A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion Landscape trials and triumphs Help with new euonymus bushes!

Hello! My name is Mandy. I live in Boise, ID (zone 5a or 6 depending where you look).

I planted four euonymus plants near the begining of April. Now two of them are dropping leaves, and I am afraid they are going to die! When we created the bed to landscape, we pulled up grass and dug up the dirt to 2 feet instead of rototilling. We also added sterile topsoil to fill the bed and mixed it with the existing soil. I made sure that the bed was deep enough to hold a mature and full grown bush, and I was careful to plant them over 5 feet apart. When I planted the bushes, I followed several suggestions, including adding mulch and potting soil to the hole, using a root stimulant fertilizer and adding tree/shrub spikes. The four plants are small, I think the biggest container we bought was a gallon container.

In the middle of April, we had a few frosts, but the plants are supposed to be hardy to -10, -20, -30 degrees F. Does anyone think they may have frozen since they were new transplants? If they are frozen, will they come back next year, or are they dead? The nursery I bought them from has a 1 year guarantee, and they already said that they'd exchange them, but I want to avoid that if there is a chance that I can save them.

I have two Harlequin euonymus, Euonymus fortunei 'Harlequin,' one is doing wonderfully, and the other is losing leaves like crazy.


(The un-healthy one)


(The healthy one)

The third one (the second plant I am worried about), is a golden euonymus, Euonymus japonica 'aureo marginata,' and it's doing the same thing.


The fourth is a golden maiden euonymus, Euonymus japonica 'golden maiden,' but it's also doing well.



Anyway,thanks for reading my post, and I'm excited to look around at the forum!

I forgot to add: I have been applying a product that is called Thrive from a locally run and owned nursery/feed store. It is a shrub and tree fertilizer that is meant to help save a dying shrub or tree. I have used it before on shrubs and trees that I thought were going to die, and they have come back beautifully!

I would give them a little more time and watch for new growth. They've had a few shocks in their short life time. You have plenty of time on your warranty to wait it out.

^Thahanks for the input. I have never seen a plant react to transplanting this poorly! I am keeping my eyes on the problem. I don't want them to die!