Japanese spindle

Japanese spindle: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Dense, upright evergreen shrub of 2–4 m.

Leaf

Opposite, 3–7 cm, oval to elliptic, bluntly toothed, thick, leathery and very glossy; often variegated, with a yellow or white edge.

Twigs

Green, slightly square twigs.

Flower

Inconspicuous, greenish-white flowers in June–July.

Fruit

Pink capsules with orange seeds, rare in our climate; poisonous.

Difference from spindle

Spindle is deciduous, with thinner, finely toothed leaves and large pink fruits.

Difference from wintercreeper

Euonymus fortunei has smaller leaves on creeping or climbing shoots.

Flowering: June–July · Pruning: May–June and August–September

Identify by feature: Evergreen leaves

Looks like it, but isn’t

• Spindle Euonymus europaeus: deciduous, with thinner, finely toothed leaves and large pink fruits. Difference from spindle
• Wintercreeper (Euonymus fortunei): smaller leaves on creeping or climbing shoots.

Why grow it?

• An evergreen hedge that tolerates sea wind and salt: ideal on the coast.
• Variegated forms give colour in winter.
• Grows in sun, partial shade and shade, on almost any soil.
• Easy to clip as a hedge or ball.

Japanese spindle: where does it grow best?

• Sun, partial shade or shade; variegated forms colour best in sun.
• Almost any free-draining soil, acid or chalky.
• Ideal on the coast: it tolerates sea wind, salt and sandy soil.
• Better an open, airy spot than a sheltered, dry corner, where it soon gets powdery mildew.

Light

Sun to shade

Legal basis

Any garden soil

Moisture

Normal

Size

3 m tall, 2 m wide

Hardiness

Throughout Belgium, no protection needed

Goes well with

• Sea buckthorn: A native coastal shrub with orange berries, for the same windy, salty spot.
• Tamarisk: Pink plumes and feathery foliage: together a windbreak by the sea.
• Escallonia: Another evergreen coastal hedge, with pink or white flowers in summer.

Good and bad companions

Goes well with

• Tolerates shade and suits planting under large trees such as: ginkgo, box elder, ash, honey locust, field maple, silver maple

Japanese spindle: when and how to plant it?

1. Plant in spring (April) or early autumn (September–October), root-balled or from a pot.
2. For a hedge: 3–4 plants per metre.
3. Dig a generous planting hole and mix in a little compost.
4. Water generously after planting and in dry spells during the first year.

Care

Watering

In dry spells during the first year; rarely after that.

Feeding

A little compost in spring.

Clipping

Trim a hedge twice a year (see pruning).

Checks

In summer, look out for powdery mildew and scale insects (see problems).

Tip: By the sea, plant it as the front line against the wind: in the shelter of a Japanese spindle hedge, more delicate plants can grow too.

Japanese spindle: when to prune it?

Pruning months: May–June and August–September.

When: In May–June and at the end of August.

How:

• Trim a hedge twice a year: in May–June and from late August into September.
• On variegated forms, remove shoots with all-green leaves: they grow more strongly and crowd out the variegated parts.
• It sprouts well from old wood: a hedge that has grown too big or bare can be cut back hard.

Caution: Wear gloves and clear up the prunings: all parts are poisonous, to pets and livestock too.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Cuttings

Semi-ripe cuttings of 10–15 cm root readily in summer or autumn under glass or plastic.

Japanese spindle: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy throughout Belgium: no protection needed.

• Hardy in Belgium and the Netherlands; on the coast it suffers least.
• In hard frost with cold east winds the leaves may scorch brown, especially on variegated forms and young plants; it sprouts again in spring.

Diseases and pests

• Powdery mildew: A white, powdery coating on the leaves, especially in a sheltered, dry spot. Cut off affected shoots and give it a more airy position.
• Scale insects: Small white and brown scales on twigs and leaves; the leaves turn yellow and drop. Cut off affected branches.
• Green shoots: Variegated forms sometimes produce shoots with all-green leaves. Cut them off at their base.

Through the year

• April: Plant root-balled or pot-grown plants.
• May: First trim.
• June: Trim; greenish-white flowers.
• July: Watch for powdery mildew and scale insects.
• August: Late August: second trim.
• September: Finish the second trim; plant and take cuttings.
• December: Variegated forms give colour in winter.

What can you use it for?

Garden and landscape

Evergreen hedge that tolerates sea wind and salt; variegated forms give colour in winter.

Caution: All parts are poisonous. In a sheltered, dry spot it quickly gets powdery mildew.

Did you know?

• It tolerates sea wind and salt like few other shrubs: that is why you see it in so many hedges on the coast.
• It is related to our native spindle: after a warm summer it sometimes bears the same pink fruits with orange seeds.