Japanese Spindle (Euonymus japonicus) cultivar leaves by mauroguanandi
TheGardenLady received this question from Carol.
I just bought a golden euonymus. Is that an acid living plant.
What a pretty accent shrub you will have with your golden Euonymus (probably Euonymus japonicus ‘Aureo-marginatus’). This pretty shrub is easy to grow in that it likes average soil and can adapt to most soils. It is not fussy about soils or pH. For this reason it is considered a low maintenance shrub.
What it needs is well draining soil. It does not tolerate wet, swampy conditions. During the first year, you should water your euonymus weekly unless you have a period of heavy rain. But if there is a drought it should be watered more frequently. As it matures the euonymus will tolerate more drought. But it does not like drought, so if there is a long period without rain, you should water even the mature plant.
For the best coloration of the golden leaves your euonymus wants full sun- though it will tolerate some shade.
Feed twice each month, from spring until early fall, with a water-soluble fertilizer. TheGardenLady recommends using organic worm castings fertilizer. There are numerous brands that you can buy. Here is just one worm fertilizer site. Worm castings fertilizer companies claim that this fertilizer helps prevent a lot of diseases. TheGardenLady thinks that has yet to be proven but I am going over to using worm casting fertilizer in my garden.
However, be aware that euonymous plants do have a number of insect problems. The most common is euonymous scale.