Winged Burning Bush
Euonymous alatus

Some landscape plants seem to stand a cut above the rest. Where it’s not too hard to find plants with amazing ornamental attributes of one specific kind, say showy flowers or an interesting habit, many of these would-be stars are relatively ho-hum in the other departments, many with negative attributes which detract from their most ornamental feature. What’s really hard to find is a plant that has one or two showstopping features, but whose other landscape attributes are also exemplary in their own right.

Winged burning bush is in a class of its own, a truly elite plant in the landscape. True, it has one phenomenal ornamental characteristic that far outshines the others, pardon the pun, and that is its fall color. It is with good reason that it is named “burning bush”; when it has donned its full fall wardrobe, this plant can be seen from miles away, and that’s not much of a stretch. It’s fall color tends to be solid, usually a hot flaming red, often leaning towards a florescent pink. The color is so prominent that it’s almost hard to believe when you first see it!

But the desirable traits of this fall stage-grabber don’t stop there by any means. This plant has a beautifully symmetrical and uniform shape which is particularly handsome when allowed to grow without pruning, although it does take pruning well. It has very interesting corky bark with four prominent wings running the length of the branches which are very unusual to look at and which trap snow well in winter. Small red fruit also add to the overall value.

Burning bush is a surprisingly adaptable plant, tolerating most soils and moisture conditions without any issues. It will even grow well in deep shade, although it tends to become looser in appearance and may not color as well in fall. In warm climates, it can grow to over 15 feet high, but often grows smaller in the northern extremes of its hardiness range. It has many landscape applications, including a solitary accent shrub, foundation planting, shrub border, and any garden where its shape and brilliant fall color would be welcome.

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