Hardy, pretty groundcover, if you need a beautifully reliable plant that covers ground and adds interest in a tough area, try Cranberry Cotoneaster (Cotoneaster apiculatus)! You’ll gain so many ornamental features from a durable, rugged little deciduous shrub.
These small plants feature pretty pink flowers in late spring that draw pollinators and butterflies. They’ll slowly transition to showy, small red cranberry-like fruits, which develop in summer and hang well into winter. If the birds let them stick around! Songbirds swoop in to gobble up these ornamental fruits!
It’s covered in very glossy green, round leaves all summer long. Starting in fall, they’ll burnish into beautiful bronze hues of purples and reds to color the end of the season.
Of course, those bright, red berries will make it a standout in your winter landscape! When fruiting, this shrub looks like it’s decorated for the holidays. These fruits add exceptional interest and beauty while attracting local birds that feast on the bright fruit.
Even the informal, spreading form itself delivers a visual impact. Small branches arch up from the crown and then drop down, adding a sense of motion. As the arching branches touch the ground, they’ll root and slowly spread to reach their mature size. These ground-covering small shrubs are easy to grow and maintain!
Planting and Application:
Pronounced “Koh toh knee aster”, rely on Cranberry Cotoneaster for year-round interest! Use this versatile small shrub throughout your landscape to tie the entire design together. You’ll enjoy flowers, red cranberry-like fruits for months, and fall color!
Add them to high-profile places in your landscape. Plant them in your foundations for a colorful, sophisticated modern look. You can also plant them as noteworthy plants near the edge of your mixed shrub borders.
They make excellent specimens in Asian-style gardens. Try your hand at the patient art of bonsai with these lovely plants! Let ramble throughout Rock Gardens and along the front of your foundation planting.
Of course, they make wonderful mass plantings on slopes and hillsides. Plant them three feet apart on center so they grow together and touch. Measure from the center of one to the center of the next.
Create fantastic informal drifts in large landscapes with rock outcroppings or hillsides rising above a patio. They are wonderful decorative erosion control for slopes and terraced areas!
- Beautiful Pink Flowers in Late Spring
- Glossy, Dark Green Foliage
- Foliage Turns Purple & Red in Fall
- Accented by Red Fruit – Showy for Months
- Sprawling, Versatile Groundcover, Colorful Foundation Plant & Mass Plantings
Tips for Care:
It thrives in full sun to show off the high-gloss foliage, but will also grow in partial shade, too. For the best berry production, give it at least 6 hours of direct sunlight a day. It requires well-drained soil, so mound up or use a raised bed for planting if your drainage is sluggish. Water regularly during its first year as it works to establish a strong root system. Give it a moderate amount of water from then on for the best performance. It’s nice to note that this plant is tolerant of periodic drought.
For best results, water during extended drought and provide a 3-4 inch layer of mulch around the entire root system. Prune wayward branches back below the outline of the canopy any time of year. The goal of pruning should be to reduce the size while retaining the true mounded and arching growth habit.
- Grows Best in Full Sun & Partial Shade
- Widely Adaptable to a Variety of Conditions & Well-Drained Soils
- Moderate Moisture Needs -Drought Tolerant Once Established
- Prune After Flowering
- Very Adaptable, Pollution-Tolerant & Easy-To-Grow
Add this special “4 season” plant to your landscape today! Perfect for low-maintenance landscapes, the hardy Cranberry Cotoneaster will be an anchor for your garden design!
