, but is quite suitable for cultivation in the conditions of the north to St. Petersburg.

It is a deciduous tree, reaching 9 meters in height, often bush-like. The bark of the plant is dark, young branches initially have a green tint, later becoming light brown or gray. The leaves have an oblong-ovate or broadly elliptical shape.

The flowers are small, greenish-white, collected in multi-flowered inflorescences. The fruit is spherical and slightly flattened four-lobed capsules with large wings up to 15 mm in length. When fully ripe, they acquire a dark crimson hue. In the summer, the capsules open to reveal seeds that ripen until the end of September. Begins to bear fruit from the age of seven.

It grows somewhat slowly and is winter-hardy. For good development it needs high air humidity, tolerates shade, but feels more comfortable in good lighting. It propagates mainly with the help of seeds, which must be stored in a box with sand during the cold season. Resistant to the pest that often affects this genus - the euonymus moth. When the fruit ripens, it has incredible decorative properties. It is recommended to be used for single or mass plantings for planting in parks. Cultivated since the end of the 19th century.

Euonymus verrucosa Scop.

In another way, this type of euonymus is called few-flowered. It is found naturally in the mountains of South-Eastern, Southern and Central Europe, as well as in Russia. Distributed in nature reserves of the Baltic states, the Caucasus, and Russia. In nature, it prefers to grow in the undergrowth of deciduous and coniferous forests. This shrub loves good, fertile soils, generously flavored with lime, and tolerates shade well.

The shrub grows up to two meters in length, less often it turns into a tree 5-6 meters in height. It has bright green shoots, which, along with the branches, are strewn with black-brown warts. In this regard, it got its name. Its brown flowers are quite inconspicuous, but create a special charm and color. Its pink fruits look very good against the green background of foliage.

This shrub is especially beautiful in the autumn, when its thin green shoots wear a delicate and light outfit of pink leaves.

It is winter-hardy, slow-growing, unpretentious to the soil, tolerates shade well, and is suitable for organizing hedges, creating group and single plantings. Cultivated since 1973, it is used by gardeners more often than other types of plants.

Euonymus europaea L.

Grows in Russia, Western Europe, the Caucasus, Crimea, Asia Minor. Found in many nature reserves in different countries. They prefer deciduous forests with any soil. It has been used for decorative purposes for a very long time.

This small tree, reaching 6 meters, grows as a bush. Young shoots of the plant are green and often have corky longitudinal growths, while old shoots are almost black. The leaves are ovate or obovate, glabrous, slightly leathery, dark green in color, and acquire a wide variety of red shades in the fall. Unlike the leaves, the flowers of the European euonymus are inconspicuous, greenish-white in color, and flowering lasts 20 days. The bush is also very decorated with fruit boxes that are pink or dark red when ripe.

This type of euonymus has very high drought and frost resistance, loves light, and thrives in urban polluted conditions. It tolerates pruning well, and therefore is ideal for single and group plantings, and excellent for hedges. Pairs well with a variety of plants with yellow or yellow-golden foliage. This type of euonymus has about 20 different decorative varieties.

Dwarf euonymus (Euonymus nanus Bieb)

This type of euonymus is very fond of the slopes and river valleys of the mountain forests of Ukraine, Moldova, the Caucasus, Crimea, Romania and North-West China. It is a plant listed in the Red Book of the USSR. You can see it in the protected Kabardino-Balkarian Nature Reserve.

Dwarf euonymus is an evergreen, creeping, low-growing shrub whose height does not exceed one meter. Young branches are green, covered with many warts, and as the year progresses they acquire a grayish-brown color. The leaves of the bush are quite unusual: oblong in shape and narrowly lanceolate, with a pointed apex and a slightly bent edge. The upper part of it is bright green, the bottom is bluish. The flowers of the euonymus are single and small, grow on long and thin peduncles, and are green or red-brown in color. This type of euonymus very rarely bears fruit in the middle zone, but if this happens, the fruits are presented in the form of a box up to 1 cm, yellowish or pink.

This is a very ornamental plant, known since 1830. It forms very effective and elegant thickets, used to decorate lawns, loose groups, alpine groups, under tree canopies.

Koopmann's Euonymus (Euonymus koopmanni Lauche)

Perhaps this species is the most interesting of those growing in Central Asia. Loves walnut forest canopies and secondary bushes.

Its distinctive feature is the formation of creeping and very long lashes, which, moving along the ground, take root and produce low shoots one meter high. The leaves of the shrub are linear or narrowly lanceolate in shape, slightly curled along the edges. The color of the leaves is dark green, they are bluish below and shiny above. The flowers are often single, but sometimes they are collected in groups of 2-3. Blooms in July. In Russia it ripens quite rarely, but the possibility of vegetative propagation allows it to be grown in this area.

Euonymus miniata Tolm

This type of euonymus is found on the island of Urup and on Southern Sakhalin. It has greenish flowers with shorter wings than Euonymus macroptera. The fruit capsules are bright red. In autumn, all parts of the bush, from large obovate leaves to fruits, literally “light up” in the sun, and in the shade they have a dark purple hue. It tolerates shade well, and therefore in natural conditions is often found in the undergrowth of mixed coniferous forests on slopes. It blooms and bears fruit very profusely. Available in culture exclusively in botanical gardens.

This shrub is very demanding on soils and their richness. The soil should also be light, saturated with air and contain lime. It does not require pruning and is frost resistant. Propagated by spring or autumn sowing of seeds, summer cuttings, layering, as well as root suckers. Perfect for single plantings, creating hedges, and group compositions.

Winged euonymus (Euonymus alata (Thunb.) Sieb.)

It lives on rocky slopes, along mountain rivers and streams, on rocky slopes and in river valleys in Korea, China, Japan and southern Sakhalin. This is a fairly tall shrub with many branches.

Young shoots are reddish in color. The leaves are obovate in shape, sometimes rhombic, dark green in color and very shiny. Not very large flowers are collected in three-flowered inflorescences. The fruit capsules become bright red after ripening. Decorative due to its bright fruits, but also unusual, winged branches. It begins to bear fruit at the age of four. It was introduced into culture in 1910.

Under natural conditions, it takes root quite well in both shady and sunny places, on wet and dry soil. But for the best effect, it is still better to use illuminated areas. It grows rather slowly, but is highly winter hardy.

It looks very advantageous in loose, single plantings, but is also effective in group plantings on the lawn. There are more than 20 varieties of this euonymus in culture.

Maack's Euonymus (Euonymus maackii Rupr.)

Maaka's euonymus prefers to grow on the slopes of hills, in deciduous sparse forests, in the valleys of large rivers, in floodplain meadows, on sandy light and sandy loam soils in the Primorsky Territory, Eastern Siberia, and the North-Eastern Territory.

It is a shrub reaching 1.5-3 meters in height. Sometimes it is a beautiful eight-meter tree, which in free conditions has an openwork, umbrella-shaped crown. The crown of the tree is wrinkled and black. Young branches are green, slightly rounded and tetrahedral, becoming dark gray with age. The leaves of the bush are very large and leathery. In spring they are light green, in summer they become dark green with a lighter underside, and in autumn they become soft pink, decorated with various purple shades. The flowers of the Maak euonymus are greenish-white with purple stamens, which are collected in few-flowered semi-umbrellas. The shrub begins to bear fruit at the age of 5-8 with spherical-pear-shaped boxes of purple or pink color.

This type of shrub is frost-resistant, loves light, resists drought well, loves rich soils, grows quite quickly and tolerates transplants well. It reacts very sensitively and well to fertilizers, propagates very easily using seeds, layering, cuttings, root suckers, bearing fruit a year, or even two, earlier than the seed material.

This type of euonymus will be an excellent decoration of the edges, as a single planting on the lawn, in the form of undergrowth. Very beautiful when the leaves bloom and until late autumn. It is very decorative in the fall, when it is decorated with bright fruits that remain on the bush until the onset of frost. The same spectacular and colorful autumn leaves last until the first frost. In terms of its decorativeness, it is one of the very best among euonymus. Cultivated since 1883.

Sakhalin euonymus (Euonymus sachalinensis(F. Schmidt) Maxim)

The plant is native to East Asia and the Far East. It can also be found in the Lazovsky Nature Reserve. Prefers to grow in mixed forests and birch forests on mountain slopes and river valleys. This is a light-loving mesophyte.

A very, very decorative shrub 2.5 meters in height, with long elliptical leaves.

The flowers are small, purple in color, hanging down on thin peduncles. Flowering of the bush begins in May-June, and fruits form in August-September. This is an ornamental, unpretentious shrub that is very beautiful in the autumn due to the coloring of the leaves and the ripening of spectacular fruits. It takes root well in Central Russia and is often used for making hedges.

(Euonymus) belong to the euonymus family (Celastraceae). This extensive genus includes more than 120 species, distributed in Europe, Asia, Australia and America. In nature, euonymus grows in valleys and floodplains of rivers, as well as in the undergrowth of mixed forests. Flowering of shrubs begins in late spring, simultaneously with the blossoming of leaves. Small, completely inconspicuous flowers are yellow, greenish-white, cream and dark burgundy. They smell unpleasant and are pollinated by insects. The euonymus has unusual poisonous fruits with brightly colored shoots. Leaf arrangement is opposite.

In addition to deciduous tall euonymus, low evergreen shrubs are also known, characterized by weaker winter hardiness. Many graceful species of this group are suitable for planting among stones in rockeries and rock gardens.

Euonymus dwarf ( Euonymus nana) grows naturally from Europe to Western China, including the mountainous regions of Western Ukraine, Moldova, Crimea, the Caucasus and Mongolia. This is an evergreen shrub about 30 m high with narrow leathery leaves 3-4 cm long. The shoots are green and greenish-gray, with longitudinal grooves. The flowers are small, 5-7 mm in diameter, with 4 greenish-brown petals, appear in June. In autumn, pink 4-lobed pear-shaped boxes are formed, but in our region the shrub bears fruit extremely rarely.

The species has been known in cultivation since 1830. It is planted under a sparse canopy of trees in small groups and is used for landscaping purposes in England. Although it is thermophilic, it persists in the ancient parks of the Moscow region, growing through the rooting of creeping shoots and escaping under the snow in winter.

Euonymus Koopmann(Euonymus koopmannii) is very similar to dwarf euonymus, its height is no more than 1 m. This species occurs in the mountainous regions of Central Asia (Tien Shan and Pamir-Altai). The shoots are the same, green, ribbed, mostly lodging and spreading by rooting. Ascending shoots with narrow-lanceolate or linear-lanceolate leaves 1.5-5 cm long. The leaves are shiny, leathery above, bluish below. Greenish flowers about 5 mm in diameter sit singly or are collected in semi-umbrellas of 2-3 pieces. Four-lobed bolls do not form in our zone. The species has been known in culture since 1883; it is used in America, England and Germany; it is very rare in Russia.

Japanese euonymus ( Euonymus japonica) comes from China and Japan, where the height of the evergreen shrub reaches 6-8 m. The greenish-brown shoots are tetrahedral in cross section. The leaves are obovate, 2-7 cm long, with a rounded tip and wedge-shaped base. Greenish-white flowers with a diameter of 5-8 mm with 4 petals, collected in umbellate inflorescences. The fruits are four-locular capsules with pink-orange buds, but in our conditions they do not always set.

The species has been in cultivation since 1804. Decorative foliage forms are known:

• Aureo-Variegata (Aureo-Variegata) with yellow-spotted leaves;
• Argenteo-Variegata (Argenteo-Variegata) with white-spotted leaves;
• Albo-Marginata (Albo-Marginata) with white edges on the leaves;
• Aureo-Marginata (Aureo-Marginata) with golden leaf edges;
• Macrophylla (Macrophylla) with larger leaves up to 7 cm long;
• Compacta (Compact) is distinguished by its compact crown and small size;
• Pyramidata (Pyramidata) with a pyramidal growth habit and broadly elliptical leaves.

Due to low winter hardiness in Central Russia, it can only survive under snow, so it grows as a low-growing shrub about 1 m high. Conditions are more favorable for it in the south of Russia, in the Crimea, in the Caucasus, in Moldova, in the southern regions of Belarus and Ukraine.

Euonymus Fortune ( Euonymus fortunei) originally from China. It is closely related to the Japanese euonymus . This is a small evergreen shrub 20-40 cm high with creeping shoots covered with elliptical or oblong-ovate dense shiny leaves. The appearance of small greenish flowers in Moscow is observed occasionally, and fruiting practically never occurs.

The species has been known in cultivation since 1907. Among evergreen euonymus, its variegated varieties are most often brought to Russia from European nurseries. The following are especially popular:

• Emerald Gaiety (Emerald Gaeti) - a variety with an uneven white border on dark green leaves;
• Canadale Gold (Canadale Gold) - a compact bush with shiny yellow-edged leaves;
• Silver Queen (Silver Queen) - a compact variety with cream young leaves, adult leaves with a wide cream stripe along the edge, flowering is noted in some years;

But, unfortunately, many of these varieties do not bloom and do not tolerate the climate of Central Russia.

Growing and care

These euonymuses prefer fertile and slightly alkaline soils and do not like stagnant moisture. If the soil on the site is acidic, then lime should be added. Open areas are selected for planting, because in the shade the decorative qualities of variegated varieties are reduced. However, if the sun is too bright, the leaves become dull and their edges curl. Plants are usually planted in spring in groups, at a distance of 50-70 cm from each other. During the period of active growth, fertilizing with complex fertilizer is very useful, but at the end of summer they are stopped in order to slow down growth and allow the bushes to better prepare for winter.

Euonymuses are well trimmed, so their crown is often shaped in the form of a ball, cone or ellipse. The pliability and flexibility of Japanese euonymus shoots allows them to be used in the formation of bonsai culture.

Reproduction

Evergreen euonymus is most often propagated by root suckers or layering, less often by cuttings, grafting and seeds.

Root suckers They are dug up in the spring and transplanted to a permanent place. To obtain shoots from the mother plant from the euonymus, they are covered with soil, they take root easily, after which the daughter bush with a developed root system is pruned with pruning shears and transplanted to the chosen location. Euonymus dwarf and Japanese can be vaccinate on the European euonymus, then you will get a decorative weeping form, which will have to be taken care of in the fall so that it does not freeze.

For cuttings Euonymus in June-July, young elastic cuttings 4-6 cm long are cut. To root them, use a film greenhouse, plant them in a fertile substrate, which consists of leaf soil and sand (3:1), sprinkle a 5 cm layer of sand on top.

It is more difficult to propagate euonymus by seeds, because they do not always ripen and can germinate only in the second year. Freshly collected seeds are cleaned from the arils and treated with a pink solution of potassium permanganate. When sowing in autumn in moist soil, they are covered with leaves or straw. If sowing is postponed until spring, then stratification is needed. Seeds for 3-4 months. stored at a temperature of +10+12 o C, and then transferred to a warmer room (where 0+3 o C) until the sowing time. The mixture for sowing euonymus seeds consists of leaf, turf, humus soil and sand (4:1:2:1). Sow seeds to a depth of 2-3 cm.

Photo: Alla Kuklina, Rita Brilliantova, Maxim Minin