Euonymus alata 'Rudy Haag'

Rudy Haag burning bush

Heralded by Mike Dirr as a burning bush for the next generation, this dwarf glows a brilliant rose-red in the autumn landscape with a much more manageable size!

'Standard' burning bushes can often grow to heights in excess of 25 feet. Other cultivars have been bred for a more compact appearance, but they still usually stay around the 10 to 15 foot range. 'Rudy Haag' is one of the few cultivars that stays at a size suitable for foundation plantings or low hedges, yet still has that outstanding red fall color that we all lust after.

These plants are propagated from the three original plants at the Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest in Kentucky. Paul Cappiello tells me that when he was the Horticulture Director there he saw little to no fruit and was only able to collect 15 seeds in five years. For those of us living in states with burning bush invasiveness problems, we now have a pleasure that we don't have to feel guilty about!

Because burning bushes only put on growth in the beginning of the season, be sure to fertilize these in early spring to maximize their growth flush.

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(c) 2007 Christopher P. Lindsey