Everyone loves the October colors displayed by the leaves of our trees and shrubs. Are there shrubs in your landscape turning bright red in the coming months? This fall, take a closer look at these bushes.
One of the most common of these bright fall shrubs, commonly known as Burning Bush, was classified by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources in 2023 as an invasive shrub. New sales for this plant will be banned in 2025. Now is a good time to think about alternatives!
Burning Bush, also known as Winged Euonymus or its scientific name Euonymus alatus, was imported from northern Asia in the 1860s as a landscape plant with an attractive fall color. Very easy to grow and with a hardy growth habit adaptable to many soil and light conditions, it gained widespread use in home and commercial landscapes. As with many other non-native plants that are imported into our landscapes, it has very few pests and grows vigorously. A single bush can grow to more than 15 feet in height and width, crowding out other plants nearby, as well as overtaking the sidewalks and windows by your home.
The red berries of Burning Bush may be eaten by birds, who then drop seeds into nearby woods. Burning Bush has thus spread into the forest, robbing native woodland plants of light, water and nutrients. Both the spring wildflowers and young tree sprouts that provide the natural regeneration of our forests are impacted. Unfortunately, deer avoid this plant because of these woody and abrasive stems. Removing these shrubs in a woodland is extremely tedious. A better way to control this problem is to remove these plants from home gardens before they spread.
This plant can be easily identified by the four corky textured wings that grow along the stem of this plant. The oval leaves, 1 to 3 inches long with small teeth along their edges, turn bright red in the fall. In spring, tiny yellow flowers dot the stems. Bright red berries in the fall are numerous but small in size and have and low nutritional value to birds. The many branches of this shrub create a rounded appearance and are often attached to a common trunk at the base. To remove this plant from your landscape, cut this trunk, clear away the branches, and then dig out the roots. Smaller, young shrubs which have seeded in your garden can be pulled by hand or with a weed wrench.
Many native alternatives can provide equally beautiful fall colors and add other interest to your landscape as well while also providing ecosystem benefits instead of detriments. Don't despair the loss of burning bushes in your home garden. Many other plants are more worthy of your garden spaces.
The Chokeberry is a good substitute to consider. This underused native shrub has small glossy leaves that turn many shades of red in the fall. Both Red Chokeberry (Aronia arbutifolia) and Black Chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa) have clusters of small white flowers in the spring and small fruits in the fall. Although the fruits are astringent and not edible by humans, they provide valuable late season winter food for birds. With a full height of 8 feet in height and 4 feet in width, Chokeberry shrubs will fit into any space previously occupied by a Burning Bush, with less risk of getting overgrown.
Blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum) are another shrub that both feeds the birds (and you, too!) and provides an attractive red fall color. Summersweet shrub (Clethra alnifolia) is best known for fragrant pink spikes of flowers in the summer which attract butterflies. In the fall, this shrub turns yellow, not red, but adds another dimension of color to your fall garden. Rhus aromatica "Low Grow" is a low-growing sumac whose glossy leaves turn red in the fall. This is a wonderful plant to use on a sunny bank.
Native honeysuckle, Diervilla lonicera, is another plant worth seeking for the shades of red and orange displayed in the fall. With a height of 3 to 5 feet and a graceful arching form, it is similar to Forsythia in appearance. While the yellow flowers of this native honeysuckle are small and not showy, their intricate forms are intriguing and contain nectar for pollinators.
For all-season interest to your garden, consider the Oakleaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia). Although this shrub naturally grows in a more southern area (Georgia and south), it still grows well in our area. Uniquely shaped leaves appear in spring, followed by white blossoms in upright clusters in summer. The flowers turn pinkish with age and are retained through the winter, looking lovely with a dusting of snow. Fall shades of red and purple make this plant an all-season headliner in your garden. Another native species from our southern neighbors that is very adaptable in our area is Fothergilla. Both dwarf (Fothergilla gardenii) and larger sizes (Fothergilla major) will fit nicely into a space now open after a Burning Bush has been removed. Your garden will show off fall red colors as well as cute, puffy white spring blossoms.
If you have space for a small tree, many forms of native dogwoods are beautiful fall redheads. Cornus alternifolia and Cornus florida become burgundy in the fall. These small native trees are easy to grow and are attractive all year long. White flowers in the spring yield and blue or red fruits relished by birds in the fall. Dogwoods are another all-season winner.
Fall is a good time to consider removing burning bushes and replacing with other shrubs. Make your landscape unique, beautiful and naturally beneficial! The fall colors will still enhance your landscape.
More information can be found online at: https://extension.psu.edu/burning-bush and https://www.phipps.conservatory.org/blog/detail/ask-dr.-phipps-burning-bush-alternatives .
Kathy McClure is a Penn State Master Gardener in Beaver County.
This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Over the Garden Gate: Burning Bush banned as of 2025 in Pennsylvania
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