Not sure about the willow but I have a few Euonymus (burning bush) shrubs and they are *barely* hardy. Every stem dies back to the trunk every winter, then regrows about 12" every summer, so they never increase in size. The dead stems from previous years persist so they give a strange, "dead winged pom-pom" effect. They are only hardy in my yard right next to the house. May be something to do with hardiness too but only rarely do I see the incredible fall colour on them. One thing that was interesting was one of mine sported variegated a couple of years ago. It also grew one branch all white. It was pretty cool.

Ha! "Dead winged pompom" cracked me up. I almost did a spit-take with my banana and peanut butter. But it's good to know that my lust for a burning bush might be at least slightly misplaced. Thanks! Furthermore, thanks nutsaboutflowers for asking so many questions. I usually think, "Hey, good question", and want to know the answer as well.

Northspruce, that doesn't sound like much fun. All that dieback. Also, I bought it only because of the red.

The woman I bought it from said they had overwintered, and that it was from Manitoba. I hope I have one that's hardier than yours. I hope it's possible.

How much sun does the one near your house get? I was told lots of sun. I guess at the very least I should reconsider where I put it. It was going to be in a pretty wide open spot facing West.

Maye I should have waited and bought it later in the season. That way I'd know if it was still alive or not before the one year warranty was up.

Hykue

Check out the Proven Winners website. They show a Fireball Burning Bush that you might be able to get somewhere. It says it's not as suseptible to dieback. Maybe I should look into it, too.

Oh, and you're welcome. Questions should have been my middle name. =:)

I have the "Fire ball" one...although its actual name is Euonymus alatus "select". I've had it for 3 years now. It is still only a foot tall. :( I am going to give it a few more years though, because last winter it got mowed over by deer, so I figure it gets a 2nd chance. It doesn't look like it has much - if any - die back this year though. It is in quite a sheltered south-facing location.

As for fall color...I had so-so color the fall before last...last year I didn't have any fall color at all. It really depends on the fall I think. If it stays warm and then suddenly we get a bunch of frosts, the leaves just die green. If we have a long fall of cool nights, you'll get good color. So it won't be consistent.

Overall, I'm a little disappointed with it...if nothing else, it really is a single purpose plant for me. It looks very plain throughout the summer, so it's only season to shine is fall in my situation. I don't really look at the garden whatsoever through the winter to enjoy its bark.

BTW - I second Hykue about your questions, nutsaboutflowers!(I hope you don't mind if I start calling you "nuts"...I like typing shorter names!) Somebodies got to keep things hopping around here.

Funny how most people, when deciding what names to use for their children , think about every single possible way other kids could twist that name to make fun of them. I didn't even see "Nuts" coming. Duh.

But, if you want, that's O.K.

My friends found out a long time ago that I am anyway, ha, ha!! =:)

Oh, and I hate typing it in when I sign in, too. What was I thinking? I wonder if I could change it ???

Just keep yourself signed in here and you won't have to type it every time. :) And i should dig down to the end of this forum and find the introduction thread and all you newer-to-here people can introduce yourselves!

I've had two euonymous bushes for several years, and Gil is right about the dieback. It was okay for a few years - we must have had milder winters or more snowcover - but this year especially, i was despairing that they were gone. There's some budding out now, but only low to the ground. I don't want to have to dig them out because of where they are - they'd leave a big mess! :(

Crap! Does anyone else do research, make notes, find something they want, and then proceed to forget and/or lose the notes?

I just found my notes on Prairie Fire Dogwood, that say it gets brilliant red colored in fall. Should I have gotten one of those instead of the Burning Bush? Does anyone have one?

Am I the only one with the Blue Fox Willow?

I have decided to abbreviate you "NAF", I think it sounds nicer than Nuts. ;0)

One of my burning bushes is at my front door, which faces southeast with two giant spruce trees in front, so it gets sort of blazing morning/noon sun punctuated with spruce shade. Then shade in the afternoon. That one is pretty large, maybe 3 or 4' all the way around. The other one is against the southwest wall which gets very hot and dry and has a tall, skinny spruce above it and a more open situation. It never gets bigger than 2' all the way around. The previous owners planted them and it appears they have been here a long time.

I'm going to post some pics - they do fill out a little more as summer progresses. Mainly they are a novelty, their stems look fairly cool. Also I agree with Weeper's assessment of fall colour.

The large one:

The small one:

One of the variegated branches of 2008:

Thanks for the pictures Northspruce. Certainly not the look I was hoping for. I guess I'll plant it in a less conspicuous spot than I had planned, and hope for the best.

Could I be the only one with a Blue Fox Willow? Maybe nobody wants to tell me I picked two duds, ha, ha!

Turkestan Burning Bush is a little more hardy than euonymous alatus in my experience, but it's a small shrub by nature. Also it's got awesome seeds like the related Bittersweet.

Northspruce - What's to the left of the small one in the second picture? It looks nice and green and healthy.

NAF =:)

It's Mockorange, I love it with all my heart. ;0) It's just about to bloom.

I always tell DH that I love a certain plant "with all my heart" and he looks all grumpy. Yesterday it was sweet woodruff.