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Fire Ball Seedless

Euonymus alatus

Family: Celastraceae Unknown Shrub (3-15 ft)

Fire Ball Seedless® is a deciduous cultivar of the Asian burning bush in the bittersweet family (Celastraceae) bred by Dr. Tom Ranney of NCSU at the Mountain Horticultural Crops Research Station. It is the only seedless, sterile, non-invasive burning bush on the market. Fire Ball Seedless® grows 5 to 7 feet tall and wide and prefers full sun to partial shade in fertile, well-drained soil. Pruning is not usually needed to maintain the rounded. It is deer and disease-resistant but not drought-tolerant. Mulch the shallow root area for winter protection. The late spring white flowers are insignificant and do not produce drupes and seeds. The foliage stays neat and attractive with the glossy green leaves of summer and the brilliant red fall color. Fire Ball Seedless® burning bush as an informal hedge, in a border, as a specimen, in foundation plantings or in a large pot. Insects, Diseases and Other Plant Problems : No significant problems. Watch for spider mites.

Source: NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox ↗ NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, 42 attributes.

How it fits the guild

Guild layer 3 - Shrub (3-15 ft)
See companions & conflicts ↓

Companions & Conflicts

Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.

No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.

Also noted by NC State

Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.

Fills a similar niche Deutzia Yuki Snowflake® 'NCDX1' Hydrangea paniculata Puffer Fish® 'NCHP1' Viburnum Yin® 'NCVX2'

Full plant profile

Growing Conditions
Plant type
Shrub
Life cycle
Woody
USDA zones
4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
Light
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
High Organic Matter
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist
Available space
6-feet-12 feet
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 5 ft. 0 in. - 7 ft. 0 in. | Width: 5 ft. 0 in. - 7 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Medium
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
3 - Shrub (3-15 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Dense; Erect; Rounded
Texture
Medium
Foliage
Deciduous
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf shape
Ovate
Leaf feel
Glossy
Leaf value
Showy
Leaf size
1-3 inches long, < 1 inch wide
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Dark green, glossy, ovate leaves turn bright red in the fall. Up to 3 inches long.
Fall color
Red/Burgundy
Flower color
White
Flower form
Insignificant
Flower detail
Small white flowers in late spring
Fruit detail
No fruits
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Unknown
Landscape Use
Landscape location
Container; Lawn
Landscape theme
Asian Garden
Design feature
Accent; Barrier; Hedge; Small groups
Garden tags
#nci #border #deciduous shrub #deer resistant #fall color #foundation planting #hedge #sterile flowers #full sun #partial shade #red leaves #spring flowers #white flowers
Problems & Resistance
Resistant to
Deer; Heat
Particularly resistant to
deer resistant

Planted at Hunnicutt

Nobody’s planted this one yet.