Cotoneaster, which belongs to the family of pink, grows wild in China, Buryatia and Eastern Siberia. But he got accustomed to life on city streets, as he not only tolerates frosts, but also reacts little to gases, dust and environmental pollution.
Did you know? Cotoneaster is a slow-growing evergreen shrub. The name gave him a Swiss botanist Caspar Baugin. Since one type of cotoneaster looks like a quince, it made up the name for it from two Greek words: cotonea (quince) and aster (similar). Today the plant is distributed throughout Eurasia, North Africa in a huge variety of species.
All the details of planting a cotoneaster
Regardless of the type of cotoneaster transplant is carried out in the spring. We must have time to do it in the period before the buds have blossomed, but only after the earth has thawed. However, the black-fruited and shiny cotoneaster can be planted in the fall. Again, you need to catch up to frosts, but to disembark no earlier than all the foliage will fall.
When choosing a place for a shrub, pick up sunny areas where it will find all its decorative effect. Although in the penumbra, he also grows quite beautiful. It is important that in this place there were no strong winds, and the groundwater was deep enough.
The cotoneaster is unpretentious to the soil, but to be sure, during planting you can apply the necessary fertilizers directly into the hole.
The holes are prepared with a size of approximately 50x50x50 cm. At the same time, the bottom layer of the pit, approximately 20 cm, should consist of drainage: broken brick and gravel. From above, the bush is sprinkled not with ordinary soil, but with a mixture of two parts of sod land and one each of humus, sand and peat. It is desirable that such was the soil itself for the cotoneaster. Experienced gardeners recommend adding about 200 grams of lime per square meter.
Keep in mind that the bush will grow and form a lush crown, so the distance between it and other plants should be kept at least half a meter, and preferably two. When sprinkling the sapling with earth, one must take care not to close its neck, which must be clearly flush with the ground. The ground itself around it must be well compacted, watered and mulch 8 cm peat.
Important! When planting a cotoneaster for a hedge, prepare not holes for it, but trenches.
Whatever type of cotoneaster you planted, it will take root with almost 100% probability without any problems.
How to care for cotoneaster
Planting cotoneaster and care for him are extremely simple. If you remember that the plant is detrimental excess moisture in the roots, then there will be no problems with growing. The shrub does not require special watering even on the driest days of summer - it suffers drought without disastrous consequences. But if it was too dry summer, it is watered once every two weeks with seven buckets per adult bush. Monthly watering guarantees resistant decorative plants. During the same procedure, you can wash off dust and dirt from the bush.
Caring for the cotoneaster requires regular removal of weeds after watering or rain. After this procedure, it is advisable to loosen the soil under him and around by about 15 cm. Mulching with peat up to 8 cm ends this procedure.
Did you know? Cotoneaster is a straight-growing shrub that drops leaves in autumn. Without pruning, it can grow to two meters in height. Elliptical leaves are up to 5 cm long, pointed end and densely covered with shoots. The basic color tone is dark green, but in summer it may acquire a purple tone. Cotoneaster blooms from about May to June with pink flowers, gathered in inflorescences of a maximum of eight. Beautiful shiny black fruit that adorns the shrubs before frost, appear on the fourth year of the plant. And without a transplant, it can grow in one place for up to 50 years.
Growing a cotoneaster requires periodic feeding. The first time humus is introduced in the spring during the digging of the soil for planting.
During the planting itself you can make complex fertilizers. As soon as noticeably warmer, use nitrogenous fertilizers, for example, Kemira-universal prolonged granules or a solution of urea (25 g per bucket of water). Before flowering potash fertilizer should be applied: 60 g of superphosphate and 15 g of potassium per square meter.
How to correctly trim a cotoneaster
Pruning of the cotoneaster is carried out in early spring, but how it will be depends on the type of shrub and on your goals. Trimming can be sanitary, rejuvenating and molded. The last two are made only in the spring, before the disclosure of the kidneys, and the first - at any time.
Sanitary pruning
To carry out sanitary pruning is recommended as needed at any time of the year. Dead, broken, damaged, diseased or just old shoots are subject to removal. It is done in order to improve the shrub and preserve its attractive appearance.
Important! Little-known people and novice flower growers confuse dogwood and cotoneaster, taking them to be the same shrub. But consonance is the only thing that brings them together. In fact, they even belong to different families. Cotoneaster has inedible berries that look like mini apples. He, unlike cornel, is raised not for the sake of the fruit, but for the sake of its decorativeness, which he retains for the long years of his life.
Anti-aging pruning
Over time, the lower tier of the cotoneaster becomes bare, especially when it comes to chokeberry, and the bush requires a rejuvenating pruning. Also, a signal to this kind of manipulation is a plant growth of no more than 7 cm per year.
Spend it, as already mentioned, in the spring, when the kidneys have not yet dismissed. Depending on the region, it may start from February to April. Sometimes it is carried out closer to the fall - in August-September.
Pruning with a rejuvenating goal involves shortening shoots from the top by about a third. As a rule, three to four buds are cut, and the cut itself is carried out over well-developed buds. This stimulates the growth of lateral buds or accessory.
To avoid thickening of the plant, the removal of the oldest branches once every two years is practiced. Then the new bloom more abundantly. The signal for this kind of pruning is the shredding of bush flowers.
Shaped pruning
When the plant reaches about two years of age, and the shoots will stretch to 60 cm in length, it is possible to carry out formative pruning of the plant. Landscape designers love it for the fact that it can be given the most diverse shape: a hemisphere, a prism, a cone, or more complex outlines.
When curly pruning first, pinching the tops is carried out so that the side shoots grow, and next year you can trim the shoots by a third, giving them the desired shape. It is recommended to first try simple forms and only after acquiring the necessary skills move on to complex shapes. The pattern of planting in the cotoneaster also influences the choice of specific outlines, therefore, think in advance about the variants of the outlines of the shrub.
Cotoneaster hedge
Cotoneaster bushes are decorated with parks, gardens, and garden plots, planting it in dense rows around fences, paths, and curbs. It can be used to separate different zones on the site, different groups of plants, limiting flowerbeds or forming one of the tiers at the cascade fence.
As a rule, to form a hedge from a cotoneaster, the bushes are planted in one row at intervals of up to 50 cm or in a trench manner with a depth and width of a trench of half a meter. Sometimes practiced and two-row landing in a checkerboard pattern. However, most often double row is used when planting barberries, hawthorn and other shrubs.
After planting, taking into account the above recommendations, the cotoneaster seedlings should grow independently for about two years. And only after this period begin to form them. The first thing to do is to limit the height of the cotoneaster, cutting the tops of the shoots. This will give an intensive increase in side branches. When they reach approximately the size that the contour is planned to form, they begin to limit their growth to the sides.
When the bush becomes thick enough, it is cut according to the intended forms. The contours must be periodically trimmed and adjusted to the intended and cut. During the season you will need to spend about 3-4 such haircuts to maintain the desired shape. The optimal height for a cotoneaster fence is 1.5 m.
Important! There is a huge variety of types of cotoneaster, but not so much is suitable for growing in the garden. The most unpretentious and resistant ones are used for growing a hedge: black-fruited, shiny, ordinary (entire). They perfectly withstand all the vagaries of weather, climate features of the middle zone, as well as winter-hardy.
Preparing cotoneaster for winter
In general, cotoneaster is frost-resistant enough, so it does not require special preparation for winter. This is especially true of such winter-hardy varieties as black, shiny, ordinary, from which they form hedges. However, if a harsh winter is expected or you are still afraid for the viability of your pet, you can mulch the soil under the bush with peat, dry leaves, spruce leaves or other material to cover with a layer of up to 6 cm.
You can also bend the branches of a bush to the ground and cover them with the same material. Additionally, you can cover them with snow. But in case of heavy snow it is recommended to remove the insulation materials in advance so that the shrub can spend the winter under natural shelter - snow.
How to deal with possible diseases and pests of the cotoneaster
Cotoneaster is susceptible to diseases, and insects love it. Of the diseases, it most often affects such a fungal disease as fusarium. It can be diagnosed by yellowing and falling leaves in spring or summer, that is, when it is not a natural process for plants. The disease is indicated later and poor flowering. The disease spreads quickly and if the treatment is not started on time, the plant may die.
If the disease is detected in the initial stages, you can do with folk remedies. To begin with, all affected areas are removed. Then the plant and the soil around it are sprayed with infusion of potato tops, yarrow, garlic or decoction of wormwood. If the situation is neglected, only fungicides should be used.
Among the pests on the shrub may live yellow bear, spider mite, scytwick, sawyer, apple moth or aphid. The fact that they settled on the plant, say shriveled leaves, twisted and dried shoots. If the insects have not had time to significantly spread over the cotoneaster, you can also use folk remedies. The plant is sprayed with the decoction of yarrow, tobacco, tobacco. Otherwise you will have to use insecticides.
As you can see, cotoneaster - an excellent and indispensable plant in landscape design. It helps to form a beautiful hedge that will decorate your site. With certain skills, she can be given any, most bizarre form. At the same shrub easy to grow and care. It is only important to plant on the site that kind of shrub that feels good in this climate.
