shrub

Spindle

Euonymus europaeus

Native

Growing guidance

Horticultural figures below are practitioner estimates for planning, pending expert review. The botanical record further down is sourced and verifiable.

Current-climate suitability

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Future-climate resilience

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Sun

Sun or shade

Soil moisture

average, moisture-retentive

Heat tolerance

Up to about 36°C

Cold tolerance

Down to about -28°C

Waterlogging tolerance

3/5

Drought tolerance

3/5

Mature size

2–4 m tall, 3 m spread

Seasonal interest

Autumn fruit and colour · Pink and orange

Maintenance

low

Wildlife supported

General wildlife value 4/5 (verified species relationships are shown only where structured data exists)

Known risks or warnings

Fruit is toxic if eaten.

Toxicity: notable

Verified botanical record

Accepted scientific name: Euonymus europaeus L.
Family: Celastraceae (Celastrales)
Rank and status: species · accepted
GBIF record: Taxon 3169131

Recorded native range: Belgium, Brussels-Capital Region, Flanders, Flemish Region, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Portugal Continental, Walloon Region

Recorded as introduced in: Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Finland, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi and 26 further regions

Ranges are exactly as recorded in the GBIF source checklists and may be incomplete for widely cultivated species.

Euonymus europaeus, the spindle, European spindle, or common spindle, is a species of flowering plant in the family Celastraceae, native to much of Europe, where it inhabits the edges of forest, hedges and gentle slopes, tending to thrive on nutrient-rich, chalky and salt-poor soils. It is a deciduous shrub or small tree.

Description from Wikipedia — Euonymus europaeus (CC BY-SA), shortened and unedited in substance.

Native status and geographic context

United Kingdom: native
United States: climate-suitable
Australia: climate-suitable

Native status is never inferred from climate similarity. Plants restricted or invasive in a jurisdiction are excluded from recommendations there.

George Chernilevsky · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Where to buy

Real retailers serving UK. Garden Forward publishes no prices of its own — each link opens the retailer's own search results, where their current price and stock are shown.

Search Sarah Raven for Euonymus europaeus
Perennials, bulbs and seed, delivered across the UK.
Search Farmer Gracy for Euonymus europaeus
Bulbs and perennials shipped direct from Dutch growers.
Search Ashridge Nurseries for Euonymus europaeus
Bare-root trees, hedging and fruit in the dormant season.
Search Hardy's Cottage Garden Plants for Euonymus europaeus
Specialist hardy perennial nursery.
Search Marshalls Garden for Euonymus europaeus
Fruit, vegetable plants and seed.

No affiliate relationship is in place with these retailers, so nothing here earns Garden Forward a commission. Search links checked 2026-09-17. Availability of a species is never a reason it is recommended.

Companion palettes

Not currently in a sample palette.

Climate-resilient alternatives

Data sources

Taxonomy and native range: GBIF Backbone Taxonomy
Species description: Wikipedia — Euonymus europaeus
Photograph: George Chernilevsky · Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
Growing guidance: Practitioner horticultural estimates pending expert review

Botanical record checked 2026-09-17 · growing guidance last reviewed 2026-06-01 · confidence high

Demonstration data. Climate, plant and retailer records shown here are realistic samples awaiting horticultural validation and live data connections.