Conversation at a well-known Garden Centre in SW England: 'Cotoneasters!'There are up to 300 species: why do you only sell three boring ones?' 'No demand for them: they're all boring, red berries, fit for a hedge!' Me: 'What about the pink berried ones, the yellow ones, the white ones, the black ones?' 'Never heard of them, they wouldn't sell, so we don't bother'.
When we moved here, we realised that the 'top' side of the garden would need a windbreak to slow down winter gales across the fields from the west. (Area A 7 to14 on the garden plan linked in the page heading.) To underplant the few established trees on the edge of the orchard we chose Cotoneaster: not exciting, but bone hardy, with pretty autumn berries loved by the birds. A visit to the UK National Collection in Surrey provided inspiration, coming home wih a few plants to get the project started.
Our first plantings were of varieties that would grow quite large: here is Cotoneaster tenguehensis, now 2.5m high,and covered with clusters of red berries!
Sadly the best coloured berry forms were hit by late frost at flowering time so have no berries this year, but in winter the birds especially enjoy the black fruits such as these on Cotoneaster humelli. Cotoneaster moupinensis is more widely available, and has a similar habit.
Finally some have 'ordinary' red berries (though the shades of red can vary greatly if you look closely), but they contribute to the autumn scene in other ways. Here is Cotoneaster ignescens, which in a few weeks will be a blaze of autumn leaf colours to rival anything else in the garden.
Cotoneasters can be a bit addictive, so there are a number of others in wilder areas around our garden. These are smaller forms, more able to fit in with other shrubs. All of them originally come from China and surrounding territories, so the names can be a challenge. Who could resist Cotoneaster huahongdongensis? Quite a dull shrub, but what a name to write on a label!
So that's Cotoneasters: they may not win any flower shows, but are tough and useful shrubs with plenty of autumn interest, and infinitely nicer than laurel for a windbreak hedge in an exposed spot. Birds appreciate them: so should we!
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