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The burning bush from hell (euonymus)

11 years ago

Please someone tell me how/when I can try to do something with this beast from the 60's! Previous owner did some silliy hacking to try and make it look like a tree. But it isn't , it has grown in quite a bit over the past 2 years .the top touches the ground with every rain ... Not to mention it's hideous! Thank you for any help you might be able to offer.

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Comments (12)

RachaelLemmon
Original Author
11 years ago
In all it's glory.......
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
11 years ago
cut it at ground level.. and apply 100% round up or stump killer...

OR!!!!!

cut to 3 feet and start digging.. using the 3 footers for leverage to find and cut all the roots ...

ALL OF THEM ARE FORM HELL .. they are highly invasive in many areas ...

this one was poorly sited .. about 10 feet too close to the house.. and poorly maintained for decades... exactly how do you think you can make things better ... lol .. other than thru removal ....

be done with it ..

good luck

ken

ps: i love new owners.. you can really tell them the God's honest truth.. w/o hurting their feelings.. blaming all on the prior owners.. lol ...
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Related Discussions
Burning bush invasive?
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Comments (11)
Anita, Definitions of invasiveness, especially here on GW, are pretty varied, and often a contentious issue. *stepping up on soapbox* From a conservation & stewardship standpoint, Euonymus species (specifically Euonymus alatus, Burning Bush) is an exotic listed in many states, including Illinois, as an invasive plant. The weed alert I've linked to below says, "While it behaves well in urban areas, E. alatus planted near woodlands, mature second-growth forests, and pastures can be problematic. " Speaking as a natural resource/conservation "professional", I have seen burning bush escape cultivation to form a heavy understory in wooded natural areas in Illinois and Indiana, outcompeting native species. I've also spent many, many hours on controlling this species in natural areas in both states. From a gardener's perspective, I recently helped a friend with burning bush in his yard hand pull a bed full of seedlings. His shrub reseeds pretty prolifically. For myself, even though I live near dowtown in an urban area, with little chance that a Euonymus in my yard would escape to invade a natural area, I choose not to plant this species in my garden. This is a very heavy seeding tree, and well visited by birds who can spread the seed far and wide. And besides, all of my conservation buddies/coworkers would mock me mercilessly if I did plant it. :) Just as a disclaimer, I'm not a pure native species gardner, since I have plenty of exotics all through my yard. But, remembering my years trying to control invasives in natural areas definitely encourages me to avoid cultivating them myself. *stepping off soapbox* So, in answer to your actual question, burning bush may be invasive in your garden, depending on your conditions and the cultivar that you plant. Here is a link that might be useful: Burning Bush Invasives Alert
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Comments (4)
In my case it might be the condition of the mulch under the bush. One being better for germination survival than the other, rather than something genetic. Here's the 'Compatus' or Compacta', as Sunset says. I took this one out because the wings were much less pronounced than the species, therefore, much less interesting to visitors. That's a Smoke Tree behind it. Where there's smoke, there's fire. Mike Old pic from 2002
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Comments (5)
Yeah, but it doesn't have the right character for that. I have a customer who has an old, open one that hangs over the driveway. It is sprouting at the base and practically shouting to have the old, bulging top cut away and replaced by the basal growths, which look much better. They are keeping the old top instead. Completely out of scale and intrusive. As mentioned, you can cut an overlarge one off near the ground and get a new, big top only few to several years later--unless the plant is in poor condition. Or try one of the newer, supposedly dwarfer selections. I've seen 'Fireball' at one or two local places already, so these types are making it through the pipeline out to us.
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Comments (4)
No contest: bag them. Invasive. Green blobs except for maybe....3 weeks out of the year. You can achieve a similar fall foliage impact impact with dwarf fothergilla, itea Henry's Garnet, or, a small clethra cultivar. Fothergilla has fragrant flowers and a tidy habit; Clethra has fragrant late flowers; I can't remember itea's flowers but its fall colors will knock your socks off. All three good for pollinators and the human soul. I'm sure there are others, but I have these three and can vouch for them.
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ericwi
11 years ago
That shrub must be 30 or 40 years old. I would be inclined to remove it, even though getting the roots out will take considerable effort. You might want to hire someone to do this.
0
brandon7 TN_zone7
11 years ago
No need to get all the roots out. Do as Ken suggest and apply concentrated glyphosate to the phloem of the freshly cut stump. Then, in a week or so, dig out the main part of the stump (if desired). BTW, concentrated RoundUp/glyphosate is not 100%; it's typically 18% to 41%. Also, the regular stuff (not the fast acting stuff) works better for this application.
0
jean001a
11 years ago
Triclopyr is more effective against woodies than is glyphosate.
0
laceyvail 6A, WV
11 years ago
I agree with Ken--take it out.
0
RachaelLemmon
Original Author
11 years ago
I was hopeful.... Yes it was planted shortly after they built the house in 53... They did this odd pruning 3 yrs ago before we bought the house.... Needless to say we bought in February so I didn't quite know what to think of it . Thanks...ill call the arborist and see what the damages are .

This post was edited by RachaelLemmon on Mon, May 20, 13 at 15:42
0
cearbhaill (zone 6b Eastern Kentucky)
11 years ago
I don't think you need an arborist- all you need is a saw!
0
Dave in NoVA • N. Virginia • zone 7A
11 years ago
Shrubs like that are fairly easy to remove. I use a Saws-All on roots and it works quite well. I removed a huge euonymus 'Manhatten' that way. It was about 10 feet tall. Euonymus wood is fairly light I think?
0
brandon7 TN_zone7
11 years ago
Cearbhaill wrote, "I don't think you need an arborist- all you need is a saw!"

I agree....well, maybe a saw and a small bottle of herbicide.
_____________________________________________

Jean001a wrote, "Triclopyr is more effective against woodies than is glyphosate."

As a general statement, that is just untrue.

This post was edited by brandon7 on Tue, May 21, 13 at 20:59
0
RachaelLemmon
Original Author
10 years ago
Almost done. All I have is a hand saw... Just had to post this for you Ken..... I know you hate them. One last trunk and she's a goner....man my arms are burnin !!! :) this thing was truly huge. Will my garden there be affected by the " round up" ?
0
brandon7 TN_zone7
10 years ago
Rachael, you need to apply the concentrated glyphosate (RoundUp, Gly-4, etc) or triclopyr (Brush-B-Gon, Garlon, etc) to the freshly-cut stumps. A small amount will go a long way, so you shouldn't have to worry at all about it hurting anything else in your garden. All you need to do is put a small amount (maybe a teaspoon per stump) on the freshly-cut phloem (the area just inside the bark).

I wish we had been able to tell you this before now, because your cuts will have lost their ability to effectively transfer the chemical by now. I hate to tell you this, but you will need to re-cut the stumps (down an inch or more from the current level) and do it ASAP for this treatment to work, at this point.

BTW, the slow-acting RoundUp (glyphosate without the fast-acting additives) will work much better, especially in this case, than the quick-results stuff.
0

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