Euonymus atropurpureus (Eastern Wahoo or Burning Bush) is a species of Euonymus native primarily to the Midwestern United States, but its range extends from southern Ontario south to northern Florida and Texas.
It is a deciduous shrub growing to 8 m tall, with stems up to 10 cm diameter. The bark is gray, smooth, and lightly fissured. The twigs are dark purplish-brown, slender, sometimes four-angled or slightly winged. The leaves are opposite, elliptical, 8.5–11.3 cm long and 3.2–5.5 cm broad, abruptly long pointed at the tip, and with a finely serrated margin; they are green above, paler and often with fine hairs beneath, and turn bright red in the fall. The flowers are bisexual, 10–12 mm diameter, with four greenish sepals, four brown-purple petals and four stamens; they are produced in small axillary cymes. The fruit is a smooth reddish to pink four-lobed (sometimes one or more of the lobes abort) capsule, up to 17 mm diameter, each lobe containing a single seed, orange with a fleshy red aril. Because of the shape and color of the fruit, it used to be called Hearts Bursting with Love. The fruit is poisonous to humans, but is eaten by several species of birds, which disperse the seeds in their droppings. It grows in low meadows, open slopes, open woodland, stream banks and prairies, in moist soils, especially thickets, valleys, and forest edges.
It is used medicinally in both the United States and southeastern Canada. The powdered bark was used by American Indians and Pioneers as a purgative.
Source: wikipedia.org
Genus - Euonymus
Species - Atropurpurea
Common name - Eastern Wahoo
Pre-Treatment - Required
Hardiness zones - 4 - 7
Height - 1-8 m
Spread - 4-6 m
Plant type - Medium Shrub / Small tree
Vegetation type - Ornamental deciduous
Exposure - Partial or Full Shade
Growth rate - Medium
Soil PH - 6.1 - 7.8 (mildly acidic - neutral - mildly alkaline)
Soil type - Well-drained loamy soil
Water requirements - Average Water Needs; Water regularly; do not overwater
Germination rate - 65%
Bloom season - Mid Spring, Late Spring/Early Summer
Leaf / Flower color - Green, autumn - violet / Purple
Useful Info | |
Germination | 1. Soak seeds for 24 hours in a warm water 2. Stratify for 2-3 months in dampened peat or sand, in a plastic box or bag at 4°C or 5°C in a refrigerator. The seeds should not be frozen or in a wet medium. 3. After the pretreatment, sow about 2mm deep in a well drained seed sowing mix at about 10-20°C. Euonymus seeds will usually germinate in 20-365 days, even under good conditions germination may be erratic. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 5 - 8cm long taken at a node or with a heel, July/August in a frame. Very easy. |