Late cotoneaster

Late cotoneaster: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Broad evergreen shrub, about 3 m tall and 3 m wide, with arching branches.

Leaves

Oval, 4–8 cm, leathery and dark green with deeply impressed veins; the underside is grey to whitish and hairy.

Flowers

Flat clusters of small creamy-white flowers in June–July.

Fruit

Small, egg-shaped red berries in dense bunches. They colour in autumn and often hang on deep into winter.

Roots

Deep and well branched: older shrubs cope well with drought but resent being moved.

Flowering: June–July · Plants: April–May and September–October · Pruning: March and August

Why grow it?

• Evergreen: a dense, dark green shrub or hedge all year round.
• Red berries from autumn deep into winter, when the garden has little colour.
• Bees and bumblebees visit the flowers in June–July; blackbirds, thrushes and sometimes waxwings eat the berries in winter.
• A good informal or clipped hedge, and useful as a windbreak.
• Undemanding: it tolerates drought, chalk and poor soil.

Late cotoneaster: where does it grow best?

• Sun or part shade; in sun it flowers more freely and carries more berries.
• Any well-drained soil: sand, loam or clay, acid to chalky.
• Dry to normally moist; it dislikes waterlogged roots in winter.
• Copes with wind and urban conditions, so it also works as a windbreak.
• For a hedge, plant 60–70 cm apart; as a free-standing shrub, allow 2.5–3 m.

Light

Sun and partial shade

Soil type

Sand, loam or clay

Acidity

Not fussy

Moisture

Dry or normal

Size

3 m tall, 3 m wide

Hardiness

Hardy (to -18 °C)

Goes well with

• Holly: Also evergreen with red berries: together they make a dense hedge for birds.
• Mahonia: Yellow flowers in late winter and blue berries, on the same dry soil.
• Red-barked dogwood: Red stems in winter beside the dark green foliage.
• Lesser periwinkle: Evergreen ground cover with small blue flowers beneath the shrub.

Late cotoneaster: when and how to plant it?

Plant in April–May and September–October.

1. Plant in April–May or September–October, when the ground is neither frozen nor bone dry.
2. Dig a hole twice as wide as the root ball and loosen the bottom; on heavy, wet clay mix in some coarse grit.
3. Set the plant at the same depth as it was in the pot and firm the soil well.
4. For a hedge, stretch a string line and plant 60–70 cm apart; for a single shrub, leave 2.5–3 m.
5. Water thoroughly straight away, then weekly in dry spells during the first year.
6. Mulch around the base with compost or wood chips to keep weeds down.

Care

Watering

Only in the first year during dry spells; after that it manages even in dry summers.

Feeding

Usually unnecessary; on poor soil, a spadeful of compost in March.

Hedge trimming

Once a year is enough for a neat hedge: in March or after flowering, in August.

Weeding

Keep the base of a young hedge weed-free with mulch for the first few years.

Seedlings

Pull up seedlings that birds sow in and around the garden before they get established.

Tip: Leave the berries on the shrub in winter: they attract blackbirds and thrushes. If you want plenty of berries, prune mainly in March and trim only lightly after flowering.

Late cotoneaster: when to prune it?

Pruning months: March and August.

When: In early spring, in March, or after flowering, in August. A free-standing shrub needs little pruning.

How:

• Free-standing shrub: in March, cut out only dead, damaged or overlong branches just above a side branch, keeping the natural arching shape.
• Hedge: in August, trim back the long new shoots and spare the clusters of young berries where you can.
• Renovate an overgrown shrub in March by sawing a few old branches out at the base, spread over two or three years.
• Prune in dry weather and disinfect your secateurs to reduce the risk of fireblight.

Caution: The more you cut after flowering, the fewer berries you get: if you want plenty, prune mainly in March, and in moderation.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Semi-ripe cuttings

In August–September, take 10–15 cm heeled cuttings and root them in a mix of sand and compost in a cold frame or under plastic. They root during autumn or the following spring.

Layering

In spring, peg a low branch into the soil and cover it with earth; sever it after a year and replant it.

Late cotoneaster: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy to −18 °C: protect young plants.

• Hardy to about −18 °C: no problem in most Belgian winters.
• In a severe winter or a cold east wind it may lose some of its leaves; it grows back in spring.
• Keep young plants and plants in pots sheltered from freezing wind and wrap the pot in hessian.
• In winter the berries feed blackbirds, thrushes and other birds.

Diseases and pests

• Fireblight: Shoot tips and flower clusters suddenly turn brown-black, as if scorched, and bend over like a shepherd’s crook. Cut well back into healthy wood, disinfect your secateurs after every cut and keep the prunings off the compost heap.
• Aphids: On young shoots in spring. Ladybirds and birds usually deal with them; otherwise hose them off.
• Scale insects: Small brown shields on the branches and sticky leaves. Brush them off or cut out badly affected branches.
• Few berries: Too much shade or too much pruning after flowering. Give it more light and prune in moderation.

Through the year

• January: The berries feed the birds. Nothing to do.
• February: Last berries for the birds.
• March: Prune or renovate free-standing shrubs. Compost on poor soil.
• April: Plant. Watch for aphids.
• May: Plant. Water a young hedge in dry spells.
• June: Flowering begins. Bees on the flowers.
• July: Flowering. Water young plants in dry spells.
• August: Trim the hedge after flowering. Take semi-ripe cuttings.
• September: Plant. The berries turn red.
• October: Plant. Berries in full colour.
• November: Berries brighten the garden. Pull up seedlings.
• December: Birds eat the berries.

Edible and useful

Not edible. The red berries of cotoneaster are mildly poisonous: the seeds contain compounds that can release cyanide. A few berries usually cause no symptoms, but a larger amount can cause stomach ache, vomiting and diarrhoea, in dogs and cats too. The berries stay on from autumn well into winter, often at a child’s height or, on the creeping kinds, right beside a path, and they tempt small children. Teach them that the berries are for the birds, and pick them off where toddlers play. Birds, however, eat them without harm and so spread the seeds. If any is swallowed, call a poison centre (in Belgium 070 245 245) or your doctor at once.

Good for wildlife

Bees

Nectar and pollen for honeybees and wild bees.

Birds

Berries, seeds or insects as food, or a place to nest.

Did you know?

• The name Cotoneaster comes from the Latin cotoneum (quince) and the suffix -aster, meaning ‘somewhat resembling’.
• Lacteus means ‘milk-white’ and refers to the creamy-white flowers.
• It flowers later than most cotoneasters, hence its English name, late cotoneaster.