Spindle

Spindle: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Shrub or small tree of 2–5 m, upright with a loose crown.

Leaf

Opposite, oval to lance-shaped, 5–8 cm, finely toothed; red autumn colour.

Bark

Young twigs green and square, often with corky ridges.

Flower

Inconspicuous greenish-yellow flowers in May.

Fruit

Pink, four-lobed capsules that split open to reveal orange seeds (autumn); poisonous.

Difference from common dogwood

Common dogwood has curved veins and red twigs.

Flowering: May–June · Pruning: November–March

Identify by feature: Red autumn colour · Orange berries

Looks like it, but isn’t

• Common dogwood Cornus sanguinea: curved veins and red twigs. Difference from common dogwood

Why grow it?

• Pink fruits with orange seeds and red autumn colour.
• Native: flowers for insects, seeds for robins.
• Needs little pruning and is easy in a mixed hedge.

Spindle: where does it grow best?

• Sun to partial shade; in sun the autumn colour and fruits are at their best.
• Ideally chalky, fertile soil that doesn’t dry out; no wet feet.
• Allow 3 m width.
• Not where young children play, alongside a field with livestock or right next to the vegetable garden.

Light

Sun or partial shade

Legal basis

Any garden soil

Moisture

Normal

Size

5 m tall, 3 m wide

Hardiness

Throughout Belgium, no protection needed

Goes well with

• Guelder rose: Red berries next to pink fruits: a riot of autumn colour in a mixed hedge.
• Hazel: A native shrub for the same hedge, with catkins in winter.
• Wild privet: Black berries and scented flowers, on the same chalky soil.
• Field maple: Yellow autumn colour next to the red leaves of the spindle.

Good and bad companions

Goes well with

• Together a mixed native hedge, good for birds and insects: hawthorn, blackthorn, hazel, dog rose, common dogwood, guelder rose, wild privet, field maple

Spindle: when and how to plant it?

1. Plant from November to March, bare-root or root-balled.
2. In a mixed hedge or hedgerow: one plant every 1–1.5 m among other native shrubs.
3. Plant at the same depth as before and firm the soil.
4. Water in dry spells during the first year.

Care

Watering

In dry spells during the first year; hardly at all after that.

Feeding

Not needed; a little compost on poor soil.

Checking

In May–June, look for spindle ermine webbing and black aphids (see problems).

Fruits

Leave them for the birds, but keep children away.

Tip: Plant it where the autumn sun falls on it, ideally in front of a dark background such as a holly hedge: the pink fruits and red leaves will really light up.

Spindle: when to prune it?

Pruning months: November–March.

When: Dead, diseased and broken branches can be removed at any time of year. If pruning is needed, do it during winter dormancy (November–March).

How:

• Needs little pruning; thin out old branches in winter.
• Every few years, saw one of the oldest stems off at the base so that young shoots can come through.
• Wear gloves and clear up the prunings: the twigs and leaves are poisonous too.

Caution: Finish the winter pruning before mid-March, when the nesting season starts.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Sowing

Sow the orange seeds, cleaned of their fleshy coat, outdoors in autumn; they often take a year and a half to germinate. Wear gloves.

Cuttings

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

Spindle: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy throughout Belgium: no protection needed.

• Fully hardy.
• The split fruits often hang on into winter, as colourful food for robins and other birds.

Diseases and pests

• Spindle ermine: In May–June the shrub can be completely covered in webbing and stripped bare by the caterpillars of the spindle ermine moth. Spectacular but harmless: it releafs in July. If you like, cut out the first webs.
• Black bean aphid: Spindle is the winter host of the black bean aphid: in spring the shoot tips are covered in black aphids, which then move on to broad beans and other plants. So don’t plant it right next to the vegetable garden.
• Few fruits: Too much shade gives few flowers and fruits; give it more sun.

Through the year

• January: Winter pruning: thin out the oldest stems.
• February: Pruning and planting.
• March: Finish pruning before mid-March; last month for planting.
• May: Flowering; watch for spindle ermine webbing and aphids.
• July: Stripped shrubs releaf.
• September: Autumn colour begins; the fruits turn pink.
• October: Fruits split open: orange seeds for robins.
• November: Planting; winter pruning can start.
• December: Winter pruning.

What can you use it for?

Garden and landscape

Native shrub for a mixed hedge, with superb autumn colour and fruit.

For wildlife

Robins eat the seeds.

Caution: All parts are poisonous: don’t plant it where young children play.

Good for wildlife

Birds

Berries, seeds or insects as food, or a place to nest.

Caterpillars

Host plant: caterpillars of butterflies or moths eat the leaves.

Hoverflies

Open flowers for hoverflies; many of their larvae eat aphids.

Did you know?

• The fruit looks like a cardinal’s hat. All parts are poisonous.
• Its hard, fine-grained wood was once used to make spindles for spinning wool: hence the English name.
• Charred twigs gave drawing charcoal; in French, drawing charcoal is still called ‘fusain’.
• Its hard, fine-grained wood was once used for spindles to spin wool, hence the English name. The French word fusain is also the name of the drawing charcoal made from its wood.
• In May and June the shrubs are sometimes completely wrapped in webs spun by caterpillars of the spindle ermine moth. It looks dramatic, but the shrub simply puts out new leaves afterwards.