Euonymus latifolius, my favorite plant in the garden (this week)

You may recall my post from October '12 about the Euonymus europaeus 'Red Ace' in my parking strip.  My favorite plant in the garden this week is another Euonymus a.k.a. spindle tree, Euonymus latifolius.

Here's what Dan Hinkley wrote of this plant in his 1999 Heronswood catalog:  "If not the best of the spindle trees that we grow, then certainly the earliest, as this will be in full ripened fruit by Labor Day of every year, enticing a new legion of devotees during our autumn open house to this superlative deciduous, highly fruitful portion of the genus.  Dark green foliage on upright stems provide a delightful foil to the huge crops of large, bright red fruit ultimately opening to expose orange seeds.  Excellent autumn folial tones later in the season.  Full sun or light shade - having two to three plants for cross pollination is advisable. (They can be planted in the same hole if you are wanting for space.")

The first time I saw this in fruit at Heronswood,  I joined the legion of devotees of which Hinkley wrote.  I sought out and found two four inch pots of this at Heronswood and planted them together in the same hole.  They remained tiny twigs for quite some time but then began to put on some growth and finally began to produce fruit about five or six years ago. 

From http://www.plantdatabase.co.uk comes this information about the plant: 

"A bushy fully hardy perennial deciduous tree with cream flowers in early summer and late spring.  It grows well in direct sun and semi-shade, and prefers medium levels of water.  It has average drought tolerance.  Looks best in autumn."

The plant is hardy to -9 F and takes 16 - 20 years to mature.  I've had these for 14 years so they're still youngish.

With an ultimate height and spread of 15 feet, they can be pruned to be bushier but I've decided, because I'm lazy and not a very adept pruner, to let them grow without trimming.  They are now large enough to walk under and enjoy gazing up at the fruit.  I also like the way the more open form allows more light below so that things of interest during other seasons can grow beneath.

The blooming of Albizia julibrissin, which continues to be glorious, and extremely messy this year, signals the apex of summer in my garden, signaling that the inexorable slide toward fall is close at hand.  The Labor Day glory of  this Spindle Tree overlapping with the Albizia julibrissin, is telling me that it's time to say good bye to the folly of summer and get back to work and responsibility.  Le Sigh.   Anyway, this is a great plant for late summer and autumn color!

My favorite plant in the garden (this week) is a meme sponsored by my pal Loree at Danger Garden.  Click on the link to see the favorite plants of other gardeners as well.