'Emerald Gaity' has brilliant variegation.

Euonymus fortunei has been an important crop for Midwest Groundcovers for 30 years. While it's a classic broadleaf evergreen, the company thinks it should be given a closer look by the industry.

It performs in sun or shade and can be grown as a groundcover, shrub or vine. It produces fall fruit, has varieties with variegated foliage and is hardy to minus 20F. It's also attractive when sheared or left to grow naturally, Peter Orum said.

Here are some of the company's favorite cultivars:

'Emerald Gaiety.' Upright, densely branched shrub. Deep-green leaves with white margins that turn rosy pink in fall. Grows to 3 feet high and 4 feet wide.

'Emerald 'n Gold.' Low, mounding, tightly branched shrub form. Glossy, green leaves with gold margins. Grows best in sun and reaches 1 1/2-2 feet high and 3-4 feet wide.

'Emerald Surprise.' Fast-growing with upright branches. Leaves are a mixture of green, gold and cream. Grows 1 1/2-3 feet high and 4 feet wide.

'Sarcoxie.' An upright spreader that produces glossy, dark-green foliage. Attractive specimen or hedge. Full sun or shade and grows 4 feet high and 5 feet wide.

'Vegetus Low.' Vining type that can cover 15-20 square feet when used as a groundcover. Deep-green leaves and orange seed capsules in fall.