Growing a Burning Bush from Cuttings?

kathleen williams
Bronze Feedback Medal for All Time! 147 Feedbacks

April 17, 20100 found this helpful

Burning Bush Cutting Progress (Euonymus alata)

This fall I took a scraggly looking branch off a little burning bush I had. The botanical name is Euonymous alata. These bushes are green during most of the growing season but turn fiery red in the fall before they lose their leaves. It is for this reason that people plant them. Yesterday I checked the cutting's progress.

I wasn't really expecting anything so the resistance I felt when I tugged gently at the cutting was surprising. I very pleased when I extracted the cutting and several tiny little roots were revealed.

Starting the cutting was pretty simple. I found a nice looking section of stem about 5 inches long. I cut it below a node, dipped it in water and applied powdered rooting hormone. When you dip the cutting in water it allows the powder to stick better. Then I put it in a container with sand and made sure to keep the sand moist. I will leave the cutting in the sand for a couple more weeks then pot it up. I'm keeping it in the garage to avoid frost damage on the tender little guy. Good luck.

Sue Nugent

May 19, 20100 found this helpful

I'm not sure about the rooting of the burning bush, but a lot of folks don't know that the burning bush drops seeds readily each year and a good friend might be more than willing to give you all the starts you need. I don't mulch under my bushes, so that may be helpful to know. They drop seeds under the mother plant and they come up everywhere like crazy.