An Easy & colourful evergreen

Emerald 'n' Gold wintercreeper is a brightly coloured, low maintenance evergreen shrub.

Stems with brilliant yellow leaves are not uncommon.

An Emerald 'n' Gold wintercreeper is a compact and colourful shrub.

Wintercreepers are grown for their attractive foliage, not their flowers.

Wintercreepers are hardy and evergreen.

Leaves are opposite each other, leathery and somewhat shiny.

Emerald Gaiety, like all variegated euonymus, are naturally compact.

Variegated wintercreepers offer colourful privacy as they climb up well placed lattice.

Emerald Gaiety sports a pure white stem and leaves.

Inconspicuous flowers appear in June.

Silver Queen is compact with small green leaves edged in white.

Common Name:  Emerald 'n' Gold wintercreeper
Botanical Name:  Euonymus fortunei ‘Emerald n Gold’
Form:    horizontal oval
Family:  Celastraceae
Genus:  Euonymus
Species:  fortunei
Cultivar: Emerald n Gold
Plant Type: broadleaf evergreen shrub
Mature Size:  1 to 2 feet tall and 3 to 4 feet wide
Growth: moderate
Origin:  China, Japan, Korea
Hardiness Zone: 5 to 9
Foliage:  dark green edged in bright yellow, glossy, simple, ovate, opposite finely serrated leaves, 1–2” long, develops a pink tinge in fall & winter
Flowers: inconspicuous, pale green, early summer
Fruit: smooth capsule
Stems:  creeping, develop roots, climbs if supported
Exposure:  sun to partial shade
Soil:  soil tolerant, dislikes wet
Uses:  groundcover, hedge, mixed border, foundation, vine, containers, screens, wildlife, low maintenance, filler for cut flowers, edging
Attracts: bees, birds, pollinators
Invasive Tendencies: in some locations
Tolerates drought once established.
Propagation:   cuttings, rooted stems
Pruning: early spring before growth begins & June ​after flowering, cut out any green stems asap
Maintenance: low
Problems:  easy to grow, euonymus scale
Comments: 
Emerald 'n' Gold wintercreeper is a versatile little shrub that brightens up gardens throughout the year with its small, luminous coloured green foliage edged in gold. Throughout fall and winter their foliage take on a pinkish tinge. 
 
This vibrant wintercreeper is a compact little shrub known for its foliage, not their flowers, which are quite insignificant. Their leaves are small, 1 to 2 inch long, and with vivid bi-coloured oval leaves. Their many and somewhat leathery, shiny leaves lie opposite each other along the stems.
 
Leaf variegation is not consistent nor the same from leaf to leaf nor stem to stem. Occasionally, pure yellow stems are produced amid the variegated ones. However, remove all green stems at their base asap. If left, the before the plant will revert to the plain green leaf species, and the variegation will be lost. 
 
Wintercreepers, as their name implies, creep along the ground. They also climb walls if given the chance by means of small rootlets that grow along the stems. When grown as a shrub they grow to a couple of feet, however, when grown as a vine, they have the potential to climb to 20ft. Their vibrant, multi-coloured evergreen foliage looks fabulous when grown as a screen on a trellis.
 
When grown as a shrub, wintercreepers spread horizontally. Those rootlets that allow them to climb also helps them root along the ground. This does make them invasive in some locations, however, here in the Pacific Northwest they do not run amok. To find out where they are a problem, click on this link Invasive Plants.
 
Wintercreepers have dense twiggy growth with small foliage that respond well to shearing and pruning. They are frequently sheared into geometric shapes and topiaries, however, because of their dense, rounded habit, they don’t need pruning. If you do want to give them a haircut, do so right after flowering in June. This also prevents seeds from forming, which can be a problem in areas where wintercreepers are invasive.
 
These adaptable, tough and versatile little shrubs grow in many types of soil, but it can’t be too wet as they will rot. Add compost and other organic matter to improve drainage and soil fertility. A 3-inch layer of organic mulch is also beneficial.
 
Tolerant of sun and shade, variegated types of wintercreepers are more colourful when they receive 6 hours of direct sunlight a day. Variegation is often lost when grown in shade, but they remain colourful in partial shade.
 
Cultivars
'Sunspot': green with large yellow centres.
'Emerald Gaiety': green and white foliage.
'Emerald Surprise': green with small yellow margins.
'Silver Queen': green with silver to white-edged.
'Minimus' (baby wintercreeper): ground hugging, wide spreading up to 6', small green leaves
'Colorata' (purple-leaved wintercreeper): purplish leaf undersides, low spreading groundcover

Cut out any green stems to prevent it reverting back to the non-variegated species.

A variegated euonymous is reverting back to plain green leaves.