Golden Euonymus - Not Growing... Advice?

[Treppiede]

Hello,
I have some Golden Euonymus in front of my house, it's been there since I got the house (~2 yrs ago), no idea how old it is. Here's a picture I snapped this morning:

As you can see, they are not growing much. I would like to help get them to a point where I can shear them in a box shape, but I need them to grow first.

I have another group of the same shrub not even 5 feet away that's thicker and ready for shearing (not pictured).

I was planning on raking all the pine needles at the base and lay down some sort of fertilizer to encourage growth, but I figured I'd ask the Pros before I do anything that may make things worst.

What would you recommend I do to help them out? If fertilizer is needed, what type would you recommend for this plant? I have 13-6-6 and 10-10-10, but I have no problem buying another type if it's better for this type of plant.

Thank you in advance,

-Walter

 

[Treppiede]

Thank you TreeCo.

Three quick, follow-up questions:

• Are you recommending Mulch to simply keep moisture and prevent weed growth near their base?
• Also, would you recommend a layer of topsoil under the mulch to add some nutrients?
• Do you know if they prefer alkaline soil rather than acidic? If that's the case, I have some Lime I can sprinkle after raking the old pine needles.

Thanks,

-Walter

 

[Treppiede]

Thanks. I've actually been reading up on Mulching a lot lately, and I learnt about lots of different types and purposes, that's why I was inquiring about it, to see the best Mulch based on your recommendation (some release nutrients, some may alter the soil's ph, some retain more moisture than others etc).

-Walter

 

[treeseer]

Check the base of the stems, and see that the roots grow away from and not around them. can you post a picture of this area?

Your answers are mostly underground. Work up the soil with a pick or spade before mulching.

Euonymus is prone to scale insects, which favor sheared plants.

 

[BriGuy89]

Obviously no deer problems for you in Mableton. Euonymus is a favorite for them.

In my neck of the woods, these would have been chewed down to the ground -- even with the close proximity to the house.

 

[arbadacarba]

This may sound like the obvious, but dig down and have a look at the root balls. Those look like ball and burlap plants to me, and it may be as simple as the burlap not being lowered from the ball when planted. ( I have seen this more times than I can remember- including the polyester twine not cut around the necks of the plants/trees ) If this is the case, cut the burlap so you can roll it down to the base of the ball, mix up a fifty-fifty mix of the original soil and compost ,with a handful of large grain bonemeal for good measure, and you will have some very happy plants on your hands.

I may well be wrong, but it doesnt hurt to have a look!

 

[Treppiede]

Apologies for the late reply, but these past days I had been slammed.

can you post a picture of this area?

Sure, here it is:

BriGuy89: Wow... interesting. I do see deers every now and then, but not at the level you must be seeing them. Glad that's not my problem, although I am sure up there you have access to other types of shrubs less "appealing" to deers.

arbadacarba: Thanks for the suggestion, that sounds like a good possibility (although I hope it is not the case). I'll try digging around the smallest one and see how it looks.

Thanks all for the help, please let me know if you have any further advice in the mean time.

Regards,

-Walter

 

[capetrees]

At the trunck base, clear back the soil from around the trunk down to the first layer of roots. Do this out to about 6-8 inches out. Cover it up again with a dusting of loose mulch, not more than 1" thick. Top it off with Holly Tone fertilizer. Not that I'm a big organic nut but the "tone" type fertilizer is less harsh on the plants in terms of fertilizer shock and you can't really screw up with too much unless you really pile it on. Sprinkle a cup each plant on top of the mulch and water it in. Watering and rain will seep the fertilizer into the soil over time. You can do this once a month and be safe. I do and I've had good luck.