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Cotoneaster

pugslovesunpugslovesun Posts: 300
in Plants
Hi can anyone recommend a Cotoneaster that can be trained up a wall? Many thanks

Posts

  • ButtercupdaysButtercupdays Posts: 4,546
    C. horizontalis is ideal for growing up walls, it does it all on its own.
    Depends what you mean by trained though - it has its own distinctive growth habit  and doesn't take well to bits being chopped off. Unless done very carefully it makes it look wrong.
  • pugslovesunpugslovesun Posts: 300
    Haha yes I realise it will do its own thing but just there were some more suitable than others. It’s just I’ve read that horizontalalis is on some invasive species list & we shouldn’t plant it???
  • ButtercupdaysButtercupdays Posts: 4,546
    I've got several different cotoneasters and they all have berries which the birds love to eat and then distribute the seeds all over the place. Some of the others appear much more frequently than horizontalis  so it's probably not the worst. I just keep an eye out for seedlings and remove them when they are small :)
  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    Personally l'm a big fan of the franchetii variety. I have one growing up against the house wall in the front garden and just snip off any long shoots now again, making sure to keep as many flowers as possible for berries later.
    It's generally grown as a hedge l believe, (my MIL has one), but does the trick for me as a wall covering.
    Ironically it came from a seed dropped by a bird.
  • pugslovesunpugslovesun Posts: 300
    thank everyone, at least seedlings are very recognisable ! 
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I have C. lacteus, which is good against walls or fences.  I just clip off bits that are in the way. It forms a hefty framework so you can trim it if you want a specific effect. 
    The berries last a long time too because the birds tend to leave them for some reason. It's really just the wood pigeons that eat them. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • LunarSeaLunarSea Posts: 1,923
    I've been thinking this one was 'horizontalis' but I might be mistaken. Found it as a seedling elsewhere in the garden and decided it might as well go against next door's crumbling fence. Great display of berries this year.




    Clay soil - Cheshire/Derbyshire border. 

    I play with plants and soil and sometimes it's successful
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