Whether as a dark green carpet or a bushy shrub with red fruits – the cotoneaster captivates with its strong colors, which beautify the home garden at any time of the year. The robust plant, which belongs to the rose family, is available in numerous varieties. The extremely undemanding loquat requires little care and feels at home in many different locations; therefore the cotoneaster is the perfect plant for beginners who have not yet had so much experience in the garden.
Table of Contents
Variety of varieties – overview
The cotoneaster is available in numerous species and varieties; however, all plants show the same typical plant structure:
- white to red flowers
- small leathery leaves of blue or green color
- Berry-like fruits
The cotoneaster can be divided into two main groups; On the one hand, low, often creeping medlars can be found in home gardens, which are used as ground cover. In addition, there are upright, bushy, sometimes stately shrubs available, which are also known as “Loquat”. However, the naming of the dwarf medlars turns out to be very inconsistent, both in the German names and in the botanical names, which have been changed several times.
The “Cotoneaster dammeri” species is mainly used as a ground cover. The plant reaches a maximum height of 30cm and is up to 150cm wide. The oval, leathery leaves appear particularly decorative, their blue-green color forming a decorative contrast to the berry-like red fruits. If you are looking forward to the colorful foliage in autumn, choose the loquat (Cotoneaster adpressus), which provides bright wine-red foliage as a deciduous, prostrate ground cover. However, the fruiting of this species is severely limited. The fan loquat (Cotoneaster horizontalis), on the other hand, provides not only a bright orange-red autumn color but also numerous red fruits,
The cotoneaster multiflorus (Cotoneaster multiflorus), which appears as a deciduous shrub and has a broad, bushy growth, is one of the bushy dwarf medlars. It reaches a height of up to three meters and shows egg-shaped green leaves that take on a pretty red hue when they shoot. The white flowers, which give off a strong scent, are particularly striking. The chunky cotoneaster (Cotoneaster divaricatus), which grows as a deciduous and loosely branched bush and reaches a height of three meters, is particularly well suited for the winter garden. The dark red fruits of the plant, which grow in large numbers, stick for a particularly long time and thus provide decorative splashes of color throughout the winter.
Choose a location – this is where the plant feels at home
Overall, the coton loquat is one of the robust and resilient plants that can cope well with unfavorable site conditions. However, the plant feels particularly comfortable in a sunny location, where a particularly large number of flowers and fruits can develop. But the plant also thrives in light penumbra. Creeping varieties often grow on embankments, under sparse trees or on top of walls. The plants also feel at home in the rock garden, for example between stonecrop and summer phlox. Bush-like growing varieties, on the other hand, are particularly popular planted in groups of trees or positioned within free-standing or strictly cut hedges.
The plant makes no special demands on the soil. The coton loquat thrives very well on a substrate that meets the following requirements:
- permeable to water
- Moisturizing
- rich in nutrients (especially ground cover)
- fumes
- loose soil
The garden soil can be used pure or loosened up with sand. However, since cotoneaster is very robust and resilient overall, the plant also thrives under less favorable conditions. Even lime-rich, barren earth cannot harm the plant.
Care: watering, fertilizing, wintering
The coton loquat does not have any special requirements in terms of irrigation and fertilization and is therefore very easy to care for. During the growing season, the plant should be watered regularly. It should only be poured when the substrate is already dry. The occasional drying out of the root ball does not cause the plant any problems as long as it is not a permanent condition. On the other hand, heavy watering and waterlogging should also be avoided, as in this case the roots could rot. During the winter months the cotoneaster is only watered sporadically; watering takes place only during the frost-free days.
In the period between April and September, the cotoneaster is fed either once a month with liquid fertilizer or twice with sticks or granules. In addition, extensive mulching has proven itself; If the plant is provided with lawn clippings and autumn leaves in spring, the risk of drying out can be reduced.
The cotoneaster is frost hardy and can overwinter outdoors without any problems. However, it has proven helpful to provide the plant with additional mulch and attach a protective plant fleece.
The right care cut
To care for the cotoneaster, it can be cut regularly; Ground cover in particular can tolerate radical pruning. These varieties can be cut well in height and width, as the older side branches willingly sprout again. Depending on the type, different times are chosen for this; for example, deciduous varieties that grow too strongly are cut in winter, while the evergreen plants are cut in spring; this way, the flowers and fruits develop later under optimal conditions. Hedge-like species are best pruned into shape in August.
For an optimal pruning, the scissors are placed over a bud that points outwards, whereby care should be taken to keep them at an angle. The cut surface does not indicate the bud; the distance between the cut notch and the bud is between half a centimeter and one centimeter. After the cut, no larger stubs should remain on the branch. Older shoots in particular are cut out just above the ground in this way. In addition, dead branches are removed. Also, shoots that are too close together, that cross over each other or that are otherwise disturbing are removed; an alternative is the targeted derivation on more favorably growing shoots.
Propagation, sowing and planting
The propagation of the coton bird can be done with different methods:
- Sowing ripe berries (pure species)
- Propagation by subsidence
- Offshoots taken in late autumn (need 1 year to grow)
- Cuttings from mature shoots of evergreen dwarf medlars in late summer
- Cuttings from half-ripe shoots from dwarf medlars that shed foliage in late summer
The planting time is possible in the months between October and May, although periods with particularly severe frost are left out. Propagation via cuttings is particularly common. Here, approximately 8 cm long shoots are cut and stuck into the earth for rooting. The rooting works particularly well in conditions with high humidity. This can be achieved by putting a plastic hood over the cutting to prevent evaporation.
Young plants are also available in stores, but they are often sold bare-rooted. Such specimens are carefully silted up in the earth before being planted, whereby the roots are immersed in thick mud for half an hour. Then a pit is dug into which the plant is inserted. The subsurface should be as loose as possible. It is also important to ensure that the roots are carefully spread out. Then the pit is filled with the excavated earth and humus earth and the area is generously irrigated. During the first summer, the plant should be placed on cool, damp soil and should be watered extensively and provided with mulch.
Pests and diseases
Medlars are sometimes attacked by aphids. Strongly rolled up leaves and sticky parts of plants present themselves as damage. The pests, which can usually be seen densely packed on the underside of the leaf, suck the sap from the plant, which weakens the plant. Various methods have proven effective for combating the pests:
- Introduction of beneficial insects, for example ladybugs
- Treatment with spray mixtures, for example soft soap solution
- Hosed down with water
- Insecticides (varieties that protect the population of beneficial insects)
If cotoneaster is infested with mealybugs, the plant is rubbed with a cotton ball soaked in vinegar and alcohol. The parts of the plant are then sprayed off with soft soap.
In addition, sooty mildew often develops on the plant. This black coating is formed by fungi that spread on the honeydew of aphids. The plant is not directly damaged by the infestation; however, the fungus strongly affects the photosynthesis of the leaves. Combating the aphids will also reduce the spread of sooty mildew.
The fire blight, which presents itself as a classic disease in dwarf medlars, is of particular importance. The cotoneaster is usually infected via stems and leaves, which then quickly dry up. The damage is caused by discoloration of the leaves and flowers, which first turn brown in spring and soon afterwards also turn black. In the further course the shoots bend until finally all parts of the plant wither and look burnt. So far, the disease cannot be combated chemically; As a preventive measure, varieties that are less susceptible should be chosen. When cutting, make sure that the cutting tool is well disinfected. If an infestation has nevertheless occurred, this must be reported immediately to the competent authority (e.g. the plant protection office, the district administration), because the fire blight can also affect fruit trees. The infected plants then have to be cleared and destroyed according to the instructions of the authorities. After all parts of the plant have been removed, the soil in which the infested plants were located must be mended with fertilizer.
Toxicity
When handling the coton bird, its toxicity must always be taken into account. All parts of the plant, especially the fruits, contain slightly toxic ingredients. Above all, this includes the glycoside amygdalin, which has properties similar to hydrocyanic acid. Accidental consumption can lead to a variety of different symptoms:
- Itching and burning in the throat and throat
- Nausea and vomiting
- Abdominal pain and diarrhea
- increased salivation
According to the literature, the consumption of activated charcoal is recommended as a countermeasure when consuming 10 to 20 berries. However, those affected should contact the doctor and the poison control center directly.
Conclusion
As a ground cover or decorative shrub, the coton bird has a permanent place in home gardens. Because the plant is particularly robust and requires little maintenance, the plant is particularly popular with beginners who have not yet had much experience with gardening. But in the last few years the enthusiasm for the coton loquat has decreased somewhat due to the increasing infestation of fire blight; it is to be hoped that an antidote for this disease will be found in the future.
