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Euonymus fortunei 'Moonshadow' |
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| January 1: a few leaves winter-scorched, but still very nice |
Common name |
wintercreeper |
Family |
celastraceae |
Life cycle |
shrub (Z4-8) |
Size |
12" |
Light |
sun-part shade |
Cultural notes |
ordinary garden soil |
Our favorite wintercreeper. Unlike our other varieties ('Emerald and Gold' and 'Emerald Gaiety'), which get a little rangy over time, this one stays low and compact, forming a ground-covering mat. The variegation is unusual and attractive - dark olive green blotched with a muted yellow. A few times I had to remove a branch that had reverted to all-green (see the center of the photo above), but for the most part it holds its variegation well. Very slow to grow from rooted divisions.
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| Earliest March - one of the brightest spots in our side garden |
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We left this plant behind in our Pennsylvania garden (and wish it well); we don't grow it in Houston. About my plant portraits
PlantLinks to other web pages about Euonymus fortunei 'Moonshadow'
Visitors to this page have left the following commentsJudy Frerichs | Apr 29, 2006 | so how far does this spread and is it hard to contain This is a very polite creeper. It spreads quite slowly (less than 6 inch per year for me), and containment is not an issue at all - it is not aggressive. |
Elizabeth | Jun 13, 2006 | I heard that it's highly susceptible to a euonymus disease. What is that, is it true and what do you do about it? Thank you. I've no idea - ours hasn't suffered from any problems. |
Kathleen | May 29, 2008 | I just bought three of these because they seemed to fit my criteria and are beautiful. What can I do about soil and fertilizer to keep them healthy? Ordinary garden soil, with a mostly sunny exposure, will suit them just fine. I don't fertilize, and my Moonshadow is happy as can be. |
les warr | Jun 20, 2008 | How do I start cuttings to root I am a novice. I have two plants and I love the Golden Maiden Euonymus and would like to expand Propagating from cuttings is still a black art to me as well - I hope to learn one of these days. |
Geoff Clark | Jul 15, 2008 | How does one combat scale on these shrubs? I've not had that problem. Perhaps someone else can chime in... |
Tom Mayan | Jul 21, 2008 | I have several of these at my home. Two covered the entire side of our brick home (West and East exposure). Two years ago the one on the West side died completely and I had to remove. I now notice the remaing have signz of a blight or some other disease and are dropping their leaves. I have taken a sample to our Michigan State Extension office for their recommendation. A friend of mine said it was not a "fungus" but referred to it as a "scale" probably caused by insects. Geoff Clark's post of 7/15/08 caught my attention since he also used the word "scale". Do you have any suggestions?
Tom Mayan, EM: tomsr@mayanagency.com, Merrill, Michigan |
Larry Hollingsworth | Aug 28, 2008 | I planted a dozen of these in Memphis in a very large bed that was under a large tree and was mostly shade and the soil was terrible. The soil ranged from dry to wet. They didn't seem to care but grew fine throughout. Those in the sun were a brighter yellow than those in the shade. They required virtually no maintenance. |
Jen Snyder | Jan 12, 2009 | I was informed by the site address that this might lead me to answers on how to control scale on this plant . Horrible infestations have occured in mid-Missouri, as a result of growers sending them to us, what different scale looks like,I don't know the differance between the 3 types of scale that our 3 types of euyonomus. |
Diana Fitzpatrick | Mar 18, 2009 | I moved into my new house a year ago and noticed a white coating on the stems of a very nice euonymus. The above comments tell me that it might be "scale". Will try to get more info on this. Thank you |
Patricia from Va. | Jun 27, 2009 | I just purcashed three of these plants. They are just beautiful. I plan to put one of them in a pot and hope that it will do well. I will let you know what happens. Thanks for all the information I read on these plants. This is a great web site. Very informative. |
david edelman | Oct 25, 2009 | Just bought eunonymous moonshadow-it has a distinct look- big question-- Is it deer proof? I'm afraid I found E. fortunei on a list of plants "frequently damaged" by deer. I have no personal experience, though. |
Bill Garrett | Apr 22, 2010 | This is the greatest accent plant,fits anywhere. Not a take over plant,no bugs,deer proof.does not mildew like the rest of euonymus family.Great plant.. |
Ro Miller | Apr 25, 2010 | How tall does it grow (height)? Is it really deer proof? I don't know about deerproofness, since I'm fortunate enough that the local deer haven't routinely visited our garden. As for height, it grows no more than a foot tall. |
scott burns | May 28, 2010 | I just purchased a creeping specimen for my rock garden. The site gets about 4 hours of sunlite per day. The nursery said this will be fine butnot i'm beginning to have some doubts. Any thoughts on this? I suspect it will be OK. Ours get a bit more, but certainly nothing like full sun - and it is happy year after year. |
Celeste Raduazo | Jun 13, 2010 | I have had this in my yard for years. I have on which is about 10 years old and has climbed up a oak and is at least 25 feet high. I trim back the ground cover because it just keeps going. I have successfully transplanted trimmings to other areas in the yard. It is beautiful in summer and winter. I do little to the soil. It has been hit by deer several times and for me has been a form of pruning! I do spray it with deer off in the winter which helps. I am concerned about the oak it is climbing. I can not find info as to weather is it a parasitic plant. I don't think it is. Are you sure you have 'Moonshadow', and not one of the other varieties (like 'Emerald Gaiety' or 'Emerald & Gold')? In my experience, Moonshadow doesn't climb, or spread aggressively. |
Josh | Jun 29, 2010 | I planted several around my house about a month ago. I have some in various sun areas that are beginning to have pinkish spots on them and are losing a few leaves. It's been dry, so I have been watering every evening. Are they being over watered? Insects? Disease? They don't look unhealthy, but don't wanna wait until they are. |
David | Feb 22, 2011 | Regarding Scale. The Scale that infests Euonymus is a "hard" scale, and is difficult to control. There are different ways targeting different stages in the Scales life. If accessible, you might want to look at a systemic insecticide(imidacloprid,dinotefuron) applied around the base of your Euonymus plants applied in early spring. |
Manela | Apr 07, 2011 | I planted one of these last spring. It's a beautiful plant, but the rabbits (we have many around here--Boston suburbs) seem to love it, too. I moved it close to the driveway, where the rabbits will hopefully fear to tread. Seems to have had little trouble surviving the tough winter, we'll see how it does this spring. |
Margarita | Apr 12, 2011 | I fell in love with the appearance of this plant/shrub. I am so pleased to hear that is not aggressive. I wanted a slow growing vine-like ground cover between a couple of yupon's and sky pencils as a filler on a small slope in my garden. I need color without flowers because my husband is allergic to bees. (I'm hoping it doesn't flower.)If it really doesn't "take over" I would love to purchase another. Yes, its the moon shadow and according to the tag will only grow 36 inches wide. If I don't trim, it will probably grow remain small. |
Cassandra Dennis | Jul 01, 2011 | We love these plants in our NW Ohio yard but, for the first time in 4 years we have a thin whitish yellow growth. What can we do to get rid of this? Is it a parasite or a fungus? Thank you for your time! I wish I could help you, but I've not seen this condition. Your local extension may be able to provide more information. Good luck! |
Rebecca | Oct 24, 2011 | I have deer problems only in the winter and yes they eat the moonshadow but it recovers perfectly in the spring , same with the wintercreeper variety. |
Verna | May 17, 2012 | I have a very tall window in front of my house.. A total of 15" that need shrubs etc.. Could I use Moonshadow as a shrub in this area..The winter picture looks like Moonshadow keeps its leaves through out the winter..correct?..Does it change color in the fall? If Moonshadow wouldn't work any suggestions?? (will be planted on the North side of my home..thanks.. Moonshadow does keep its leaves, although they are not as vibrantly colored through winter. But it stays quite low (about a foot tall), so I don't know if that meets your requirements for the space. |
Luisa M. | Jul 22, 2012 | I bought this plant at Lowes last year. The tag reads 3'x5 average size which is the size I wanted for the area. I was concerned b/c it hasn't grown at all since I planted it. After reading your post I confirmed my fear-the tag has the wrong information. I'm quite disappointed. |
davidsandy2@gmail.com | Oct 30, 2012 | Should this be pruned in the winter? We are in Wisconsin so we get frost. It doesn't require pruning – I don't recall having pruned mine, besides maybe tidying up a few wayward running branches. |
Sandy | Oct 30, 2012 | Should this be pruned in the winter? We are in Wisconsin so we get frost. |
Sanet Trollip (South Africa) | Jan 02, 2013 | Help for scale and other pests: 5litres of water, 2 tablespoons dish washing liquid, 1 tablespoon cooking oil of plant origin. Spray plants every day for a week, if severe problem occurs,or every other day, for a week. It is mild and safe. It might take a bit longer for hard neck scale to clear, but believe me, it helps! |
Beth Dolsak/Northern Ohio | Apr 07, 2013 | Love this little shrub! Dropped it's plastic pot into a terracotta pot on my north facing front porch last summer and it absolutely flourished....until the deer got to it in March :-( So wish I had moved it into my fenced in backyard for safe keeping. Hoping, as stated in previous posts, that it will rejuvenate. |
Teri | May 19, 2013 | I purchased this plant last spring, it seemed to grow well enough, but we had an early and unexpected freeze (Wisconsin). So far, nothing is growing, the leaves browned and have fallen off. Do you think it still has a chance to possibly recover, if not this year, maybe next year?
Thanks If it doesn't leaf out soon, I'm afraid it's a goner. |
John | Jun 17, 2013 | can anyone suggest how to remove the plant residue from brick after the plant has been removed? |
Larry Edwards | Sep 10, 2015 | My Moonshadows are droping leaves like crazy and has tiny white specks all over the leaves that remove easily but can't seem to gain control over the situation by using BAYER insect,fungi disease and mite control. This is all I could find that might apply,but don't seem to work. Any suggestions? That's terrible! I'm afraid I have no experience with that condition. At the very least, make sure its cultural requirements are met so that it is best equipped to fight back against whatever is ailing it. |
Michelle S | Jun 28, 2016 | I purchased the moon shadow from lowes in June of this year. However, I am a little concerned b/c I have not seen any growth in this plant. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks Give it some time to settle in - I think it will be fine. |
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