Euonymus japonicus 'Green Spire'

Common name: Japanese Spindle 'Green Spire'

Description: Euonymus japonicus 'Green Spire' is a distinguished and highly practical evergreen shrub of strongly upright, columnar habit that has earned a well-deserved reputation as one of the most useful and versatile structural plants available to the British gardener. Where many evergreen shrubs spread broadly and require regular clipping to maintain a tidy presence, 'Green Spire' naturally forms a neat, slender, upright column of densely packed, glossy, deep green foliage that provides a bold and formal vertical accent in the garden with minimal intervention, making it an outstanding choice wherever an emphatic upright evergreen form is required without the considerable space demands of larger columnar trees. The small, oval, leathery leaves are a rich, lustrous dark green with a clean, polished texture that remains fresh, attractive, and presentable throughout the year, providing a reliable and handsome year-round presence of quiet but genuine distinction. 'Green Spire' is exceptionally tolerant of coastal exposure and salt-laden winds, making it one of the most valuable structural evergreens for seaside gardens where its tough, resilient constitution and smart appearance make it practically without equal as a formal accent or low screening plant. It is equally at home in urban gardens, where it tolerates pollution, dry soils, and the challenging growing conditions of confined city spaces with commendable equanimity. The columnar habit makes it particularly effective when planted in pairs to frame entrances, doorways, and garden features, as a formal punctuation point in a border, or in a line to create a neat, space-efficient evergreen screen or windbreak that provides year-round privacy without the lateral spread of a traditional hedge.

Other benefits: strongly upright columnar habit providing bold vertical accent with minimal space; handsome glossy dark green evergreen foliage of year-round quality; exceptional coastal exposure and salt wind tolerance; excellent urban and pollution tolerance; effective as a formal accent, in pairs to frame features, or in a line as an efficient evergreen screen; low maintenance and long-lived

Wildlife attraction: bees and other pollinating insects when in flower; small fruits occasionally attractive to birds

Height & spread (approx.) at 10 years: 2m x 0.5m

Position: full sun to partial shade; tolerates deep shade better than many evergreens though habit and foliage quality are best in a reasonably well-lit position; excellent in coastal and urban gardens; tolerates exposed and windy positions with great reliability

Soil pH: highly adaptable; performs well in neutral to slightly alkaline soils; pH 6.0–7.5; tolerates a wide range of soil types including dry, poor, and compacted urban soils; good drainage is beneficial though tolerates heavier clay soils reasonably well

Moisture: moderate watering when establishing; tolerates drought and dry soils once established with considerable reliability; prefers well-drained soil; avoid prolonged waterlogging

Winter hardiness: hardy to approximately -15°C; thoroughly reliable throughout the UK including in coastal and exposed situations; may sustain minor foliage damage in the most severe and prolonged hard winters but will regenerate readily