lowict, burning bush (Euonymus alatus) is only red in the fall--the rest of the year it's pretty unimpressive--not even any bloom. I don't know of any shrub except perhaps certain Japanese Maples that are "red" all year, but if you would accept purple, you have much greater choice--Physocarpus 'Diablo', Cotinus 'Royal Purple' or 'Velvet Cloak' (no flowers but best color when cut back yearly to a stub so you get an 8 foot flush of growth), Sambucus 'Black Beauty' and 'Black Lace'.

So i have researched the chinese pistache tree and it is incredibly beautiful with its fall/ winter colors...So now my next question is where do you buy one?!?!?! I have been all over town to different nurseries and they all tell me that they either don't know about the tree, where to find it, or even what it is. I looked at moon valley nursery, and even though they are a little pricey, they dont have it and they said that the best they could offer is the Sweetgum tree...So (1) Does ANYONE who has a Chinese Pistache know where to buy one and (2)Does anyone know about the sweetgum tree? Thanks for all of your help! -AZnursingstudent.

As someone who battles invasive woody plants, I'd love to have you rethink that if you are in an area where these are listed as invasive. (In NH they are bad enough to be on the list of plants that are illegal to sell.) Each bush can produce thousands of seeds annually, and just because you've only found 2 that are bush size doesn't mean it will stay that way; you are making that decision for everyone you share birds with as well. I really don't want to sound like I am lecturing - rather consider it the voice of experience from someone with many years of gardening in both rural and suburban areas. I currently live on a farm with quite literally thousands of invasives that we battle via pulling, mowing, and herbicides, though I don't like having to use herbicides. Seeds can remain in suspended animation in the soil for years, to grow when conditions are right, so if you wait until there's a problem with an invasive, it's too late to do more than control it. You can check with your state's department that deals with environmental issues or even just do a web search with burning bush and your state's name to find out if it is a problem in your area. There are native Euonymus with red fall foliage that might be a better choice if you really want a Euonymus, but in all honesty, I find several plants to be more attractive if you want some alternatives. Euonymus are just big (make that giant if you don't want to prune annually) green blobs for most of the year. You don't say where you are, so I'll give you some plants that grow locally for me, and at the bottom I will add how to add your location to your profile so you may get some other, more appropriate suggestions. - Blueberries are a similar bright red in the fall. Some have colored winter twigs, and they have ornamental spring flowers as well as the berries for you and the birds. They do need acid soil. - Another similar acid lover with nice gold and orange fall color is Enkianthus which has similar bell-shaped flowers to the blueberries. - Fothergilla has fuzzy white bottlebrush spring flowers that smell like honey that come from attractive chartreuse buds, and the fall color is a symphony of red, gold, and orange. I think it's the top shrub I've ever seen for fall color. - Many of the viburnums I grow have great fall color. Probably the best is one of the V. plicatum cultivars (perhaps Maresii?) which has billows of white spring flowers and bright red fall foliage. Sorry I couldn't find a fall photo of it. Many of the others are natives that might be hard to source but here's one of them, I think a Popcorn viburnum that's in mostly shade. IME would be brighter with more sun. This is one of the wild viburnums in the woods, probably V. cassinoides, in full shade, though it has lost many of its leaves and would be fuller and nicely shaped grown in more light. (I just don't have any photos of the nicer ones in good color.) - My ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius) Coppertina has reddish foliage all season but gets brighter to form a deep purple-toned red in the fall. In addition it has a lovely fountain shape, pinkish-white late spring flowers, and red seed capsules that contrast beautifully with the summer foliage. Here's how to add zone and location info to your profile: Go to Your Houzz in upper right of every page, click Edit Profile, and on the left side click advanced settings. Well down the advanced settings page is a blank labeled Climate Zone for Garden Forums along with a link to find your zone. If you add info on your state or the nearest large city you will get even better information since zone only relates to average coldest winter temperatures. Then return to the top of the page and click Done Editing.

"I don't want to hear anything about it being invasive, nobody really cares." LOTS of people care - just not you!! Burning bush is typically very reliable about producing fall color, the exception being those planted in much shade (the color is washed out and faded). IME, ones that receive too special a treatment (lots of water and fertilization) also tend not to color up as well. And there is always the possibility of it being mislabeled :-) If the plant is just not performing up to your requirements, get rid of it and replace with something that will - itea, various viburnums, aronia and blueberries all get great red fall color. And NONE of these are a listed invasive species, either!!