Hesse Cotoneaster

14.10.2023 - 00:17 / gardengatemagazine.com / Jennifer Howell

Hesse Cotoneaster Get berries for fall and winter interest when you add Hesse cotoneaster shrubs to your garden. Enjoy year-round interest with Hesse cotoneaster

With its ruby-colored berries in the fall and handsome foliage, Hesse cotoneaster is a gem in the garden. Low growing and wiry, it takes off once planted, easily growing up to 5 feet across in even the toughest soils. Used as a ground cover or on slopes, it can root wherever branches touch the soil, and is outstanding draping over a retaining wall or crawling over boulders in a rock garden.

Type Shrub
Blooms Pink flowers in late spring
Light Full sun to part shade
Soil Moist, well-drained
Pests None serious
Size 12 to 18 in. tall, 36 to 60 in. wide
Hardiness Cold hardy USDA zones 4 to 7

Hesse cotoneaster’s long, stiff branches are neatly defined with rows of round, glossy green leaves lining each side. In late spring, small pink flowers grace the branches, followed by red berries growing tightly along the stem, echoing the similarly shaped foliage. The berries persist into winter and are an edible option for wildlife when other food sources are waning.

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Plant this four-season beauty in full sun to get the most berries and brighter burgundy winter foliage color. In the warmer zones of its range, Hesse cotoneaster can be evergreen, but in colder regions, its foliage darkens and dries up, falling by late winter, leaving the architectural stems. Use a spring rake in early spring to knock off lingering dried leaves, as well as pull off debris that