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Winter-creeper

Euonymus fortunei

Found in bottomlands, swamps, upland suburban woodlands. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you

-55
Severe harm

Not native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 82%

Height
14–32 feet
Spread
2–10 feet
Light
Dappled sunlight, Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture
Dry to moist

Do not plant. Listed invasive in Virginia.

At a glance

Life cycle
Woody perennial
Leaves
Semi-evergreen or evergreen
Bloom
May to June
Fruiting season
October to December

Recorded in 44 Virginia counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 3

Swamps

View, Dismal Swamp, North Carolina
Named place / source context. Shown: Great Dismal Swamp, North Carolina, as titled by Museum of Fine Arts Boston; nineteenth-century artistic interpretation, a neighboring state.View, Dismal Swamp, North Carolina, Regis Francois Gignoux, 1850. Public domain. Source record.

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.

Forests and woodlands

Forest or woodland where the source does not say how moist or dry.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 95 animals.

All wildlife of Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

14CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Euonymus

  • Ectropis crepusculariaThe Small Engrailed, Saddleback Looper
  • Herpetogramma thestealisZigzag Herpetogramma, Subtle-Feathered Grass Moth
  • Hyalophora cecropiaCecropia Silkmoth, Cecropia Moth
  • Hypena scabraGreen Cloverworm Bomolocha, Black Snout
  • Hyphantria cuneaFall Webworm
  • Morrisonia confusaConfused Woodgrain
  • Morrisonia latexFluid Arches, Fluid Mamestra
  • Orgyia leucostigmaWhite-Marked Tussock Moth
  • Pandemis limitataThree-Lined Leafroller Moth
  • Platynota flavedanaBlack-Shaded Platynota
Show all 14
  • Spodoptera eridaniaSouthern Armyworm Moth
  • Yponomeuta multipunctellaAmerican Ermine Moth, Wahoo Moth
  • Herpetogramma aquilonalis
  • Herpetogramma theseusalis
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
3BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Euonymus

  • Catharus guttatusHermit Thrush
  • Sialia sialisEastern Bluebird
  • Turdus migratoriusAmerican Robin
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Celastraceae
Hardiness
Zones 4a–9b
Soil pH
Acidic to alkaline
Flower color
Green or white
Fruit begins
October
Fruit ends
December

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Fortunes Spindle; Winter creeper; Wintercreeper

Conservation status

Virginia rankSNA
Global rankGNR
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

Native alternatives

Find natives for your garden

Sources