What is burning bush?

Burning bush is an Asian shrub that was planted in foundation beds and hedges across Pennsylvania for decades, mostly for its bright red fall color. Basic burning bush identification is easy once you know the trick: look for the corky, flat ridges that run along the twigs. That’s where the other name, winged euonymus, comes from.

The problem is what happens outside the yard. Birds eat the fruit in fall and drop the seed in nearby woods, where the shrub tolerates deep shade and forms thick stands that crowd out native plants. The PA Department of Agriculture has listed it as a Class B noxious weed, which means it can no longer be sold, planted or propagated in the state.

Burning bush identification: what to look for

Burning bush is a dense, rounded shrub, usually 5 to 10 feet tall in yards, with branches that spread wide and flat on top when it’s left unpruned.

• Twigs: green to brown, with two to four raised, corky wings running along the stem. This is the most reliable clue, especially in winter.
• Leaves: small, opposite on the stem, football-shaped and finely toothed, about 1 to 2 inches long. Green all summer, then red to crimson in fall.
• Flowers: tiny and greenish in spring, tucked among the leaves. Most people never notice them.
• Fruit: small reddish capsules that split open in fall to show seeds covered in a bright orange-red coating.

Some compact garden varieties have smaller wings, but the opposite leaves, red fall color and orange-coated seeds still give them away.

Where it grows in Pennsylvania

You’ll find burning bush in older neighborhoods everywhere, from Lock Haven to State College, usually as a foundation shrub, hedge or parking lot planting. The escaped plants are the bigger concern.

In wooded lots and forest edges near homes, burning bush seedlings can fill the understory. Because it handles shade, it moves deep into woods that keep out sun-loving weeds. Hedgerows, old fields and the edges of creek valleys near developed areas are common spots. If you walk the woods behind your house in October and see a sea of red under the trees, that’s a good sign it has spread.

Burning bush look-alikes

Our native euonymus shrubs, such as strawberry bush and eastern wahoo, are the closest relatives. They lack the corky wings on the twigs. Young sweetgum trees can have corky ridges too, but their leaves are star-shaped and alternate, not small and opposite.

Japanese barberry is the other red-in-fall shrub that gets confused with it. Barberry has spines, tiny clustered leaves and dangling red berries, and it’s also a PA noxious weed.

How to get rid of burning bush

Homeowners aren’t required to remove burning bush they already have, but removing it is strongly encouraged, especially if your property borders woods. The good news is that it’s one of the easier invasive shrubs to deal with.

Hand and mechanical removal. Seedlings and small shrubs can be pulled by hand when the soil is moist, or popped out with a root-pulling tool. Larger shrubs can be dug out with a shovel and mattock since the roots are fairly shallow. Mowing or just cutting it down won’t kill it; the stump will resprout.

Cut-stump treatment. For large shrubs you don’t want to dig, cut the stems near the ground and treat the fresh cut right away with an herbicide labeled for cut-stump use. Penn State lists glyphosate and triclopyr for this. Water-based products need to go on immediately after cutting.

Foliar and basal treatments. For thick stands in woods, a foliar spray of glyphosate or triclopyr from late spring until fall color starts, or a basal bark treatment with an oil-based triclopyr product, are options. Keep spray off plants you want to save.

• Always read and follow the product label. The label is the law, and it tells you which sites and methods are allowed.
• Applying herbicide for hire in Pennsylvania requires a PA Department of Agriculture pesticide applicator certification, so big woodland jobs belong with a licensed vegetation-management company.

Keeping it from coming back

Once the parent shrubs are gone, expect seedlings for a few years from seed already in the soil and from neighbors’ plants. Walk the area each fall when the red leaves make seedlings easy to see, and pull them while they’re small.

Replace removed shrubs with natives that give you similar fall color. Penn State suggests native viburnums, red chokeberry and native dogwoods such as silky or gray dogwood. A refreshed bed with new plantings and fresh mulch also shades out new seedlings. If you’re redoing the whole foundation planting, our landscaping and garden bed page shows what that looks like.

Questions we get about burning bush

Similar weeds

Japanese BarberryBerberis thunbergiiAmur HoneysuckleLonicera maackiiAutumn OliveElaeagnus umbellata