5 essential evergreens
Essential and decorative bushes in all seasons!
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Hardy and easy to grow, the spindle evergreen has many advantages. Retaining their leaves throughout winter, the most well-known evergreen species are the Japanese spindle (Euonymus japonicus) and Fortune’s spindle (Euonymus fortunei). While the flowering is quite discreet, these spindles make up for it with their leaves, offering a wide range of colours: solid green foliage that can be darker or completely golden, as well as variegated foliage in white or yellow. Depending on the varieties, their habit can be creeping, bushy, or strongly upright. This presents multiple possibilities for use for both beginner and experienced gardeners. Although they have a rather slow growth rate, these bushes are ideal for enhancing flower beds and rockeries, dressing slopes as groundcover, or forming hedges.
So discover our selection of evergreen spindles that are a must-have in the garden, on the terrace, or the balcony!
Euonymus fortunei 'Emerald 'n Gold'
Excellent groundcover, the Euonymus fortunei ‘Emerald ‘n Gold’ is a classic. Its evergreen ovate leaves are beautifully variegated with bright yellow and green. Very hardy and wind-resistant, this variety of Fortune spindle tree becomes even more attractive in winter: its already decorative foliage lightens and reddens. It thus becomes multicoloured, showcasing green, cream, and pink hues. In autumn, spherical white fruits appear. Note, that all parts of spindle trees (including the fruits) are toxic to humans. However, these fruits contain seeds that are a good food source for birds during the winter season. This American horticultural variety has a dense, spreading bushy habit. This spindle tree is generally used as a carpet of vegetation in borders, slopes, rockeries, or as a low trimmed hedge. Forming a clump about 60 cm high and 90 cm wide, it can also be grown in pots on the terrace or balcony. This evergreen bush tolerates pruning well and you can create beautiful topiaries to brighten up the garden in full sun or partial shade. A spindle tree that is easy to grow in all cool soils! Let’s also mention its very similar cousin, the Euonymus fortunei ‘Emerald Gaiety’ with a creeping habit and evergreen bright green foliage edged in white, turning pink in winter.
In the garden, combine the ‘Emerald’n Gold’ spindle tree with other groundcover plants such as Japanese Spiraea ‘Little Princess’ and shrubby cinquefoil ‘Danny Boy’ with pink flowers that perfectly complement the golden colour of our spindle tree.
Euonymus fortunei ‘Emerald ‘n Gold’
Euonymus japonicus 'Pierrolino'
Here is an evergreen spindle tree with a very neat appearance that you must have in your garden: the Euonymus japonicus ‘Pierrolino’. This recent variety is remarkable for its variegated white foliage. Its young leaves at the tips of the branches are cream-coloured at bud burst, then they quickly lighten to become white speckled with dark green, before becoming heavily marbled with green. Despite its slow growth, the Japanese spindle ‘Pierrolino’ is particularly decorative! Its bushy habit is small in size at maturity, about 30 cm in all directions. Its branches stand upright, creating a bushy and rounded silhouette. This cultivar is superb in pots to bring brightness to terraces and balconies. In the garden, it structures perennial beds, edges pathways, and brightens semi-shaded rockeries. Thanks to its elegance, the Euonymus japonicus ‘Pierrolino’ can be perfectly planted as a specimen. Note that it prefers light shade to full sun. A significant advantage is that this beauty thrives both by the sea, where it tolerates sea spray, and in the city, where it is not afraid of pollution.
In a low hedge, pair this small Japanese spindle with shrubs of similar size, such as the Hebe ‘Green Globe’, which forms a ball of light green foliage, and the dwarf Fortune spindle ‘Golden Harlequin’ with its green foliage variegated with yellow and cream.
Euonymus japonicus ‘Pierrolino’
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Euonymus fortunei 'Goldy'
Among golden spindles, we recommend the Euonymus fortunei ‘Goldy’. This variety of Fortune spindle attracts the eye with its bright foliage, which it retains even in winter. This modest bush of about 50 cm in all directions at maturity is adorned with a lovely golden yellow hue when young. Gradually, its foliage greens over time but remains just as attractive. Its insignificant flowering gives rise to globose fruits prized by birds. With good hardiness, it adds brightness to winter gardens. This Dutch cultivar withstands root competition and can easily adorn the foreground of a shrub border. A small bush with a compact habit, its use in pots is entirely possible. The Euonymus fortunei ‘Goldy’ is also essential for low hedges. Indeed, it is a good alternative solution to replace boxwood, which is often affected by box tree moth.
To pair the golden spindle ‘Goldy’, play with contrasts by cultivating it alongside Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Little Joker’ and ‘Inspiration’ barberry, both with purple foliage.
Euonymus fortunei ‘Goldy’
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Spindle: which variety to choose?Euonymus japonicus 'Aureomarginatus'
Evergreen large bush, the Euonymus japonicus ‘Aureomarginatus’ is what you need if you want to create a privacy screen or add a decorative element to your garden. Reaching an average height of 2 m with a spread of about 1.5 m when unpruned, this Japanese spindle tree is highly ramified from its base. Its well-erected branches bear glossy dark green leaves with irregular bright yellow edges. This cultivar fits well within medium-sized hedges, for example, to delineate a property: coastal hedge or urban hedge, trimmed monospecific hedge or free-flowing countryside hedge. Planted alone on a lawn, prune it to give it a lovely rounded or conical shape, and you’re all set! While it tolerates sunny or semi-shaded situations, its variegated foliage is more pronounced and even more contrasting in the sun.
This variegated spindle can also be grown in a large pot, accompanied by other potted bushes such as Japanese andromeda ‘Mountain Fire’, for example, Mexican orange blossom ‘Aztec Pearl’, and heavenly bamboo, reaching about 2 m in height at ripeness.
Euonymus japonicus 'Benkomasaki'
Larger than the previously mentioned spindle trees, Euonymus japonicus ‘Benkomasaki’ is an evergreen bush with a columnar habit and a very graphic style. Its glossy green evergreen leaves are regularly inserted on branches that shoot up vertically to a height of 1.70 m. Unique, this evergreen Japanese spindle tree is perfect for a modern garden with clean lines, but also in a large pot to shield terraces and balconies from prying eyes. Cold-resistant down to -12/-15°C, the Japanese spindle ‘Benkomasaki’ is sensitive to severe frosts and cold winds. It is best to avoid planting it in the ground in regions with extreme winters. In warmer areas, it thrives better in partial shade and in soil that remains cool. In commerce, this slow-growing cultivar is sometimes sold under the names ‘Benkomoki’, ‘Erecta’, ‘Greenspire’, or ‘Green Rocket’.
To create a vegetative privacy screen, it pairs well with other bushes such as pittosporum, photinia, osmanthus, and aucuba.
Euonymus japonicus ‘Benkomasaki’
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