Winter Creeper (Euonymus fortunei)
[yew-ON-ih-mus for-TOON-ee-eye]

Name_Pronunciation u-ON-i-mus for-TU-ne-i
Evergreen Perennial Vine-like shrub in the Celastraceae Family
An evergreen vine, groundcover, or shrub -- however you train it -- grown for tough, year-round variegated foliage. Vigorous and adaptable almost to a fault.

Commonly called Winter Creeper for good reason! This vine will grow anywhere you want it and some places you don't. Its unique ability to shapeshift from vine to groundcover to bush makes it an excellent choice for stone walls, trellises, foundations, or other areas that look nice when covered with a "cascading effect" of evergreen Euonymus foliage. However, buyer beware: we do mean covered. This plant is an ambitious grower and will take over just about everything if you let it!

This plant comes in green/pink, white/green, green/yellow, several green and gold single tones, and two-tone green shades. It's quite stunning when kept in check and extremely un-picky about growing conditions, so it's a reliable and hardy choice for year-round color.

Pros

  • Evergreen, year-round foliage in many variegated forms
  • Extremely adaptable -- full sun to deep shade, many soils
  • Trainable as groundcover, climbing vine, or shrub

Cons

  • Vigorous, aggressive grower -- can overtake structures and spread into natural areas
  • Listed invasive in parts of the East and Midwest
  • Prohibited for sale in Indiana
Highlights A genuine shapeshifter -- the same plant can be a tidy evergreen groundcover, a climbing vine covering a wall, or a rounded shrub, depending entirely on how it's trained and pruned.
 

Plant Data

Mature Size 12 - 36 inches tall. 24 - 600 inches wide.
Growth Rate Rapid
Sun Exposure Full Shade - Full Sun
Moisture Tolerance Dry - Medium: Does not grow well in heavy wet soils.
Zones 5a - 9b (Usually hardy to -20° F)
Tags Dry, Evergreen, Full Shade, Full Sun, Medium, Partial Shade, Partial Sun, Perennial
Bloom Period Summer
Flower Color Greenish-White (Insignificant)
Foliage Color
 

Rankings
 

More Info from Experts

Commonly Planted with...

Pairs well with other tough evergreen shrubs such as Juniper and Boxwood.
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Pricing and Availability History

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Field-Grown vs. Greenhouse-Grown Plants

Plants which are well-adapted to our local climate are most often field-grown (outside). Field-grown plants are generally cheaper and have the advantage of already somewhat acclimated to our cold winters, but that means they’re not artificially far along in the spring and tend to bloom at the normal time in our area.

Spring annuals and tender perennials are typically grown in Greenhouses so they can be ready and luxurious exactly when customers want them. Some perennials are also “forced” into early bloom in greenhouses. In May, there can be a very big difference between field-grown and greenhouse-grown plants of the same type. The latter typically look good right away (so they’re a great choice where that’s important), but we typically pay a premium for it.


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No Pricing or Availability Right Now

We order from a rotating cast of the best nurseries in the Great Lakes region. It looks like we've offered this plant in the past, but the nurseries we're working with this week don't appear to have it in stock at the moment.

Our goal is to bring as many plants together under "one roof" as possible, so we'll try hard to make it available again in the future!