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EUONYMUS RADICANS *r 

 THE EVERGREEN CLIMBER 



What is the best hardy evergreen climber? What is the best substi- 

 tute for English iv^, in latitudes where the ivy is not hardy f These ques- 

 tions and others of similar import are repeatedly being asked. In reply, 

 horticulturists generally agree in recommending Euonymus radicans for 

 the purpose indicated. 



^■' = 



EADEES who have no in- 

 terest in mere names are 

 advised to skip this para- 

 graph — ^^and perhaps the 

 next one. The first point 

 to be decided is only a 

 question of one letter in 

 the spelling of a name; yet 

 it makes some difference 

 whether we say EVony- 

 mus or EUonymus. The old, familiar 

 spelling, euonymus, has been abandoned 

 by some leading botanists, including so 

 high an authority as Bailey. But the 

 form euonymus is here preferred, out 

 of respect for the members of the 

 trade, nearly all of whom so pronounce 

 it, and out of respect 

 fcr that worthy old 

 Greek botanist, Theo- 

 phrastus, who is said to 

 have named the plant 

 euonymus about three 

 centuries before the 

 Christian era. More- 

 over, isn 't euonymus 

 really more euphonious 

 than evonymus? Euony- 

 mus it shall be, there- 

 fore, in this article — 

 printer and proofreader 

 permitting. 



A True Boot-Climber. 



The word euonymus is 

 usually supposed to sig- 

 nify -'of good name" 

 or "of good repute." 

 The word radicans, of 

 course, means ' ' root- 

 ing, " and has reference 

 to the aerial roots by 

 means of which the 

 shrub climbs or creeps. 

 Euonymus radicans also 

 has several common 

 names, sUeh as the 

 climbing euonymus, the 

 creeping euonymus, the 

 evergreen climber and 

 the evergreen bitter- 

 sweet. 



We feel better ac- 

 quainted with plants, as 

 well as with people, 

 when we know some- 

 thing about their fam- 

 ily connections. The 

 euonymus family — or 

 genus, to be precise — 

 is well known and high- 

 ly esteemed, as biogra- 

 phers like to say, for it 

 includes such favorites 

 as E. atropurpurea, gen- 

 erally referred to as the 

 burning bush or wa- 



hoo; E. Europaea, commonly called the climbing proclivities of radicans. The 



European burning bush or spindle tree; 

 E. Americana, or strawberry bush; E. 

 obovata, or running strawberry bush, 

 and E. alata, variously known as the Ja- 

 panese burning bush, the winged burning 

 bush, the cork-barked euonymus, etc. 



It is perhaps unnecessary to say that 

 these shrubs are called burning bushes 

 on account of their brilliant fall coloring. 



Unlike Any Other Euonymus. 



All of these relatives of Euonymus 

 radicans are deciduous shrubs. With 

 the exception of the running straw- 

 berry bush, they are upright in 

 growth, with none of the creeping or 



Euooymus Radicans Is ao Exceedingly Useful Plant 



running strawberry bush is suitable for 

 shrubbery borders or for covering the 

 ground under trees, but differs dis- 

 tinctly from E. radicans in being too 

 low for general use as a climber. 



E. radicans, also, is largely grown as 

 a creeping or trailing shrub, in bor- 

 ders and similar locations, but it will 

 climb if it has an opportunity, attain- 

 ing a height of ten to twenty feet, or 

 occasionally even a greater height if 

 the soil is rich and other conditions are 

 favorable. Its flowers are inconspicu- 

 ous. It has small, shiny, dark green 

 leaves and pink fruits. It clings tena- 

 ciously to wood, stone or concrete. 

 Thus it makes an attrac- 

 tive covering for walls, 

 rocks, tree trunks, etc. 

 It will live — just live, 

 if nothing more — in al- 

 most any kind of soil. 

 "Almost any kind of 

 soil," therefore, is what 

 is frequently prescribed 

 for it; hence there is 

 nothing surprising in 

 the fact that it is some- 

 times considered a slow 

 grower. Apparently, it 

 makes fairly rapid 

 growth in good soil. A 

 reliable eastern florist 

 tells of plants of E. radi- 

 cans which covered a 

 wall sixteen feet high 

 in four years. He says 

 that these plants, how- 

 ever, were not only in 

 good soil, but were oc- 

 casionally watered in 

 dry weather and re- 

 ceived a mulch of cow 

 manure each spring. 



Is It Hardy? 



As to the hardiness of 

 E. radicans, there might 

 be danger of speaking 

 too positively or defin- 

 itely. Bailey says it is 

 fairly hardy. One Bos- 

 ton grower, who gener- 

 ally speaks from experi- 

 ence, says it is suffi- 

 ciently hardy to with- 

 stand a temperature of 

 20 degrees below zero 

 without injury. But an- 

 other grower in almost 

 the same latitude, 

 though some hundreds 

 of miles farther west, 

 says: "The climate of 

 northern Ohio seems not 

 particularly favorable 



