Firethorn 'Mohave'
Pyracantha 'Mohave' · Rosaceae
White flowers in late spring, then huge crops of orange-red berries that colour in August and last into winter. Fiercely thorny.
- Size
- 10 ft tall, 10 ft wide
- Zones
- 6 to 9
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Late May to early June
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Anchor
A bed built around firethorn 'Mohave'
The planner designed this bed around firethorn 'Mohave' when this page was made: a 22 × 10 ft (6.7 × 3.0 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why firethorn 'Mohave' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Firethorn 'Mohave' × 1, white
- 2 Bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei' × 11, pink
- 3 Sedum 'Lidakense' × 51, pink
- 4 Indian grass 'Sioux Blue' × 3, tan
- 5 False sunflower × 4, yellow
- 6 White mugwort × 3, cream
- 7 Blue-eyed grass × 32, blue
- 8 Nodding onion × 22, pink
- 9 Winter heath × 9, purple
- 10 Gloriosa daisy × 3, yellow
- 11 Daffodil × 6, orange
- 12 Spring starflower × 19, blue
Why this plant
- The only white. White sits between stronger colours and calms them.
- Part of the bed's structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down. So do Indian grass 'Sioux Blue' and winter heath.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 10 ft it is the tallest plant here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to false sunflower (4 ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- 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 bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei' and blue-eyed grass in late May: 3 kinds at once.
- One of two evergreens. They are what the bed has to show from November to March.
Planned as an English border: 23 of the 25 groups (92%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Something is in flower for 38 weeks, from late January to mid October. Sedum 'Lidakense' repeats along the bed to tie it together.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 4 Good, 1 Satisfactory. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where firethorn 'Mohave' goes in a border
At 10 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is super tall (over 6½ ft).
Its job: anchor. A shrub that gives the bed permanent structure. Planted singly, as soon as the front edge is laid; everything else is arranged around it.
Bred at the US National Arboretum to resist scab and fireblight. Train it flat against a wall, or grow it as a barrier hedge that nothing will cross.
- Training on walls
- Barrier hedges
- Berries for autumn and winter
What to plant with firethorn 'Mohave'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Lilyturf: carries the spot on into mid September; low enough (16 in) to stand in front of it.
- Glossy abelia: takes over when it finishes, flowering from mid June; low enough (5 ft) to stand in front of it.
- Dwarf fountain grass 'Hameln': carries the spot on into mid September; low enough (2½ ft) to stand in front of it.
Questions about firethorn 'Mohave'
Does firethorn 'Mohave' need sun or shade?
Firethorn 'Mohave' 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.
What zones does firethorn 'Mohave' grow in?
USDA zones 6 to 9. It is hardy to zone 6, which means it survives winter nights down to about 0 °F (−18 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does firethorn 'Mohave' 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 6 | Mid May to early June |
|---|---|
| Zone 7 | Early May to late May |
| Zone 8 | Early May to late May |
| Zone 9 | Late April 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 firethorn 'Mohave' be planted?
6½ ft (200 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 10 ft (300 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 10 ft (300 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many firethorn 'Mohave' plants do I need?
Usually one. At 6½ ft (200 cm) across, it is a plant you place, not one you mass. For a hedge or screen, set them 6½ ft apart: two plants for a 10 ft run.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is firethorn 'Mohave' 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 firethorn 'Mohave'?
Firethorn 'Mohave' is not native to North America. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Saskatoon serviceberry: the same job in a bed, the same size and the same colour; flowers late April to early May, not evergreen.
- Siberian dogwood: the same job in a bed, the same flowering time and the same colour; 3½ ft shorter, 20 in narrower.
- Common ninebark: the same job in a bed, the same flowering time and the same colour; 20 in shorter, not evergreen.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
What flowers after firethorn 'Mohave'?
Firethorn 'Mohave' is over by early June. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Glossy abelia: from mid June to early October, 5 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems (a recorded partner).
- Oakleaf hydrangea: from mid June to early August, 6½ ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Hollyhock: from early July to late August, 6 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does firethorn 'Mohave' look like in winter?
Firethorn 'Mohave' 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. It is grown for berries for autumn and winter as well.
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 10 ft (300 cm) tall, 10 ft (300 cm) wide
- Plant
- 6½ ft (200 cm) apart
- Height class
- Super tall (over 6½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Late May to early June; dense clusters; white
- Leaves
- Medium texture, evergreen; dark green
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 6 to 9
- Light
- Full sun, part sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Rosaceae
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.