Yes it will stunt them. They are potentially large shrubs which want to be 6 ft tall and wide. They will provide a temporary show but they’ll struggle if not given the space they need.

I have grown a green/white Euonymus in a planter for probably 15 years. I cut the bottom of out of the planter and set it down on the ground and planted the Euonymus in it. You can sort of see it here on the left side of the birdbath.

The planter has degraded and I don't love it anymore. But it did fine. Stayed the size of the planter.

popmama, not the same kind of euonymus :-) Yours - Euonymus fortunei - is a much smaller scaled plant overall and also extremely adaptable in its habit and application. It is popularly used as a groundcover as well as a shrub and sometimes even a climber.

The one in question is a much larger shrub. Floral was conservative in her size quote....10'x8' is not out of line. And a bottomless planter is really not the same as keeping a plant in its nursery pot indefinitely.

I'm HOPING it would stunt the growth, honestly, but not if it's going to kill them :-( I don't exactly love them or anything, but my girlfriend did and now I'm kinda stuck trying to find somewhere to put them!! LOL

I think that the maximum pot size I can sit inside of the bench planter is going to be 12" diameter, or of course a square 12x12 for a little more room to grow. I "could" line the planter with plastic and use the full size, but there's no bottom so I'd have to come up with something; otherwise, the soil would wash out underneath.

If they're really no good here then I guess I'll try to find somewhere else for them. Any other suggestions for an evergreen shrub that would be OK in a container in zone 7A (western NC)?

Ah thank you for the clarification and sorry if I clouded the issue!

@Christopher CNC , yeah, I have something like 12 flower garden areas so I'm always working with my standard perennials and then filling in with annuals. It's ALMOST to the point where I'm getting overwhelmed, though, which is why I was hoping for at least ONE area that would be OK on its own!! LOL

Oh, who knows, maybe I'll put a Devil's Trumpet on one side, an Angel's Trumpet on the other, and then underplant them with sweet potato vine...

I don't exactly love them or anything, but my girlfriend did and now I'm kinda stuck trying to find somewhere to put them!! LOL

==>>> you guys are missing the base question here .... is the girlfriend still around .. lol ...

if so.. tell her to deal with them.. until she gets a hate on for them.. and then she suggests you get rid of them ..

if shes not. then just get rid of them now .. lol ..

fall bargains arent really bargains ... when the only thing that caught your eye... was the bargain ...

do whatever you want with them.... and deal with it later... but note.. they have huge potential and unless you bonsai them ... they arent going to be dwarfed because of some pot ... bonsai is basically just continuous root pruning ... causing a reduced growth rate ...

if your lucky .... maybe they will get a huge infestation of scale.. and that will be a reason to be done with them .. lol

ken

Hahaha, yes, she's still here... I say "girlfriend" because we're not married, but we've been together for 26 years so I guess she'll probably stick around for awhile longer ;-)

I usually do a lot of research and only buy the specific plants that I want (often at the end of the season, so I can get $20 plants for $1), but this was just one of those rare times where we saw a good price and thought, "well, I THINK it will fill in that one section nicely!" But then when we got it in place, it really didn't work at all; the color was right, the texture was wrong. So I bought ligustrum instead, and now these are kinda homeless. I've posted them on the good local classified site, and literally can't give them away!!

Am I right that I can propagate them by just cutting off a chunk and sticking it in the ground? If so, maybe I'll plant them along the edge of the woods, then in a few months (maybe next year) I'll prune them down and spread them out to create a full length hedge.

You can certainly propagate this homeless Euonymus japonicus 'Aureo-marginatus' from cuttings if you want more? You will have better success the closer you get to nursery propagation conditions than sticking them in the dirt in the woods. When they are rooted you can stick them along the edge of the woods.

If it is a patented plant, someone is bound to come along and have a cow about you wanting to make more of this hard to give away plant.

we've been together for 26 years so I guess she'll probably stick around for awhile longer ;-)

==>>> i guess so .. lol ..

heres how you do it .. from your first link way above.. i got the latin name from monrovia site.. then added propagation.. and then this:

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Euonymus+japonicus+%27Aureo-marginatus%27+propagation&t=ffcm&iax=videos&ia=videos

all E probably propagate the same.. so the cultivar name doesnt matter:

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Euonymus+japonicus+propagation&t=ffcm&iar=videos&iax=videos&ia=videos

i would probably stick a number of cutting in a one gal pot of media.. and set it next to the water spigot ... and come back in fall.. and plant them in mother earth ... presuming they rooted ...

the point of the pot.. is you remember to keep it moist.. rather than sticking it in the ground.. and forgetting about it forever ...

ken

I've seen at least one yellow variegated Euonymus japonicus in Seattle that a body could set up a small table and chairs beneath.

Otherwise this species is notorious for getting foliage mildew in cultivated settings. So if you ever start seeing whitish mold like stuff partly covering its leaves that is what is happening. Otherwise I suggest arranging them so they are seen with plants having leaf or flower colors that look good with strong yellow. Like maybe deep purple petunias for instance.