Cotoneaster has flowers like dewdrops on a spider’s web
This is how, in our opinion, the white, delicate Cotoneaster flowers look like in spring. Densely and regularly embedded on shoots, they are not only beautiful and impressive but also attract bees.
In summer, the Cotoneaster looks modest with its dark green, leathery leaves (remember, however, about the variegated varieties), and lights like a fire in autumn.
Shoots of cover varieties, such as Cotoneaster dammeri, radicans, and horizontalis which were tightly covered with white or pink flowers in spring, in autumn are covered with tiny red fruit and red-orange leaves. And look astonishing!
The Cotoneaster lucidus, which in the summer was just a nice green hedge with shiny leaves, in autumn is breathtaking. It’s enough to look at the fiery leaves to make us feel warm.
- If your customers need a maintenance-free ground cover, recommend them the Cotoneaster.
- If they want to plant a leafy hedge that bees and birds will like, recommend the Cotoneaster to them.
- If they are looking for something to color the autumn days, recommend Cotoneaster to them.
- If they are looking for evergreen plants with interesting, pretty leaves, recommend Cotoneaster to them.
Practical tips:
- plant them in a sunny/semi-shaded place
- average, moderately moist garden soil will be sufficient
Frost hardiness:
- ground covers: evergreen species to approx -20°C, leaf-shedding species to -23°C.
- C. lucidus to -33°C
- C. lacteus to -15°C
Interesting facts:
One flower of Cotoneaster provides the bees with about 9 mg of nectar with a sugar concentration of 15-39%. A bee uses 2 mg sugar/1 km of flight.
In Europe, Asia and Africa there are more than 60 species of Cotoneaster.
Overview of the varieties:
Ground covers | Leaves | Max size |
atropurpureus ‘Variegatus’ | green with a white edge | h: 0.5m w: 1.5m |
dammeri | green, evergreen | h: 0.1-0.2m, w: 3m |
dammeri ‘Major’ | green, evergreen | h: 0.1-0.2m, w: 1m |
dammeri ‘Miranda’ | green, half-evergreen | h: 0.2-0.3m, w: 0.8m |
dammeri ‘Mooncreeper’ | green, evergreen | h: 0.1-0.2m, w: 0.8m |
horizontalis | green | h: 0.5-1m, w: 1.5-2m |
microphyllus | green, evergreen | h: 0.5-1m, w: 1.5-2m |
procumbens ‘Queen of Carpets’ | green, evergreen | h: 0.1-0.2m, w: 1m |
procumbens ‘Streib’s Findling’ | green, evergreen | h: 0.1-0.2m, w: 1m |
radicans ‘Eichholz’ | green, evergreen | h: 0.2-0.3m, w: 1m |
suecicus ‘Coral Beauty’ | green, evergreen | h: 0.5-0.7m, w: 1-1.5m |
suecicus ‘Skogholm’ | green, evergreen | h: 1m, w: 1-1.5m |
Hedge species | Leaves | Max size |
lacteus | green, evergreen | h: 3-4m |
lucidus | green | h: 2-3m |
h – height; w – width