Euonymus alatus, burning bush, spindle tree

jeanluc83 · Sep 24, 2015

Thanks for the reply. I moved the end of June so this year it has been in both. Up until the move it was in full sun all day. It has been getting about 5 hours of full sun a day since.

Last year it was kept in full sun. The color wasn’t great but I had also removed a lot of foliage in early fall. It was more of a deep red than the bright flame red they are known (named) for. It will be interesting to see what it does this year.

BobbyLane · Nov 3, 2015

I thought they only put out one flush? everybody seems to be reporting that they are vigorous growers, so does that flush keep going all summer?

Nice work on the tree!

jeanluc83 · Nov 3, 2015

They only have one push of growth. Any major pruning should be done in the early spring to maximise the years growth. On a vigorous tree it is a big push of growth but that is all you get.

I have read that when you get to the refinement stage you cut each shoot to two sets of leaves in the spring after they have emerged. It will be several years until I get to refinement.

BobbyLane · Nov 3, 2015

jeanluc83 said:
Thanks for the reply. I moved the end of June so this year it has been in both. Up until the move it was in full sun all day. It has been getting about 5 hours of full sun a day since.

Last year it was kept in full sun. The color wasn’t great but I had also removed a lot of foliage in early fall. It was more of a deep red than the bright flame red they are known (named) for. It will be interesting to see what it does this year.

Have you read this Jeanluc?

http://www.bonsai4me.com/SpeciesGuide/Euonymous.html

"for even better autumn colour withdraw nitrogen from mid-summer onwards" just speculating, could your feeding regime have affected leaf colour? Im just learning about the species myself. everything you mentioned in the other thread was correct, the green branches were a little crunchy and i had to take my time bending them, luckily i didnt do too much damage and i should get a lot of back budding in spring after the hard pruning of heavy branches. im waiting for the chops to dry out a little before carving some Uro..

jeanluc83 · Dec 6, 2015

I took advantage of the warm weather today and finely finished wiring this tree. It didn't turn out too bad.

Here is the before picture.

After getting everything wired and removing leaves.

I still have some carving that will need to be taken care of in the spring.

I'm looking forward to next year to see how it progresses. I'm also looking forward to re-potting it out of this heavy box.

j evans · Dec 6, 2015

Looks like you are doing a great job. I'm still stewing on what to cut this coming spring. Gives me something to worry about. Keep up the good work!

j evans · Dec 7, 2015

How big is your tree? Guessing I'd say 6+" wide and about 18" tall but it is hard to tell, I think that I like your proportions on this tree. I assume that you are going to try to keep it about this size?

jeanluc83 · Dec 8, 2015

j evans said:
How big is your tree?

Thanks for the encouragement. The trunk is about 5" with a height of 32". I had originally envisioned a shorter tree but as it worked out it will have more classic proportions. I'm sure the tree will change over the coming years but it will probably stay about this size unless I loose one of the trunks. One of the problems with this species is that the branches are very stiff. If you don't get them moved where you want them in the first year of growth major bends become difficult without breakage.

j evans · Dec 8, 2015

Stiff isn't the word for it. Either move them asap or take the saw to them. I think that my base is about the same size but I was hoping to reduce the heights to about 20 - 24" but I also have to remove a lot of trunks. Good thing that I have time to think about it as I can't make quick decisions.

jeanluc83 · Dec 11, 2015

j evans said:
Stiff isn't the word for it. Either move them asap or take the saw to them.

The nice part is that they back bud very easily. You can cut remove branches and regrow them if you need to.

j evans said:
I think that my base is about the same size but I was hoping to reduce the heights to about 20 - 24" but I also have to remove a lot of trunks. Good thing that I have time to think about it as I can't make quick decisions.

This one started with 7 or 8 trunks I believe. The first round reduced it to 5 then to 3 a year after collection. I'm all for waiting for inspiration to strike but you only get one push of growth. You don't want to grow the tree out only to cut everything off and start from square one again. In early spring remove anything that has reverse taper that cant be corrected with carving and anything that emerges from the base at odd angles. That should get you started in the right direction.

j evans · Dec 11, 2015

Thanks for the info. I collected mine about a year and half ago. I didn't reduce it enough when I collected it then last spring I trimmed it for the second time but that again was not enough of a cut. Just moving slowly as I have not collected a bigger tree and worked from there and I know that those opportunities are limited. I knocked off one good sized maple that I collected right off the bat but it had a challenged or lack of root system. Everything else I have is either purchased or grown from seedlings. Here is where I sit now. The branches that are marked with tape are the ones that I am thinking of keeping.

jeanluc83 · Apr 10, 2016

I managed to get this thing repotted. It took close to three hours but it should be good for another couple of years. There was a lot of work needed to get the big roots flattened and cut back so that it fit in a more appropriate pot. There will still be a good amount of work needed next time but it is on its way.

Before, the sides of the box were holding up good. They were made from treated deck boards. But the bottom boards were just about done.

I unscrewed the sides of the box and started working the root ball. I was very cheep when I first pottewd this up and used Walmart floor dry. It turned into heavy clay in the box. If undisturbed it held its shape but turned to mush when compressed. It took some time with a root hook to get the roots sorted out.

You can see some of the old root stubs.

After a quick wash the root pad needed some work. The roots were flattened at collection but there was still a lot to clean up.

After rework

Test fit in the new mica pot.

jeanluc83 · Apr 10, 2016

Finally potted up. The whole tree needs to rotate another 10 degrees to the right but this will need to wait until next time. There are some major roots that need some more reduction. Over all I'm very happy with the way thee tree has progressed in only two years.

Tieball · Apr 10, 2016

Well done. I'm looking forwarded to hearing about your tree progress and seeing progression photos along the way. Thanks for the details you've provided here!

j evans · Apr 11, 2016

Nice job! Your tree is looking excellent. I especially like how your tree in a single trunk up a ways for more of a tree look other than mine that has the branches starting close to ground level. YOur tree has progress nicely in just a few years. How old overall is your tree,? I'd guess 23 or 24 years old? Great work and keep it going.

Jamie

onlyrey · Apr 11, 2016

That is a huge tree, you are going to move your other trees away so that they get more sun, otherwise the shadow cast by the firebush will kill them

jeanluc83 · Apr 19, 2016

It's alive! At least for now.

Thanks for the encouragement. I'll get a good picture with a proper background once the leves open a little bit more.

Tieball · Apr 19, 2016

I looked at my Euonymus today...yours is looking more like a tree...mine...well, more like not a tree. However, like yours, mine is also alive. This species seems to extremely hardy. The drawback where I am is just one flush of growth. Funny short story...a couple years ago I removed all the leaves. I was thinking I would get another growth, more branching and smaller leaves. My reward for the action was being able to look all season long at a leafless Euonymous. Healthy...just no leaves. Lesson learned. The buds leafed out the next year. It was one of those grinning moments every time I saw it.

jeanluc83 · Aug 21, 2016

The tree has grown reasonably well so far this season but not quite as vigorous as I had hoped. It suffered from an aphid attack early in the spring. They seem particularly susceptible to attack when weakened by repotting. I had the same problem when it was first collected.

It is slow to build ramification but it grows predictability. Each bud lengthens to a shoot then sets a bud at the base of each leaf. These buds will extend the following spring and the process repeats.

Later this season the tree will be rewired and I'll work on carving the remaining stubs.

just.wing.it · Aug 21, 2016

Looking great! With this species, is healing big scars not really possible?

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