Cotoneaster

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Cotoneaster (lat. Cotoneaster) - a genus of shrubs and small trees of the Pink family. The genus has more than 100 species. Natural area - Eurasia and North Africa.

Characteristics of culture

Cotoneaster is a deciduous or evergreen slow-growing shrub or tree with a dense crown. The leaves are medium-sized, simple, whole-edged, dark green with shine, ovoid. Fall foliage becomes reddish in color. Flowers are small, pink or white, solitary or clustered in racemose or corymbose inflorescences. The fruit is an apple, contains 2-5 seeds, depending on the variety, it can be red or black. The fruits of some types of cotoneaster are edible.

The cotoneaster is an excellent honey plant. It is ideal as an ornamental crop, despite the fact that the flowers of the cotoneaster are inconspicuous. Many types of crops are used to create hedges and to anchor sandy slopes. Today, about 80 species and garden forms of cotoneaster are widely used in landscape design. Plants are undemanding to moisture and soil conditions, they are gas-resistant and frost-resistant, therefore they thrive in urban conditions.

Growing conditions

As mentioned above, the cotoneaster is an undemanding culture. You can grow a cotoneaster on any type of soil, except for heavy clay, saline, waterlogged and acidic soils. Optimal soil composition: turf, sand and peat in a ratio of 2: 2: 1. The culture develops well in areas with full lighting, although partial shade is not prohibited. The multi-flowered cotoneaster needs limed soils.

Reproduction and planting

The cotoneaster is propagated by seeds, layering, cuttings and grafting. Pear is most often used as a stock. The seed method is quite laborious, the seeds have a very low germination rate, no more than 40-60%. The seeds are subjected to long-term stratification before sowing, but they are washed before this important procedure. Defective copies float up. Seeds are sown in the fall in open ground under a shelter in the form of humus or peat.

Reproduction by green cuttings is most effective. Usually up to 90% of cuttings are rooted. Cuttings are carried out in the second half of July. Before rooting, the planting material is planted with a substrate consisting of sand and peat, taken in equal amounts, and covered with a film.

Amateur gardeners most often grow cotoneaster with seedlings. It is preferable to purchase seedlings in nurseries or garden centers. The depth of the planting pit should be 50-70 cm. The root collar is not buried, but placed several centimeters above the soil surface. The distance between plants should be 0.5-2 m, which largely depends on the species and garden form of plants.

Care

Caring for the cotoneaster consists in systematic feeding. In the spring, a complete mineral fertilizer is applied under the crop, for example, Kemiru Universal, or urea. Before flowering, the cotoneaster is fed with granular superphosphate and potassium sulfate. Most species are drought-resistant and need watering only in the absence of rain for a long time. They loosen the soil in the near-trunk zone very carefully, at the same time weeding is carried out.

The cotoneaster successfully lends itself to formative pruning. One-third pruning of the annual shoot is allowed. For the winter, the soil in the near-trunk zone is mulched with peat or dry healthy foliage. The culture needs regular treatments against pests and diseases. Most often, cotoneaster is affected by Fusarium. Among the pests, the most dangerous are: yellow bear, apple aphid and moth.