Euonymus fortunei 'Emerald Gaiety' – Variegated Evergreen Shrub (Set of 3 or 6)

A tough little evergreen with white edged leaves that keeps a border furnished in every month of the year.

Euonymus fortunei 'Emerald Gaiety' makes a neat bushy mound of small oval leaves, green in the middle with clean white margins, and the white often takes on a pink flush through the cold months. Three plants are enough for a short path edge, a patio group or a gap in a small border; six will line a longer border or make a low run of informal hedge with a repeated, settled look.

It will grow almost anywhere: full sun, partial shade or deep shade, most soils, cold gardens and seaside gardens, and it takes a clip whenever it needs one. Left alone it mounds up and spreads, and set against a wall it will climb slowly of its own accord. Variegated forms colour best with some sun and throw the occasional plain green shoot, which wants cutting out. All euonymus are poisonous to cats and dogs. Supplied as three or six well grown plants, ready to plant straight out.

Cultural Information

• Common Name: Wintercreeper, spindle
• Fully Grown Height and Spread: About 60cm to 100cm tall and 60cm to 100cm wide, taller against a wall
• Growth Habit: Compact, bushy, mound forming evergreen shrub
• Perfect For: Ground cover, edging, low hedging, borders, patio pots and wall training
• Foliage: Small oval leaves, green with clean white margins, often flushed pink in winter. Held all year.
• Flowering Time: Summer, though the small greenish white flowers are barely noticed
• Planting Position: Full sun, partial shade or full shade, including exposed and seaside gardens
• Soil Type: Most well drained soils, including chalk, clay, loam and sand
• Hardiness: Fully hardy right across Britain and happy in exposed spots
• Maintenance: Low. Trim in spring to shape and cut out any plain green shoots.
• Seasonal Interest: All year
• Type: Hardy evergreen shrub