Euonymus

How to choose a euonymus

Match the plant to the height of hedge you want, because euonymus does not like being cut far below its natural size. For a low edge along a path or around a bed, Tom Thumb (Euonymus japonicus microphyllus 'Tom Thumb') and Gold Thumb stay around 60cm to 80cm with tiny leaves and a naturally tight habit, green in the first and gold-splashed in the second. For a hedge of 1m to 2m, Easy Hedge and Green Rocket grow upright and narrow, about 1m wide, so they make a dense screen in a bed only a metre deep. Silver Pillar is a variegated upright form to 1.2m with white-edged leaves. For a taller hedge or a clipped screen, the plain Japanese spindle (Euonymus japonicus) reaches 3m, and Aureo Marginatus gives the same size with gold-margined leaves.

Where euonymus works

Full sun to part shade in any reasonable soil, which is the point of the plant. Euonymus is one of the few formal hedging shrubs that tolerates coastal salt wind, so it suits seaside gardens from Perth to the Sunshine Coast, and it takes the frosts of Melbourne, Canberra and the tablelands without marking. It handles dry spells once established and the humidity of Brisbane better than box does. Use it for low knot-garden edging, borders along driveways, clipped balls in pots, and screens between a path and a fence. The variegated forms brighten a shaded side passage. It sits among our wider hedging and screening plants.

Planting and spacing

Plant in autumn or spring, in soil improved with compost, and mulch well. For a low edge of Tom Thumb or Gold Thumb, space plants 30cm apart. For Green Rocket, Easy Hedge or Silver Pillar, 40cm to 50cm gives a solid hedge within two seasons. For a Japanese spindle hedge of 2m to 3m, space at 60cm to 80cm. Water deeply twice a week through the first summer. Our guide to creating a great hedge covers the setting out and the first year.

Care basics

Feed in spring with a complete fertiliser and keep the mulch topped up. Clip two or three times a year from late spring to early autumn, taking a little off each time rather than a lot once; the tight forms need only one or two light clips. Shape a hedge slightly wider at the base than the top so the lower leaves keep their light. Powdery mildew can show on the leaves in a humid, still summer: prune for airflow and avoid wetting the foliage in the evening. Scale insects are wiped off or treated with horticultural oil. Euonymus is long lived and recovers from a hard cut back in spring if a hedge gets away from you.

Common questions

Is euonymus a good alternative to box hedging?

Yes. It clips to the same tight shape, grows a little faster, handles salt wind, humidity and dry spells better than English box, and it does not get box blight.

How fast does euonymus grow?

About 20cm to 30cm a year for the hedging forms once established, less for Tom Thumb and Gold Thumb. A 1m hedge from 30cm plants takes about three years.

Does euonymus grow in shade?

Part shade, yes, and the variegated forms hold their colour there. In deep shade growth is thin and the hedge is slow to close.

Is euonymus toxic?

The berries and leaves are poisonous if eaten in quantity, as with most spindle trees, so it is not a plant to use where children pick berries. Clipped hedges rarely fruit.