Manhattan Euonymus

Light Needs

Partial Shade to Partial Sun

(3 - 6 Hours Of Direct Sunlight)

Mature Height

4-8 Feet

Mature Spread

5-8 Feet

Growing Zones

5 to 8

Evergreen foliage with fall interest, and summer flowers followed by berries rank among favorite features of Manhattan Euonymus (Euonymus kiautschovicus Manhattan). Its compact size of about 4 to 8 feet high and 5 to 8 feet of spread makes this an excellent year-round screen or border plant. Because it grows quickly, Manhattan Euonymus is an excellent hedge plant that can take pruning for shape and keep on growing. Or you can let it reach its natural form. Either way, you will love the foliage.

In fact, you can shape this shrub for topiary, espalier growth, or as a neat long hedge to run along a sidewalk or fence. Although the flowers are not super conspicuous, they do attract bees and they turn into bright pink and orange berries in the fall. The shrub provides lots of color in those tough spots with partial shade in zones 5 through 8 and is an easy-care and practical plant as well as striking in foliage. They also are resistant to euonymus scale, a disease that plagues some varieties of the shrub.

Manhattan Euonymus Care

Plant your new euonymus shrub where it will get part sun and part shade, a total of no more than about 4 to 6 hours of sun a day. It does best in most regions if planted in late winter or early spring, but fall planting is another option in areas with mild winters. It can grow in moderately fertile soil, as long as it drains well. It can adapt to plenty of soil conditions except soggy soil around its roots. Add a few inches of organic mulch around the shrub after planting.

Be sure to water the shrub regularly and deeply, especially in its first year. Continue to water weekly and more often in peak heat, the hottest zones it grows in, or if planting it in a container. Fertilize the plant with a balanced fertilizer or one to balance soil nutrients once a year, in spring. It does not need heavy pruning unless you want to shear the plant for a hedge effect. 

Manhattan Euonymus Spacing

Because this shrub grows quickly and spreads, be sure to account for its full size when planting near other shrubs or near structures. Give the plants at least 7 feet of space, a little closer for a hedge.