Cranberry cotoneaster
Cotoneaster apiculatus · Rosaceae
A low mound of stiff, arching branches with small, glossy, wavy leaves that turn bronze-red in autumn, and large, cranberry-red berries that last into winter.
- Size
- 3 ft tall, 6 ft wide
- Zones
- 4 to 7
- 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 cranberry cotoneaster
The planner designed this bed around cranberry cotoneaster 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 cranberry cotoneaster stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Cranberry cotoneaster × 1, pink
- 2 Carpathian bellflower × 8, blue
- 3 Winter heath × 9, white
- 4 Sweet coneflower 'Henry Eilers' × 4, yellow
- 5 Smooth aster 'Bluebird' × 4, blue
- 6 Coneflower 'Green Jewel' × 3, green
- 7 Asiatic lily × 3, orange
- 8 Camassia × 5, blue
- 9 Spring starflower × 12, blue
Why this plant
- The only open bowls. The others are bells, daisies, trumpets and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only pink.
- Part of the bed's structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down. So does winter heath.
Why here
- In the middle. At 3 ft it is seen over winter heath (10 in) in front of it.
- 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.
- Fills a gap. For one of those weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as an English border: 5 of the 6 groups (83%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Blue runs through the planting: 4 of the 9 kinds grown for their flowers have it. Sweet coneflower 'Henry Eilers' and smooth aster 'Bluebird' anchor the back corners of the bed: the tallest plants on the plan stand there.
The planner's own design check: 8 Excellent, 9 Good.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where cranberry cotoneaster goes in a border
At 3 ft it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium tall (2½ to 3 ft).
Its job: carpet. A groundcover planted in threes and fives to cover the soil: along the front, and just behind it.
The best cotoneaster for fruit. It covers a bank or drapes over a wall. Avoid planting it where leaves blow in: they are tedious to pick out of the tangle.
- Covering banks
- Draping over walls
- Autumn and winter berries
What to plant with cranberry cotoneaster
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Juniper 'Blue Star': its blue-green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after.
- Dwarf fountain grass 'Hameln': carries the spot on into mid September.
- Sedum 'Autumn Joy': carries the spot on into mid October; bold leaves against its fine ones.
Questions about cranberry cotoneaster
Does cranberry cotoneaster need sun or shade?
Cranberry cotoneaster 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 cranberry cotoneaster grow in?
USDA zones 4 to 7. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °C).
Above zone 7 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 cranberry cotoneaster 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 4 | Late May to mid June |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Late May to early June |
| Zone 6 | Mid May to early June |
| Zone 7 | 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 cranberry cotoneaster be planted?
5 ft (150 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 3 ft (90 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many cranberry cotoneaster plants do I need?
Usually one. At 5 ft (150 cm) across, it is a plant you place, not one you mass. For a hedge or screen, set them 5 ft apart: three plants for a 10 ft run.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is cranberry cotoneaster 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 cranberry cotoneaster?
Cranberry cotoneaster comes from Central China. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Sweetfern: the same job in a bed; 12 in narrower, grown for its leaves, not its flowers.
- Fragrant sumac 'Gro-Low': the same job in a bed; 12 in shorter, flowers mid April to early May.
- Shrubby cinquefoil: the same colour; an anchor, not a carpet, 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 cranberry cotoneaster?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer and rabbits. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
What flowers after cranberry cotoneaster?
Cranberry cotoneaster is over by early June. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Butterfly weed: from late June to early August, 24 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Daylily: from late June to early August, 2½ ft tall.
- Yarrow: from mid June to late August, 24 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does cranberry cotoneaster look like in winter?
Cranberry cotoneaster drops its leaves and stands as bare branches: it is grown for autumn and winter berries. That is when to see its shape, and to prune it if it needs pruning.
Is cranberry cotoneaster good for bees and butterflies?
Cranberry cotoneaster is visited by songbirds.
More Cotoneaster
- Bearberry cotoneaster Cotoneaster dammeri
- Cotoneaster 'Coral Beauty' Cotoneaster dammeri 'Coral Beauty'
- Hedge cotoneaster Cotoneaster lucidus
- Rockspray cotoneaster Cotoneaster horizontalis
- Willowleaf cotoneaster 'Scarlet Leader' Cotoneaster salicifolius 'Scarlet Leader'
In these guides
- Salt-tolerant plants for roadsides and coasts
- Plants for slopes and banks
- Rabbit-resistant plants
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Plants that feed garden birds
- Groundcover plants
- Shrubs under 4 feet for small gardens
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 3 ft (90 cm) tall, 6 ft (180 cm) wide
- Plant
- 5 ft (150 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium tall (2½ to 3 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- Late May to early June; open bowls; pink
- Leaves
- Fine texture, deciduous; dark green
- Shape
- Mounding, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 7
- Light
- Full sun, part sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Rosaceae
- Comes from
- Central China
- Attracts
- Songbirds
- Stands up to
- Deer, rabbits, drought, salt, pollution, erosion
Checked against NC State Extension. 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.