Shrubs

Q&A: Is Burning Bush an Invasive Plant?

Maryland Grows4 Comments
euonymus alatus
Winged burning bush (Euonymus alatus) is a Tier 2 invasive plant in Maryland. Photo: C. Carignan

Q: A friend has offered me a sapling of a burning bush. I am a little concerned about it being invasive. Could you please tell me if this is a true concern? Thanks.

winged burning bush berries
Berries of winged burning bush. Photo: C. Carignan

A: Yes, the burning bush shrub, also called winged burning bush (Euonymus alatus) is considered invasive in Maryland (and many other places) and deserves concern. In fact, this particular species is now regulated by the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) as a Tier 2 invasive plant. This classification means that retail stores that offer this plant for sale must display a required sign indicating that it is an invasive plant. Landscapers may not supply burning bushes unless they provide the customer with a list of Tier 2 invasive plants.

Continue reading →

The Elusive Fig

Maryland Grows11 Comments
Figs
Container of fresh-picked figs. Eat at once as they only hold up for 12-24 hours on the kitchen counter. Do not refrigerate!

Fig questions have been pouring into the Home & Garden Information Center’s Ask an Expert service this fall. One reason for this, I think, is that most of Maryland’s fig trees were not “killed to the ground” during the relatively mild winter of 2016-2017, and were, therefore, able to produce good crops on the new shoots that grew from trunks and branches.

Fig Bush
Multi-stem fig bush 8-10 ft. in height

We were not so fortunate during the winters of 2014-2015 and 2015-2016. Prolonged freezing weather during those winters killed most of the above-ground plant parts. (Fig wood is damaged when temperatures drop below 20⁰ F.) Gardeners were left to cut and remove the dead trunks and branches.

The good news is that fig root systems almost always survive even the coldest winters. The bad news is that the new shoots growing from the roots the following spring rarely produce a crop. Frequently you’ll see many small green figs develop in summer that do not fully enlarge and ripen before the first frost.

Some common fig questions this year: Continue reading →