Cotoneaster salicifolia

This is a shrub which I feel has tremendous potential for softening the countless concrete and concrete block retaining walls that are out there. This is the pure species in the pictures. I think the cultivar "Scarlet Leader" is even "threadier," although I think I'm favoring the bit of stiffness of the species a little more these days. Here in zone six, it stays evergreen (or semi evergreen in the best possible sense of that term) through most winters. The foliage is neat and glossy. The berries are glossy and red. And the plant doesn't seem to catch all the leaf litter and real litter like C. apiculatus. I have seen no issues of pests or diseases.

Scott

I believe this shrub must be planted where it can drape over something. Growing flat in a flat garden, I think it might make an okay groundcover, but it wouldn't be the star that is used in this way.

Scott

This isn't the greatest shot, the light was very flat today, but it does show the little extra stiffness I mentioned in the first post. Note how branching wants to push the shrub out away from the wall some before gravity eventually wins out. I think this is a bit more interesting than how I would suspect the cultivar "Scarlet Leader" would simply fall over the wall and plunge straight down.

Scott

And the foliage and berries aren't too bad either.


Scott

Boringly common over here - see it all over the place. The berries are too dry for most birds to enjoy, so they tend to leave them as 'famine food', only taking them when they're desparate. Have seen waxwings and thrushes [US = robins] eating them when there was no other food left.

It might be susceptible to fireblight.

Resin

PS spellcheck: Cotoneaster salicifolius
http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200010777

Resin

Oh, but you will.

Such as?

Lost all my "larger" Cotoneaster to some sort of girding varmit ( vole, mole, mouse ), oddly enough did not touch the "smaller" variety (Tom thumb or some name like that) which was as close to the larger variety as they were in the total grouping. Varmits did a real job: girding the short main stem and the branches for about 12in. Total loss. All out of sight under snow cover. It would be tough to stop this sort of predation on a sloping hill without some sort of bait such as DECON. Ken

In our lovely midwest Ohio River valley heat and humidity (as opposed to the native haunts of western China), one can expect some or all of:

•leaf spots
•canker
•fire blight
•hawthorn lace bugs
•scales
•spider mites
•cotoneaster webworm
•sinuate pear tree borer
•pear leaf blister mite

Since Cotoneaster salicifolius is smack in the middle of Rosaceae, you can imagine that it will be prone to the same set of pests that assail the rest of that family on a rather regular basis here in our part of the world. As you move northward, this group of plants (depending on hardiness) performs in a significantly different manner. One of the finest displays of red fall color I've observed was on a spread of 5G container Cotoneaster lucidus at Beaver Creek Nursery. Despite my better judgment, I own one.

IL-suited, all it has done is be defoliated and weak ever since it came to KY. The viburnums mock it daily.

Another closely related Cotoneaster often grown here is C. frigidus (from the Himalaya). This is the largest Cotoneaster, makes a tree up to 10-15m tall and 50-70cm trunk diameter

The hybrid C. x watereri is also very commonly planted here

Resin

Young C. frigidus c.25 years old:

That's a handsome little tree!

C. salicifolia three years here and no trouble yet! Terribly hard to find in nurseries. I was wondering why.

Scott

This message was edited Dec 16, 2006 1:33 PM

I've also been looking for that species...it may not be fully hardy here but I think it might go. We rarely drop below 0 F and usually have a good snow cover when we do.

We are very fortunate in Newfoundland that we have no diseases that bother cotoneasters. We do have pear-slug that can cause some problems but one shot of insecticidal soap seems to erradicate them. I grow several species; apiculatus, lucidus, horizontalis, cochleatus, adpressus, divaricatus, bullatus, dammeri, multiflorus and tomentosus. The fall colour of most is spectacular. Tomentosus and bullatus just came into my hands this years....so far I'm quite impressed.

Here is my lucidus hedge.

That's beautiful, Todd, but I think I like the stonework even more. Beautiful garden. And I am envious you have no disease or pest problems. I suppose that means you can grow Sorbus at will?

Scott

That's exactly the brilliant fall color effect that persuaded me to buy my one lonely IL-advised C. lucidus.

Sorbus thrive here...S. americana, decora, aucuparia, forestii, hupehensis, prattii and sichwanensis are among the collection...I've never seen fireblight in Newfoundland. We do get bark cankers occasionally but only on weakened trees. Sorbus do get leaf rollers and sawflies however.