Euonymus fortunei ‘Emerald ‘n’ Gold’ is a popular, compact, and low-maintenance evergreen shrub known for its attractive variegated foliage. It features bright green leaves with striking gold margins, which often develop a reddish-pink tinge during the colder months. This variety is versatile, suitable for ground cover, borders, edging, and even as a low hedge or container plant. It’s relatively easy to grow and thrives in various conditions, including full sun and partial shade.
Description
Key Characteristics:
- Foliage: The most notable feature of ‘Emerald ‘n’ Gold’ is its lustrous, oval-shaped leaves. They are a vibrant green with a broad, irregular margin of golden yellow. As the weather turns colder in the fall and winter, the leaves often take on a pinkish-red or bronze flush, providing year-round interest.
- Size and Habit: This is a compact, bushy shrub with a spreading habit. It typically reaches an eventual height of 1 to 2 feet (0.6-1 meter) and a spread of 2 to 4 feet (0.9-1.5 meters). If given support, it can also be trained to climb.
- Flowers and Fruit: The plant may produce inconspicuous, greenish-white flowers in late spring or early summer, but they are often sparse or not present. It is primarily grown for its foliage, not its blooms.
- Hardiness: It is a tough and fully hardy plant that can withstand a wide range of temperatures.
Growing Conditions and Care
- Sunlight: ‘Emerald ‘n’ Gold’ is a very adaptable plant that will grow in a wide range of light conditions, from full sun to partial shade. The foliage color, however, is often brighter and more vibrant when the plant is grown in a sunnier location.
- Soil: It thrives in average, well-drained soil. It is not particular about soil type and can tolerate sandy, clay, or chalky soils, as well as acidic, alkaline, or neutral pH levels. Good drainage is key, as it does not tolerate waterlogged conditions.
- Watering: Once established, this shrub is relatively drought-tolerant. New plants, however, should be watered regularly for at least the first year to help them establish a strong root system.
- Maintenance: ‘Emerald ‘n’ Gold’ is considered low-maintenance. You can tip-prune young plants in mid to late spring to encourage a bushier, more compact shape. It is important to promptly remove any plain green-leaved shoots (known as reversion) that appear, cutting them back to the original branch to maintain the variegated foliage.
- Uses: Due to its dense, spreading habit, it is an excellent choice for groundcover on slopes or banks, low hedging, border edging, and in mixed shrub borders. It is also suitable for container planting.
| See also different: | Easy-care evergreen plants |