Firebush (Euonymus alatus)

bonsaichile

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After all my collection died last year due to a sprinkler malfunction I did not detect until too late, I al slowly rebuilding. Got this firebush a couple days ago. I cleaned it up today and did some structural wiring. Most of the canopy will be cut off after leaf fall. Just trying to set the bones here7F1BD3C1-1673-4E13-95BF-B3154A603E2E.jpeg69A53BF1-12F7-441E-B8B2-48F124CBEF3E.jpeg
 

bonsaichile

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Pretty decent wiring😊. Movement? Still mostly straight branches🤔.
There is some movement (picture flattens it) but branches were very brittle and I did not want to break them. In any case, I wired mainly to spread them out. This guy will be chopped hard come spring to rebuild the canopy and start getting some taper and movement in those branches
 

Asymetrix

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I second that about being plentiful and easy to collect. They are quite invasive here in Illinois and I've been collecting them from the wild, not sure if they have infected your area but look into it as a source of material and helpful to your habitat locally. If they are invasive locally look at sites near shaded rivers, creeks, and streams. They are easy to identify but if you go in the fall they will be very visible of course.

The only thing to know with these is they only put out one flush of growth in the spring, once that hardens off they are done producing vegetative growth for the year. I have heard you can possibly get another flush if they are healthy and you cut back severely after first flush hardens. I have no experience defoliating them but would love to know if anyone does?

They grow very predictably which makes pruning choices easy but the single flush makes for slow development.

Resisting the urge to remove growth before fall is the hardest part but after working on some for a few years it drastically increases thickening, wound healing and of course energy for the next season. Although some should always be removed, chiefly any place 2+ branches are sprouting from as it can create bad swelling.

They heal well, backbud very well, heal wounds quickly if done right.

They prefer some moisture but can tolerate drying out pretty well.

They are not shy of showing you they need water though as they will droop dramatically especially before new growth hardens off.

Will grow is most anything I imagine but having them in inorganic bonsai soil is very helpful as the very fibrous root system can be very hard to disentangle and pick clean of organic material initially.

They can handle very severe root pruning. I've pruned 90% of roots off them not that I'm recommending it but I'd go very hard first time and just get it all sorted out.

They will fill most pots in one year and should be repotted annually.

I'd take most of what you wired down to one or two internodes as well. You will see them backbud a bit during the fall prune but more will pop in the spring as well. You may decide to regrow the tree entirely after you see what it pushes out next spring.

No major diseases that I know of. Best fall color if you keep them in full sun but they don't mind shade and if you can't be there to water that's a great option. They are pretty cold hardy and need minimal winter protection but keep some moisture as they do require that.

They make great bonsai in my opinion and under utilized. They are pretty much care free and having a few trees you don't have to worry about is very nice

One won noelanders trophy not long ago

Hope that helps just trying to save you some time as I often see inaccurate or little information on them.
 

Asymetrix

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There is some movement (picture flattens it) but branches were very brittle and I did not want to break them. In any case, I wired mainly to spread them out. This guy will be chopped hard come spring to rebuild the canopy and start getting some taper and movement in those branches
I forgot to mention they are wired easiest in early spring before the new shoots harden. It's probably the only way to get movement into them.

The young shoots are very brittle too in reality but if you feel them snap while wiring and bending do not despair as they are very resilient and usually heal with no additional care.

However if they break on one side but are still attached a dab of super glue has worked very well to seal and repair them.

I have broken almost every shoot I wired in spring and never lost one or experienced dieback.
 

BrianBay9

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I second that about being plentiful and easy to collect. They are quite invasive here in Illinois and I've been collecting them from the wild, not sure if they have infected your area but look into it as a source of material and helpful to your habitat locally. If they are invasive locally look at sites near shaded rivers, creeks, and streams. They are easy to identify but if you go in the fall they will be very visible of course.

The only thing to know with these is they only put out one flush of growth in the spring, once that hardens off they are done producing vegetative growth for the year. I have heard you can possibly get another flush if they are healthy and you cut back severely after first flush hardens. I have no experience defoliating them but would love to know if anyone does?

They grow very predictably which makes pruning choices easy but the single flush makes for slow development.

Resisting the urge to remove growth before fall is the hardest part but after working on some for a few years it drastically increases thickening, wound healing and of course energy for the next season. Although some should always be removed, chiefly any place 2+ branches are sprouting from as it can create bad swelling.

They heal well, backbud very well, heal wounds quickly if done right.

They prefer some moisture but can tolerate drying out pretty well.

They are not shy of showing you they need water though as they will droop dramatically especially before new growth hardens off.

Will grow is most anything I imagine but having them in inorganic bonsai soil is very helpful as the very fibrous root system can be very hard to disentangle and pick clean of organic material initially.

They can handle very severe root pruning. I've pruned 90% of roots off them not that I'm recommending it but I'd go very hard first time and just get it all sorted out.

They will fill most pots in one year and should be repotted annually.

I'd take most of what you wired down to one or two internodes as well. You will see them backbud a bit during the fall prune but more will pop in the spring as well. You may decide to regrow the tree entirely after you see what it pushes out next spring.

No major diseases that I know of. Best fall color if you keep them in full sun but they don't mind shade and if you can't be there to water that's a great option. They are pretty cold hardy and need minimal winter protection but keep some moisture as they do require that.

They make great bonsai in my opinion and under utilized. They are pretty much care free and having a few trees you don't have to worry about is very nice

One won noelanders trophy not long ago

Hope that helps just trying to save you some time as I often see inaccurate or little information on them.


I would add one thing to this excellent description. Critters do love to chew on the bark of these during winter storage. When I was in Wisconsin I lost all of mine over a few winters because I couldn't keep the mice/voles/whatever out. The preferentially ring-barked my Euonymus....lost a crab apple too.
 

bonsaichile

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I second that about being plentiful and easy to collect. They are quite invasive here in Illinois and I've been collecting them from the wild, not sure if they have infected your area but look into it as a source of material and helpful to your habitat locally. If they are invasive locally look at sites near shaded rivers, creeks, and streams. They are easy to identify but if you go in the fall they will be very visible of course.

The only thing to know with these is they only put out one flush of growth in the spring, once that hardens off they are done producing vegetative growth for the year. I have heard you can possibly get another flush if they are healthy and you cut back severely after first flush hardens. I have no experience defoliating them but would love to know if anyone does?

They grow very predictably which makes pruning choices easy but the single flush makes for slow development.

Resisting the urge to remove growth before fall is the hardest part but after working on some for a few years it drastically increases thickening, wound healing and of course energy for the next season. Although some should always be removed, chiefly any place 2+ branches are sprouting from as it can create bad swelling.

They heal well, backbud very well, heal wounds quickly if done right.

They prefer some moisture but can tolerate drying out pretty well.

They are not shy of showing you they need water though as they will droop dramatically especially before new growth hardens off.

Will grow is most anything I imagine but having them in inorganic bonsai soil is very helpful as the very fibrous root system can be very hard to disentangle and pick clean of organic material initially.

They can handle very severe root pruning. I've pruned 90% of roots off them not that I'm recommending it but I'd go very hard first time and just get it all sorted out.

They will fill most pots in one year and should be repotted annually.

I'd take most of what you wired down to one or two internodes as well. You will see them backbud a bit during the fall prune but more will pop in the spring as well. You may decide to regrow the tree entirely after you see what it pushes out next spring.

No major diseases that I know of. Best fall color if you keep them in full sun but they don't mind shade and if you can't be there to water that's a great option. They are pretty cold hardy and need minimal winter protection but keep some moisture as they do require that.

They make great bonsai in my opinion and under utilized. They are pretty much care free and having a few trees you don't have to worry about is very nice

One won noelanders trophy not long ago

Hope that helps just trying to save you some time as I often see inaccurate or little information on them.
Thanks for the info. As mentioned, i am planning to drastically cut down the branches I wired. I want to rebuild the whole canopy and get it closer to the trunk. This guy will probably be 10 inches height total, and right now is about 22.
 

Cypress187

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I'm growing one also, hard to get them get thicker, guess I'm going to plant it in full ground for a few years.
 

bonsaichile

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I'm growing one also, hard to get them get thicker, guess I'm going to plant it in full ground for a few years.
Any advice about pruning and general care? Mine seems to be affected either by too much sun in the summer or a fungal infection. I sprayed it with fungicide just to be sure but I dont think this fall I will get much color
 

Vali

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Try to give it more water. I have a few euonymus europaeus that I keep in full sun and I found that they like to be on the wet side. Watch out for the drooping tips of the new branches, like Asymetrix said, but I don't think you should wait for this to happen. I also get more flushes of growth every season. However, I have a very small one, in a small pot that I had to put in the shade because it was not growing, most probably because the substrate was drying out too much. But all this depends on your soil mix. I have them in an inorganic substrate. Try a different strategy next year
 

bonsaichile

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Try to give it more water. I have a few euonymus europaeus that I keep in full sun and I found that they like to be on the wet side. Watch out for the drooping tips of the new branches, like Asymetrix said, but I don't think you should wait for this to happen. I also get more flushes of growth every season. However, I have a very small one, in a small pot that I had to put in the shade because it was not growing, most probably because the substrate was drying out too much. But all this depends on your soil mix. I have them in an inorganic substrate. Try a different strategy next year
I will repot it next year. I got it in August from a nursery, so it is still in the nursery soil. I will give it more water, but I am wary of keeping the soil too wet
 

penumbra

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They are quite invasive here in Illinois and I've been collecting them from the wild
We have 8 wooded acres and these pop up in the woods, despite the fact I don't believe there are any within miles.
It is just a plant I have not considered as bonsai. Has anyone here a picture of one as a bonsai?
 

bonsaichile

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We have 8 wooded acres and these pop up in the woods, despite the fact I don't believe there are any within miles.
It is just a plant I have not considered as bonsai. Has anyone here a picture of one as a bonsai?
If you search in google, you will find several examples. They are spectacular in the Fall
 

Vali

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We have 8 wooded acres and these pop up in the woods, despite the fact I don't believe there are any within miles.
It is just a plant I have not considered as bonsai. Has anyone here a picture of one as a bonsai?
Harry Harrington, Walter Pall, Corin from Greenwood Bonsai and Nick Rozman have them in good quality, if I'm not mistaken.
 

penumbra

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If you search in google, you will find several examples. They are spectacular in the Fall
They are stunning bushes in the fall if in full sun, not so much in the woods.
I guess I should harvest some and stop thinking of them as trash.
 

MHBonsai

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We have 8 wooded acres and these pop up in the woods, despite the fact I don't believe there are any within miles.
It is just a plant I have not considered as bonsai. Has anyone here a picture of one as a bonsai?

5F1FBA02-E599-4E5C-8813-69B51D48643F.jpeg
 

MHBonsai

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I second that about being plentiful and easy to collect. They are quite invasive here in Illinois and I've been collecting them from the wild, not sure if they have infected your area but look into it as a source of material and helpful to your habitat locally. If they are invasive locally look at sites near shaded rivers, creeks, and streams. They are easy to identify but if you go in the fall they will be very visible of course.

The only thing to know with these is they only put out one flush of growth in the spring, once that hardens off they are done producing vegetative growth for the year. I have heard you can possibly get another flush if they are healthy and you cut back severely after first flush hardens. I have no experience defoliating them but would love to know if anyone does?

They grow very predictably which makes pruning choices easy but the single flush makes for slow development.

Resisting the urge to remove growth before fall is the hardest part but after working on some for a few years it drastically increases thickening, wound healing and of course energy for the next season. Although some should always be removed, chiefly any place 2+ branches are sprouting from as it can create bad swelling.

They heal well, backbud very well, heal wounds quickly if done right.

They prefer some moisture but can tolerate drying out pretty well.

They are not shy of showing you they need water though as they will droop dramatically especially before new growth hardens off.

Will grow is most anything I imagine but having them in inorganic bonsai soil is very helpful as the very fibrous root system can be very hard to disentangle and pick clean of organic material initially.

They can handle very severe root pruning. I've pruned 90% of roots off them not that I'm recommending it but I'd go very hard first time and just get it all sorted out.

They will fill most pots in one year and should be repotted annually.

I'd take most of what you wired down to one or two internodes as well. You will see them backbud a bit during the fall prune but more will pop in the spring as well. You may decide to regrow the tree entirely after you see what it pushes out next spring.

No major diseases that I know of. Best fall color if you keep them in full sun but they don't mind shade and if you can't be there to water that's a great option. They are pretty cold hardy and need minimal winter protection but keep some moisture as they do require that.

They make great bonsai in my opinion and under utilized. They are pretty much care free and having a few trees you don't have to worry about is very nice

One won noelanders trophy not long ago

Hope that helps just trying to save you some time as I often see inaccurate or little information on them.

Great post.

Agreed to all above. I’m a fan. Super hearty and predictable. I’d recommend to anyone, very satisfying to work with.
 

bonsaichile

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Since I have the attention of a couple people who grow these trees, can anyone tell me is this is sun scorch or some fungal disease? Thanks!
 

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Vali

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Since I have the attention of a couple people who grow these trees, can anyone tell me is this is sun scorch or some fungal disease? Thanks!
That never happened to me, though I keep most of mine in full sun, even in temps of over 35 C. I don't think sun does that. Maybe it's just the autumn shedding of leaves
 
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