How to Grow Wintercreeper

If you are in need of a hardy and vigorous groundcover, consider wintercreeper. Also called Euonymus fortunei, it is an evergreen shrub that trails along the ground like a vine or attaches itself to vertical support with small roots much like an ivy. It is easy to grow and great for controlling erosion on a slope or as a decorative sidewalk edging.

Instructions

1. Choose the variety of wintercreeper that suits your taste. Purple-leaf is a woody vine with dark purple leaves in winter. Emerald 'n gold is a smaller bushier plant with yellow edged leaves. Grow erecta for a non-climbing variety with dark green leaves. For a short densely matted carpet, try kewensis. Bigleaf wintercreeper is the most cold hardy. All have small flowers and pale orange berries.

2. Plant 18 inches apart in full sun to deep shade. The warmer the area, the more shade the plant requires. Wintercreeper can grow in any soil, but does not like soggy conditions.

3. Provide support such as a trellis, if not using as a groundcover. This broad-leaf evergreen will attach to a brick or stone wall with small rootlets.

4. Water regularly as this plant does not tolerate drought conditions.

5. Propagate by taking tip cuttings in the summer. Use cuttings from lateral shoots to start ground cover plants and vertical shoots for shrub-like plants.

Tips & Warnings

• Wintercreeper can be invasive, so keep under control with careful pruning.

• Don't let children or pets eat the wintercreeper fruits as they can be toxic.