Need a close up of the foliage - it is too distant and indistinct to be able to ID from that photo.

Also need to know where you are - location can play a major role in nailing down an ID.

gardengal48, thank you for your interest. The first photo actually is not current, it's closer to the fall. This close up of the foliage is current. I'm in Maine. Thanks

It's a euonymus, probably Euonymus americanus.

hey gal.. one of the invasive ones???

i was going to guess.. what i call the honeysuckle shrub.. as compared to the vine ... or is that a common name of this ...

would have been nice to see a close up of the red flowers ... or is that a camera thing on the first pic .

ken

Since it is a native shrub, by definition not invasive. And the flowers are yellow, but develop into bright red seedpods later. The red in the first photo is most likely the shrub developing fall color (as the OP indicated that's when that photo was taken). Common names for this plant include, wahoo, strawberry bush, hearts-a-bursting, etc.

Great info. Thanks again.

Ken - the flowers are visible in the close up. They are small and greenish yellow.

I suspect it's Euonymus alatus (Burning Bush), not Euonymous americanus (Wahoo). Very few people know enough about Wahoo to plant it and it's harder still to find in retail. If I see something that resembles the invasive Burning Bush and a manicured landscape, there is a very high probability that it's a Burning Bush.

The lack of any corky stems and the very lax, open habit lead me to E. americanus but I'd be willing to concede to E. alatus if the corky, winged stems were present.

I have E. alatus in my garden and see it frequently around the neighbourhood...not all of them have the winged stem when grown in shade and none of them develop the winged stem until the stem is at least a couple of years old. The photo doesn't show any twigs older than 13 months.

That feature of the plant is one of its primary characteristics - I have never seen one that didn't produce the winged stems, shade or no shade. Winged stems are even apparent on young plants sold in a nursery setting (not an invasive species here and widely grown and sold), so I'm not convinced age plays a big role in their development although they are seldom apparent on the newest growth.

The habit doesn't look all that much like E. alatus either but show me the corky, winged stems and I'll be convinced.

This is the frequently planted Euonymus alatus 'Compactus', which isn't particularly corky.