Today we bring a shrub that, although now in summer, is not particularly noticeable, when autumn arrives, it will display the typical colors of the season, which will amaze anyone who takes a look at your garden.
The Winged Bonnet . This deciduous shrub is highly prized for this reason even for bonsai.
Index
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE WINGED BONNET ( EUONYMUS ALATUS )
We know that it is summer and it is not the specific time to talk about this shrub but I do wait until autumn.
In every garden, we like to have plants, trees and shrubs that provide different shades, sizes and shapes to make our little botanical corner the best possible combination.
The most spectacular thing that we usually fixate on are species with abundant and surprising blooms that fill with color for a few months a year, which normally coincide with those with the best climate in which to enjoy the garden.
After the summer hangover, it seems that the garden is already beginning to prepare for the harsh winter , and that is where we have to know how to combine other species so that autumn is another season with which to marvel from the window of the house.
We know that autumn gives colors in the deciduous trees very varied : brown, ocher, yellow, reddish green and even purple in some cases and depending on what lights we have at each moment of the day. An example of an explosion of color in the leaves is the case of the winged bonetero.
It is a shrub that belongs to the Celastraceae family . A family that is not so well known in our latitudes because most of the almost a thousand genera are tropical.
The Winged Bonnet belongs to one of these few genera ( Euonymus ) that are temperate native to Northeast Asia.
Its size varies from 1 to 3 meters in height although the most common variety for the garden is Winged Bonnet var. compactus that forms a ball of approximately 1.5 m in diameter.
Its bark is very delicate to look at, completely smooth, grayish in color with young green branches .
HOW TO GROW AND CARE FOR WINGED BONNET ( EUONYMUS ALATUS )
CLIMATIC CHARACTERISTICS
It is a tree that is indisputably resistant to many adversities. Withstands winter frosts down to -20 ºC .
At the same time it is very resistant to drought and wind.
It is not afraid of abundant sun exposure although it will also grow in semi-shady situations. It is slow growing so if you can give it more light than shade it is better.
The summer heats of the southern peninsula may be excessive for this species, which is cooler summers, but everything is to try if you like it a lot.
HOW TO WATER THE WINGED BONNET
As we have already mentioned, it can withstand drought well .
It can be planted both in the garden and in pots for terraces . If it is in the garden, it does not require special irrigation care and in temperate climates with normal rainfall there will not even be to water it.
In pots you may need hoses from time to time.
The most common and recommended is drip irrigation. With an output of 4 L / h it will be enough.
- Waterings in spring and summer: 3 to 4 waterings per week of 30 minutes
- Waterings in autumn and winter: 1 to 2 waterings per week of 20-30 minutes
SOIL AND FERTILIZER OF EUONYMUS ALATUS
It is also not picky about the soil. Good drainage is the only thing we will consider. Supports acidic, neutral and alkaline soils to some extent.
Its pH range is quite loose so that we do not worry. In limestone soils it develops well but it can suffer some iron chlorosis that will have to be solved with iron chelates.
CAN THE WINGED BONNET BE PRUNED?
It is not advisable . It is such a showy shrub in itself that pruning is not necessary, even being harmful because they grow deformed.
Pruning will be a resource in case of extreme need such as a wind blow that twists or knocks it down.
So if you do not know which shrub to put for the fall, this is an option that you cannot ignore.