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Euonymus warty is widespread in Russia. It is considered the most winter-hardy of the species and is planted even in regions where other members of the genus suffer from frost. Photos and descriptions of warty euonymus in autumn explain the reasons for its popularity as an ornamental plant. Ease of care and undemanding conditions for growing have made the crop indispensable in parklands.
Description of Euonymus warty
Euonymus Verrucosus, in Latin Euonymus verrucosus, is a species belonging to the genus Euonymus, widely distributed in temperate climates. Under natural conditions, it grows in rare deciduous and coniferous forests, oak forests, and clearings throughout the European part of Russia. The species is distributed from Narva in the north to the Krasnodar Territory in the south.
Euonymus warty is a deciduous tree up to 6 m high, but more often it is an erect shrub about 2 m (rarely - 3.5 m). Under natural conditions, the plant lives up to 80 years, as an ornamental crop - no more than 50.
Euonymus warty develops slowly, it even retains cotyledons for up to three years in sunny areas, in undergrowth conditions - about 7-8. The species produces its main growth in the first 15 years, when it stretches up to one and a half meters. Then the increase in size is extremely slow, and after 30 it stops.
The leaves are opposite, elliptical or elongated-ovate, light green, 2 to 6 cm long, with a pointed tip. The edge of the plate is finely serrated, the surface is smooth, sometimes pubescent along the veins. With sufficient light in the fall, the crown of the warty euonymus changes color to one of the shades of pink.
Small brownish-green flowers with four petals are collected in 3-7 pieces in panicles that emerge from the leaf axils. The buds open in May, at the same time as the lily of the valley. Flowering lasts a little less than a month, usually 27 days. Euonymus warty is pollinated mostly by flower flies; they are attracted by the unpleasant smell of the plant, which for some reason is called mouse.
The fruits are pink boxes with a diameter of 8-12 mm in the shape of a flattened ball. Black seeds up to 3 mm long, reaching maturity at the end of August or September, fall off after 7-10 days. Seedlings are red, berries are half surrounded. Fruiting begins at the age of six. Only 1-3% of flowers produce ovaries.
The warty euonymus got its name from its shoots covered with lentil-like growths.This is a loose fabric that allows branches whose bark has become suberized due to the high gutta-percha content to breathe. We can say that this species lives precisely thanks to the “warts”. Young shoots are very thin, green or olive. Over time, they darken, crack and become almost black.
The roots of Euonymus warty are superficial, fibrous, and well developed.
Use of Euonymus verrucosa
The wood of the warty euonymus is yellow, hard, and was previously used for making spindles and shuttles. Today, combs, musical instruments, hairpins, and knitting needles are made from it. The fatty oil extracted from the seeds is used in soap making. Brown and yellow natural dye is prepared from the fruit leaves.
Use of Euonymus warty in medicine
Leaves, bark, branches, seeds, horses and fruits have medicinal properties. They are dried in warm rooms protected from the sun with good ventilation. Leaves are harvested during the flowering period, seeds - at a time when they are already ripe, but have not yet had time to fall to the ground.
The medicinal properties of euonymus verrucosa are determined by its chemical composition; other ingredients include:
- glycosides that regulate cardiac activity;
- carbohydrates;
- pectin;
- organic acids;
- vitamin C;
- alkaloids;
- tannins;
- steroids;
- flavonoids;
- anthraglycosides, which have a laxative effect.
Preparations in the manufacture of which use warty euonymus, lotions, decoctions, and alcohol infusions help in the treatment of:
- headaches;
- swelling;
- liver;
- nervous disorders;
- hypertension;
- impotence;
- to normalize heart rate;
- intestinal disorders.
Why is euonymus dangerous?
The most poisonous berries are the euonymus warty. Although they have a not too pleasant taste, they have a sweetish taste, and they also look elegant, so they attract children. An adult is unlikely to eat enough fruit to become seriously poisoned, but for a fragile, growing organism, the poison can be truly dangerous.
Even an overdose of Euonymus warty preparations can cause:
- heart rhythm disturbance;
- nausea and vomiting;
- intestinal inflammation and diarrhea;
- convulsions, chills.
First aid for poisoning is gastric lavage, enema, taking sorbents. The patient should remain at rest and his cardiac activity should be monitored.
Use of rubber from Euonymus verrucosa
The roots, bark and leaves of euonymus contain gutta-percha, the chemical composition of which is the same as rubber. The most valuable technical substance can be obtained from the Warty and European species. In the first half of the last century, bush plantations were even established to extract gutta-percha in the northern latitudes.
But with the development of the chemical industry and the advent of cheap artificial polymers, the need for them disappeared.Deciduous euonymus grow slowly, and most of the gutta-percha is contained in the roots, so today it is unprofitable to extract it from plants.
Use as an ornamental plant
Euonymus verrucosa is an ornamental tree and shrub that is widely used in creating hedges, decorating fences and outbuildings. They are planted on steep slopes of ravines and along steep banks of reservoirs to prevent soil erosion. In the landscaping of parks and forest parks, the warty euonymus often acts as undergrowth.
The plant does not have much decorative value in spring and summer. Although the bushes look attractive, they cannot compete with other crops, including evergreen species. But in the fall everything changes. As you can see in the photo, the warty euonymus is dressed in pink foliage; fruits of the same color with red aneurysms hang on long stalks. The plant looks simply fantastic.
You can plant warty euonymus as part of large and small landscape groups or as a tapeworm (single focal plant). Lately, gardens of autumn flowers have come into fashion. There, deciduous euonymus, including the warty one, are more than appropriate.
Planting and caring for euonymus warty
Euonymus is an easy-to-care crop. But different species may have different requirements for growing conditions. The warty euonymus, compared to others, is more demanding on soil fertility. Under natural conditions, it most often grows as the undergrowth of deciduous forests, on loose, humus-rich soils, neutral or slightly alkaline.
Landing rules
Euonymus warty is planted in the south in early autumn, in other regions - in the spring, when the snow melts and the soil warms up a little. The place should be chosen dry; the culture does not tolerate soaking the roots. Sand, peat or compost should be added to dense soil; acidic soil should be improved with chalk or lime. Euonymus warty grows best in higher elevations under the protection of larger trees.
On well-permeable, moderately fertile soils, it is enough to dig a planting hole twice the volume of the root system, cover it with soil, compact it, and water it abundantly. If groundwater is close, or the planting site is prone to waterlogging, a drainage layer of 15-20 cm should be arranged from broken red brick, expanded clay, and gravel.
In excessively poor soils, sandstones add a handful of complex fertilizers. Rich chernozems are brought into compliance with the requirements of Euonymus warty with the help of sand. The plant takes root well, but does not like transplants, especially in adulthood. You need to immediately take into account the size of the deciduous euonymus in 10-15 years.
When creating a hedge, a shallow ditch is made instead of holes. After planting and watering, the tree trunk circle is mulched with low-lying peat; you can use well-rotted sawdust or tyrsa.
Watering and fertilizing
Euonymus warty tolerates dry soil well. It needs special watering only in the driest summers in the absence of rain. This species has slightly greater feeding requirements than others.It responds well to spring fertilization with a mineral complex with a high nitrogen content and autumn phosphorus-potassium fertilization.
Shade tolerance of Euonymus warty
In relation to light, warty euonymus can be called a culture that does not like extremes. If you plant it in deep shade, it will not die, the shoots will simply stretch out and become thinner, and in the fall the leaves will not turn pink, but simply turn brown. Flowering will also be scanty, and since only 1-3% of berries are produced, they will not be able to serve as decoration for the bush.
In strong sun, the distance in the internodes will be reduced, the warty euonymus will become compact, but the foliage will burn, which will also not add decorativeness. The best location for the plant should resemble conditions in the wild - light partial shade or good light part of the day, preferably in the morning.
Trimming
All euonymuses tolerate pruning well. Although deciduous species gain height slowly, the side shoots grow well. Euonymus warty does not require special shaping. Only frozen, dry, diseased, broken branches and those that are too elongated or simply spoil the view or block the view of other crops are cut out.
If in a landscape group the plants are located close to each other, it is necessary to remove some of the shoots that are not noticeable from the point of inspection and that come into contact with other trees or shrubs. This will not cause any harm to the euonymus, and the composition will become much more attractive, and neighbors will exchange diseases and pests less.
Since the crop has attractive not only leaves, but also fruits, formative pruning is best done in the fall, after the seeds have fallen.
Preparing for winter
It is believed that the wart is the most winter-hardy of the euonymuses. Under natural conditions it grows even in the Leningrad region. It is usually not covered for the winter. Increasing resistance to frost is facilitated by autumn moisture replenishment and fertilizing at the end of the season with phosphorus-potassium fertilizers.
You can protect a crop planted in an open place by covering the bush with a cape made of white agrofibre or lutrasteel.
Fruits of Euonymus warty
The berries are the most poisonous part of the euonymus warty; their taste, although sweetish, is not very pleasant. An adult cannot eat enough to become seriously poisoned, and will most likely end up with vomiting and diarrhea. But the taste of children can be bizarre; some kids gobble up safe, but disgusting, bitter black privet berries on both cheeks. It is the younger generation that needs to be closely monitored while next to a bush hung with bright red and pink earrings.
But in the nutrition of birds, the fruits of the euonymus occupy an important place. Linnet is especially fond of berries that ripen in August-September. Passing through the bird's digestive tract, the seeds increase germination.
Reproduction
Euonymus warty is best propagated by root suckers, which simply need to be planted in spring or autumn.
Layers also take root well. In early spring, a twig located at the surface of the soil or inclined towards the ground is fixed in a shallow groove and sprinkled with soil.Water little by little all summer, and plant them in a permanent place in the fall or at the beginning of the next season.
Green cuttings cut in June-July are rooted in a peat-sand mixture or perlite. The substrate is not allowed to dry out, and in the fall they are planted in a schoolhouse or in a permanent place.
Euonymus warty can be propagated by seeds. But they do this only when they need to get a lot of plants. Even nurseries that sell crops in dozens rather than hundreds of specimens prefer vegetative rather than seed propagation.
The fastest way to obtain an ornamental plant is from offspring. In next place are the layerings; they are delayed in development for about a year. Not all cuttings take root, but they give quite satisfactory results and may even bloom in 2-3 years. Euonymus obtained from seeds is planted in open ground after 2-3 years, and all this time it needs to be kept somewhere and carefully looked after. It will bloom no earlier than in 6 years.
Diseases and pests
Unlike its relatives, the warty euonymus is resistant to the euonymus moth. The greatest danger to the species is posed by the following pests:
- aphids that destroy flowers, young leaves and shoots;
- spider mite, which tightens thin threads on the back side of the leaf and sucks the juice from it;
- a weevil that eats leaves in the spring;
- caterpillars that the euonymus seems to “pull” towards itself from other crops, including fruit crops;
- Euonymus moth eating berries.
Pests are controlled using appropriate insecticides.
You should pay attention to the following diseases of euonymus:
- viral mosaic, which begins with the appearance of yellow spots on the leaves, which become deformed over time;
- powdery mildew is a fungal disease that manifests itself as a white coating on vegetative organs;
- spotting - spots appear on the leaves first, then pads or dots with fungal spores;
- necrosis, in which the bark changes color, then cracks, peels off, and dies.
To date, they have not learned how to treat viruses, but for fungal diseases, the bush is treated with fungicides, in advanced cases - three times, with an interval of 2-3 weeks.
Conclusion
Photos and descriptions of the warty euonymus give an idea of the shrub during different periods of the growing season. Its main purpose is to serve as an ornamental plant in private and public gardens and to attract birds to the site. The warty euonymus looks especially beautiful in the fall. Fans will appreciate the bizarre appearance of the plant after leaf fall and before the dots bloom, when the convex lentils on the almost black cracked bark are especially noticeable.
