American strawberry-bush, Bursting-heart
 

Mature Size, Growth, Longevity

A loose, suckering habit, 4-6' tall, but can grow 6-12', and may also be pruned, trained from youth and grown as a single-stemmed small tree, where it could reach heights of 12-15', with an obovate crown. Usually develops a loose, open habit. Medium growth rate. Very short-lived, 20 years or less.

Native Range

Kentucky Native — Occurs as an understory shrub in the woods, and near streams, moist ravines and low areas. Native from New York, south to Florida, and west to Texas, which includes most of southern and eastern Kentucky. Introduced into cultivation in 1697.

Flower and Fruit Details

Flowers are monoecious, 1/3" diameter, greenish to pinkish, with 5 petals (instead of the normal 4 petals for most Euonymus species), occurring singly or in 3's, in May-June, after the leaves emerge. Stamens are purplish in color. The fruits are 1/2-3/4" diameter, strawberry shaped to heart-shaped, warty, 3-5-lobed, red or orangish capsules, which split open in the fall to reveal the showy, bright red, pendant seeds (red seed coats), eaten by songbirds, but poisonous to humans.

Leaf and Bark Features

Deciduous: Leaves are simple, opposite, lanceolate, acuminate at tip, finely serrated or crenate, medium green in color, 1.5-3.5" long and 0.33-1.25" wide, with a short, 1/12-1/8" petiole. Leaves turn yellow-green to red in the fall, occasionally red-purple. Colorful, smooth, olive-green stems, which are somewhat square in nature, due to the four ridges running up and down the stem from each leaf scar. Tops of stems may turn purplish when exposed to sun. Pith is white. Older bark is gray to brown,

Culture and Care

Very tolerant of shade. Intermediate flood tolerance. Zone 6-9, or 5-9 in some areas. Needs moist soil. Sensitive to heat and drought. Tolerates clay soils, acid or alkaline, from pH 6.1-7.5. Euonymus scale and powdery mildew may be troublesome. Also gets anthracnose, leaf spots, crown gall, aphids and thrips.

Strengths, Weaknesses, Other Facts

3-season interest: Spring, summer, and fall. Very weak branches often break in ice storms,

Suggested Uses

A good plant for hedging or naturalizing.

Taxa and Plants of this Species at BCA