Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Burning Bushes for the First Day of Fall

Euonymus alata "Compactus"

I love the Burning Bush. This shrub, which turns a scarlet red and bears little orange balls of fruit

in late autumn, is a highlight of the fall season. It is nearly maintenance free. I do prune back a few of my larger specimens to keep them at the height I want.

The only pest problems I have with this shrub are deer and rabbits who both love to eat the bark during the winter. Look at the damage this shrub had in 2005 when it was severely gnawed on by deer. I thought for sure it would die.

Here it is today:

As you can see, it rebounded quite nicely.


I moved this one in June and right now it is the reddest of them all.


This one back in the shady rockwall garden is just beginning to turn colors.


Here's another one in the front of the house by the road. It is in an area where nothing will grow.

It's alive, but certainly not thriving.


I must have 8 or 10 of these in different areas of my yard. I plan to get a few more for the Arbor gardens. I think one in front of the purple asters would give a nice jolt of color during September.


Some people find this shrub very invasive. For me, it is not. I am happy when I find a few shoots growing near the mother plant that I can dig up and plant elsewhere. How about you? Do you grow it? Love it or hate it?



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9 comments:

  1. Wow, your plants seem further along than ours are in MN, even though we are farther north. Has it been very dry there? My burning bush are still very green.

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  2. I love these bushes...yours look great! I love when I start seeing them change around town, they are so INTENSE!

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  3. Oh how gorgeous is that?! I don't think I've ever seen a Burning Bush, if I had I would certainly remember, its colour is so beautiful. I don't blame you for wanting some all around your yard, it certainly would catch the eye at this time of year:-) xoxo

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  4. I love those burning bushes! We had one at our last house and it was always beautiful. We planted one here and it was never the same variety, Finally I gavae up on it and pulled it up.
    Enjoy them for me!

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  5. We have one in the back that the previous owners planted. We used it as a back drop for a photo of us many years ago. It's still going strong and I never trim it. Yours are so pretty with their varying shades of red.

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  6. Hi Zoey, I love burning bush, myself, though I know a lot of gardening friends turn their noses up at it. I have three or four planted around here, but only one has had reliable red fall color. You seem to have hit the right conditions for this shrub. I liked the corky bark, myself...I think it has nice winter interest, something we really need!

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  7. Hi,
    I used to have a burning bush right in front of the front porch. It was so pretty and bright. I love splashes of color here and there in the yard.I like the idea of one in front of the purple asters. I may put some across the woods border next year. Balisha

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  8. What pretty colors on the burning bush! It sure would look nice on my front yard:)

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