Which spindle trees for a colourful winter?
8 varieties beautiful in all seasons
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Spindle trees or Euonymus in Latin are perfectly hardy and low-maintenance bushes, grown for their wide variety of foliage. We appreciate the evergreen species for their foliage in varied colours, either solid or most often variegated, remaining beautiful even in winter, ideal for bringing brightness to somewhat dull corners. Spindle trees offer a wide range of habits, including creeping, climbing, or bushy forms and various heights. Depending on their size, they lend themselves to multiple uses, whether in borders, as free or low hedges, along pathways, in rockeries, to cover a slope, in planters, or even in bowls on the terrace or balcony. The taller varieties make for striking standalone specimens, while the shorter ones provide an excellent alternative to boxwood, and as they respond well to pruning, you can also shape them into topiaries. Easy to grow, they thrive in any well-drained soil, remaining cool, in full sun or light shade.
Here is our selection of the most beautiful spindle trees to absolutely have in winter in the garden, on the terrace, or the balcony!
And, to find out which variety will suit your garden best: “Spindle: which variety to choose?” Also, read our complete guide: Spindle, planting, pruning, and maintaining.
Euonymus fortunei ‘Coloratus’
This spindle tree has a very creeping habit, making it useful for adding colour to the base of bushes, a bank, the curve of a path, or as a basin on the terrace, without ever becoming invasive. The Euonymus fortunei ‘Coloratus’ will reach about 35 cm in height with a spread of at least 60 cm. It maintains an elegant and tidy appearance in all seasons. It can also be trained on any support, climbing up to 5 metres high. This cultivar is distinguished by its glossy dark green evergreen foliage that turns purple and red with the first frosts. The small, insignificant greenish-white flowers in spring transform into persistent red berries throughout winter.
You can pair it with other vigorous groundcover plants such as Bergenias, which are perfect even in shady areas.
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Spindle: which variety to choose?Euonymus fortunei 'Emerald'n Gold'
Should we still introduce the Euonymus fortunei ‘Emerald ‘n Gold? Yes, because this must-have with its beautiful golden hues undoubtedly deserves its place among the finest spindle trees! It showcases its particularly bright variegated evergreen foliage throughout the year, which turns pink in winter. Its small leaves, measuring 2 to 5 cm in diameter, display green colours highlighted with golden yellow in spring, turning to pink at the first signs of cold. Its small white flowers give way to small spherical white fruits. This is a compact variety that spreads as a groundcover, forming a magnificent carpet about 60 cm high and 90 cm wide. With its bushy, dense, and spreading habit, it easily fits into borders, slopes, and rockeries as a low-maintained hedge, as well as in pots on the terrace or balcony. It can also transform into a climbing plant, reaching up to 3 m high.
Very hardy and wind-resistant, requiring little maintenance, it suits all gardeners and thrives in all gardens, even by the sea. Consider pairing it with bronze fennel or dwarf roses with raspberry-pink flowers like those of the Rosa ‘Peace and Love’, which will echo the spindle tree’s blooms.
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Euonymus japonicus 'Aureus'
Certainly one of the most beautiful varieties of golden-leaved spindle. The Japanese spindle ‘Aureus’ exhibits a particularly variegated, bright, and colourful robe. Its foliage is formed of glossy, dentate leaves, yellow in the centre of the lamina and edged with bright green. Ideal for brightening the garden even in winter. Bushy and rather upright, it will reach an average height of 2 m and a spread of 1.50 m. This golden and bushy Japanese spindle can be used for low hedges or to create elegant topiaries for the terrace, as it adapts well to container cultivation. A well-sunny exposure will enhance the intensity of its golden hues. Its hardiness is around -12°C, making it a beautiful subject for coastal gardens and urban settings. In autumn, it also produces small green fruits that turn pink and orange.
It is perfect for investing in a shrub bed by playing on opposites, for example, by pairing it with Physocarpus ‘Black Light’, whose foliage is such a dark purple that it will create a strong contrast.
Euonymus fortunei ‘Golden Harlequin’®
Yet another little spindle tree that doesn’t go unnoticed! The Euonymus fortunei ‘Golden Harlequin’® boasts a remarkable appearance. This small specimen, not exceeding 30 cm in all directions, reveals a persistent ivory-white dress speckled with dark green and golden yellow. This very beautiful selection from the Netherlands (‘Golden Harlequin’ ‘Hoogi’ PBR) maintains a consistently neat and bright appearance. With a particularly compact, dense, and creeping habit, it is perfectly suited to adorn a rockery, a border, a low hedge, a container, or the foreground of a shrub bed. Highly resistant to diseases, it is a good plant to replace boxwood.
In a low hedge, this dwarf spindle can be paired with shrubs of similar size, for example, the Hebe ‘Leopard Spot’®, a shrubby veronica with very original and bright variegated foliage that naturally forms a beautiful ornamental cushion all year round.
Euonymus japonicus 'Paloma Blanca'
Another mini cultivar of Japanese Spindle that irresistibly catches the eye! This small size is ideal for small spaces. The ‘Paloma Blanca’ Japanese Spindle does not exceed 50 cm in height and 30 cm in spread at maturity. It is particularly interesting for its beautifully contrasting foliage, especially for its juvenile shoots that unfurl like white doves, in a brilliant pure white against dark green foliage. The contrast is striking, even though these young shoots eventually turn green over the seasons, remaining just as attractive. In the same spirit, you will also find the Euonymus japonicus ‘Pierrolino’ with variegated white foliage.
This very original variety is valuable for creating miniature hedges. This cultivar is also stunning in pots, bringing brightness to partially shaded terraces and balconies. You can pair it with the impressive Acanthus ‘Whitewater’ with dark green variegated foliage, just like it, in creamy white.
Euonymus fortunei 'Goldy'®
Here is another equally essential variety, attractive even in winter. The Euonymus fortunei ‘Goldy’ forms a small bush about 50 cm in all directions at maturity, with a compact and dense foliage that is incredibly bright. Its evergreen cloak is a deep golden yellow that gradually turns green over time, which does not detract from its charm. Like most spindle trees, it produces very decorative red fruits that persist in winter and are loved by birds. With excellent hardiness (-23.3°C to -20.6°C), it adds a lot of brightness to winter gardens. It helps to create the permanent structure of a low shrub bed, making it a good alternative to boxwood. Due to its small size, it is particularly recommended for pots.
It will be especially highlighted alongside plants with dark hues, consider the ‘Inspiration’ barberry, with its purple foliage for a beautiful contrasting display.
Euonymus japonicus 'Président Gauthier'
This cultivar is certainly one of the most beautiful varieties of Japanese Spindle with variegated white foliage. Both elegant and bright, the Euonymus japonicus ‘Président Gauthier’ boasts a stunning bicolour outfit with its large, evergreen, glossy leaves tinged with blue-green that intensify over time, irregularly edged in cream to white. This variety also rewards us at the end of the season with a generous display of pink and orange fruit nestled among its variegated foliage. With a lovely stature and bushy silhouette, it will reach an average height of 2 m and a spread of 1.5 m, making it useful for creating medium-height evergreen hedges, whether free-standing or trimmed, although it also thrives in large pots to create green screens on a terrace or balcony. Hardy down to about -12/-14°C, thanks to its impressive dimensions, it can also form a backdrop of persistent greenery even in colder regions.
This beautiful variegated spindle will be perfect as a windbreak or privacy screen alongside, for example, the ‘Osmanthus heterophyllus ‘tricolor’ with its three-colour evergreen foliage.
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