Fortune's euonymus "Emerald Haiti": description, planting and care

Ornamental shrubs play an important role in landscape design. Most of them grow quickly, are unpretentious to growing conditions and look spectacular in any season of the year. Fortune's evergreen euonymus shrubs are just from this group.

There are several varieties of Fortune's spindle tree. Emerald Haiti is one of them. Bright green oval leaves with white edging provide a high decorative effect of the plant. It is the dense, beautiful foliage that is the main element of the decoration, since the euonymus blooms with unremarkable "wax" flowers. However, multi-colored fruits (red, purple, yellow) give the plant an additional decorative accent. The elegant rounded crown of the Emerald Haiti variety has practically no gaps.

The bush is 25-30 cm high and grows up to 1.5-2 m wide. In the botanical description of the euonymus "Emerald Haiti" its highest frost resistance of all euonymus is noted., which allows you to use it in the design of the landscape of the northern gardens. The foliage from the evergreen shrub does not fall off in the fall, but only changes the color palette to pink. Flexible creeping stems easily take root by touching the soil. The root system is superficial.

The best planting time is spring (early May). First, you need to pick up planting material with strong shoots and healthy roots - the further growth of the shrub directly depends on this.

Then you need to choose the right landing site. A light hill or area with a very low groundwater table is suitable - Fortune does not like stagnation of liquid. Good lighting with light shading in the midday hours will keep the leaves of the bush from lethargy and loss of moisture.

Emerald Haiti euonymus grows on any soil, but it is obvious that in the prepared soil mixture the plant will grow with the most pronounced decorative properties. Light nutritious soil made of turf, peat, sand, humus with the addition of wood ash and a special mineral complex for evergreens will make the euonymus feel most comfortable.

Planting agrotechnology is simple, it consists of standard operations:

• planting pits are prepared at a distance of 30-50 cm from each other (for group plantings) with dimensions 2 times larger than the root system of the seedling;
• a drainage of about 15 cm thick from fragments of brick, sand, pebbles or small rubble is laid in the pit;
• on top of it, the prepared soil is poured to 1/3 of the depth, the seedling is installed vertically and filled with the remaining substrate to the root collar (do not deepen);
• the bush is spilled abundantly with water, after which the root zone is mulched with peat chips or sawdust.

When planting in spring, the bushes will undergo full adaptation and winter safely. Sometimes, for objective reasons, it becomes necessary to plant euonymus in the fall. This is permissible, but there is a risk of freezing of immature bushes if the winter turns out to be very frosty.

You can breed Fortune's euonymus in different ways.

• Layers. The rooted shoot is separated from the mother plant and planted in a new place. If desired, several bushes with developed roots can be obtained from one stem.

• Cuttings. In the middle of summer, cuttings are cut from young shoots (about 10 cm each), cut with "Kornevin" and placed in nutritious peat-sandy soil for root formation for about a month. The planting is covered with a film and the "greenhouse effect" is maintained (observed, moistened, ventilated). Rooted cuttings are planted for wintering under a shelter, and in the spring they are transplanted into open ground.

• By dividing the bush. The shrub is carefully dug up and divided into parts so that each part has a shoot, a growth point and roots. The sections are treated with activated carbon, then each part is planted in a new place.

• Seeds. Varietal characteristics during seed breeding are not always preserved, therefore this method is used very rarely. First, the seeds are placed in a solution of potassium permanganate, and then subjected to stratification (prolonged exposure at low temperatures). Stratified seeds with cracked skin are sown in prepared soil. The emerging seedlings can be planted in a separate bed in 2-3 weeks, they need constant painstaking care. In open ground, seedlings can only be planted after 3 years.

Taking care of Fortune's euonymus won't be a hassle. The plant is able to withstand mild drought, poor nutrition, low temperatures, but this does not mean at all that it can be kept in "Spartan" conditions.

• Watering. This is the most important element of agricultural technology. Regular watering is required, after planting, the bushes are watered abundantly 1 time, and with the onset of hotter weather - 2 times a week. Adult bushes are watered as needed, controlling the moisture content of the soil under the bushes. If 3 intense rains fall in a month, then watering of adult bushes is not required.

• Top dressing. It is recommended to apply mineral fertilizers to the soil 2 times per season: in May and in September. In the spring, it is a good idea to apply complex mineral fertilizers designed specifically for evergreens, in the fall - potassium-phosphorus fertilizers (without nitrogen). In the summer season, it is better to feed euonymus with organic matter (humus, compost), while you should not "overfeed" the plants, this will worsen the color of the leaves and reduce the decorative effect.

• Pruning. In the spring, dried, frozen, deformed, damaged shoots are cut out on the bushes (sanitary pruning). If desired, you can carry out formative pruning of the crown - Fortune tolerates it painlessly.

All euonymus, including Emerald Haiti, have a stable immunity to diseases, inherited from wild natural forms. Possible diseases are fungal infections and powdery mildew. The appearance of a gray bloom on the leaves, drying and falling off are sure signs that the bush is unhealthy. Treatment with fungicides (for example, Bordeaux liquid, copper sulfate solution), adjusting the irrigation regime, feeding with nitrogen-containing fertilizers, pruning the affected fragments will prevent the death of the plant.

Experts recommend treating spindle trees with fungicides in the spring for prophylactic purposes in order to prevent diseases. With an invasion of insects - spider mites, scale insects, aphids - plantings are treated with permitted insecticides or infusions of poisonous herbs.

Fortune's picturesque ground cover euonymus can transform any garden.When decorativeness gradually decreases in the autumn garden for most plants, evergreen euonymus never cease to delight with their beauty.

Fortune looks harmoniously in flower compositions, it is used to fill voids in flower beds, in the design of borders, ridges, hedges, in creating an imitation of lawns, it is suitable for use in almost all designer phytostyles. With a competent garden planning, experienced florists use euonymus to create whole fantastic compositions with bizarre shapes.

For more information on caring for Fortune's Euonymus, see the following video.