Cotoneaster 'Coral Beauty'
Cotoneaster dammeri 'Coral Beauty' · Rosaceae
A fast, evergreen carpet of small, glossy leaves on long, trailing stems, with white flowers in spring and coral-red berries in autumn.
- Size
- 18 in tall, 6 ft wide
- Zones
- 5 to 8
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Late May to early June
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Carpet
A bed built around cotoneaster 'Coral Beauty'
The planner designed this bed around cotoneaster 'Coral Beauty' when this page was made: a 16 × 8 ft (4.9 × 2.4 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why cotoneaster 'Coral Beauty' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Cotoneaster 'Coral Beauty' × 1, white
- 2 Carpathian bellflower × 11, blue
- 3 Blanket flower 'Arizona Sun' × 9, red
- 4 Fernleaf yarrow 'Cloth of Gold' × 8, yellow
- 5 New England aster 'Alma Pötschke' × 4, pink
- 6 Easter lily × 5, white
- 7 Allium 'Globemaster' × 5, purple
- 8 Star of Persia × 5, purple
Why this plant
- The bed's only structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down, and it is the only one here.
- The only open bowls. The others are bells, daisies, flat plates and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
Why here
- Under the taller plants. It runs back between them as living mulch: there its job is to cover the soil, not to be looked at.
- One plant, alone. A shrub is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
Why now
- In flower for three weeks. From late May to early June.
- In company. With allium 'Globemaster' and star of Persia in late May: 3 kinds at once.
- The only leaves in winter. From November to March it is what there is to look at.
Planned as an English border: 6 of the 8 groups (75%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Cool colours (blue, pink and purple) with red and yellow as the warm notes, and white to calm things between them. Carpathian bellflower repeats along the bed to tie it together.
The planner's own design check: 9 Excellent, 8 Good.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where cotoneaster 'Coral Beauty' goes in a border
At 18 in it belongs at the front of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is short (12 to 18 in).
Its job: carpet. A groundcover planted in threes and fives to cover the soil: along the front, and just behind it.
The most free-fruiting form of bearberry cotoneaster, and a quick cover for a sunny bank. The stems root as they go.
- Evergreen groundcover on banks
- Trailing over walls
- Berries in autumn
What to plant with cotoneaster 'Coral Beauty'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Creeping juniper 'Blue Rug': its blue-green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; low enough (6 in) to stand in front of it.
- Dwarf fountain grass 'Hameln': carries the spot on into mid September; tall enough (2½ ft) to stand behind it.
- Daylily: takes over when it finishes, flowering from late June; tall enough (2½ ft) to stand behind it.
Questions about cotoneaster 'Coral Beauty'
Does cotoneaster 'Coral Beauty' need sun or shade?
Cotoneaster 'Coral Beauty' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day) and part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and little watering once settled. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does cotoneaster 'Coral Beauty' grow in?
USDA zones 5 to 8. It is hardy to zone 5, which means it survives winter nights down to about −10 °F (−23 °C).
Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does cotoneaster 'Coral Beauty' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late May to early June. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 5 | Late May to early June |
|---|---|
| Zone 6 | Mid May to early June |
| Zone 7 | Early May to late May |
| Zone 8 | Early May to late May |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should cotoneaster 'Coral Beauty' be planted?
4 ft (120 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 6 ft (180 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 18 in (45 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many cotoneaster 'Coral Beauty' plants do I need?
Usually one. At 4 ft (120 cm) across, it is a plant you place, not one you mass. For a hedge or screen, set them 4 ft apart: three plants for a 10 ft run.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is cotoneaster 'Coral Beauty' poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Is there a native plant like cotoneaster 'Coral Beauty'?
Cotoneaster 'Coral Beauty' comes from Tibet to Central China. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Lowbush blueberry: the same job in a bed, the same flowering time and the same colour; 2½ ft narrower, not evergreen.
- Creeping juniper 'Blue Rug': the same job in a bed; 12 in shorter, grown for its leaves, not its flowers.
- Cliff green: the same job in a bed; 6 in shorter, 24 in narrower.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Do deer eat cotoneaster 'Coral Beauty'?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
What flowers after cotoneaster 'Coral Beauty'?
Cotoneaster 'Coral Beauty' is over by early June. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Daylily: from late June to early August, 2½ ft tall (a recorded partner).
- Lady's mantle: from late May to early July, 18 in tall.
- Creeping thyme: from early June to mid July, 3 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does cotoneaster 'Coral Beauty' look like in winter?
Cotoneaster 'Coral Beauty' keeps its dark green leaves all winter, so it is one of the plants that hold a bed together from November to March, when the perennials have gone.
Is cotoneaster 'Coral Beauty' good for bees and butterflies?
Cotoneaster 'Coral Beauty' is visited by pollinators, butterflies and songbirds.
More Cotoneaster
- Bearberry cotoneaster Cotoneaster dammeri
- Cranberry cotoneaster Cotoneaster apiculatus
- Hedge cotoneaster Cotoneaster lucidus
- Rockspray cotoneaster Cotoneaster horizontalis
- Willowleaf cotoneaster 'Scarlet Leader' Cotoneaster salicifolius 'Scarlet Leader'
In these guides
- Plants for slopes and banks
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Plants for butterflies
- Plants that feed garden birds
- Groundcover plants
- Evergreen shrubs for structure
- Shrubs under 4 feet for small gardens
- Plants for a white garden
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub (groundcover)
- Size
- 18 in (45 cm) tall, 6 ft (180 cm) wide
- Plant
- 4 ft (120 cm) apart
- Height class
- Short (12 to 18 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- Late May to early June; open bowls; white
- Leaves
- Fine texture, evergreen; dark green
- Shape
- Mat-forming, spreading
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 5 to 8
- Light
- Full sun, part sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Rosaceae
- Comes from
- Tibet to Central China
- Attracts
- Pollinators, butterflies, songbirds
- Stands up to
- Deer, drought, erosion
Checked against NC State Extension and VASCAN (plants of Canada). Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.