Add some fire to your garden!

The compact burning bush puts on a fiery show in autumn.

Flowers appear in May along with fresh green foliage.

The flower isn't flashy but it's quite charming.

Many viable seeds exist inside their colourful seedheads.

Tiny black seeds are surrounded an orange fleshy aril, which are encased by a colourful capsule.

Corky wings are found along stems.

Flowers sit atop and among the simple foliage.

Their pale green flowers usually go unnoticed.

​Common Name: dwarf burning bush, winged euonymus, winged spindle tree
Botanical Name:  Euonymus alatus 'Compactus'
Form:    multi-stemmed, vase-shaped, flat-topped
Family:  Celastraceae
Genus:  Euonymus
Species:  alatus, cultivar ‘Compactus’
Plant Type: deciduous shrub
Mature Size:  9’ to 11’, equal spread
Growth: moderate
Origin:  Asia and Russia
Hardiness Zone: 4 to 8
Exposure: sun best for fall colour
Foliage:  up to 3”, serrated, green, bright red fall colour,
Flowers: small, yellowish-green flowers appear in May but are not showy.
Fruit:  small purplish red capsules with small seeds surrounded by bright orange flesh
Stems:  green stems bear strips of cork and are known as ‘wings’
Soil: soil tolerant, prefers well-drained, dislikes drought
Uses:  hedge, screen, specimen, massing, foundation, accent, small gardens, containers, mixed borders, attracts birds and wildlife,
Propagation:   semi-hardwood cuttings
Pruning:  winter
​Problems:  invasive in some locations, powdery mildew
Comments: 
The Euonymus alatus ‘Compactus’ is called the burning bush because its simple green leaves turn a fiery red in autumn. It is a head turner!  The more sun it gets, the more dazzling it is.  This award winning deciduous shrub is a cultivar of its much larger cousin, Euonymus alatus, which grows to 20 feet in height and width. Because of its smaller stature, this versatile shrub can be used many ways in the garden. During the summer, while still green, it sits nicely in the garden as a background to other plants, or a hedge, and livens up borders and foundation plantings.
 
On top of its flashy fall foliage, this plant has another feature that sets it apart. This feature is responsible for its other common name – the winged euonymus. Along its stems are strips of cork that stick out like wings. The original burning bush ‘wings’ are more prominent and plentiful than its dwarf cultivar.
 
The small simple chartreuse flowers aren’t showy, but their seeds are quite unusual resembling flying orange beetles with dark red wings. Birds and other wildlife love the fruit and spread the tiny black seeds far and wide. In some location it has naturalized and has impeded native flora. Check your area before purchasing. 

A lack of sunshine inhibits reddening of the foliage.

Elliptical leaves sit opposite each other along the stems.

The dwarf burning bush makes a colourful hedge.

The more sun a burning bush receives the more colourful the display.