Cotoneaster

My girlfriend bought me this Cotoneaster for my birthday today, and I was wondering what kind it was.

What should I do with it? I was thinking either chop the trunk before the bend and make it a small shohin, or grow it out into a cascade.

What would you like it to be, what is your dream image for this tree.

I grow ShoHin, so I would cut low. I go for optimal taper, best trunk line (if any).

You have a nice Nebari (root flare), two straight branches with no movement and taper. I would plant it in a bigger container and cut back the straight branches to a life bud/twig and grow new twigs with some movement.

Others may want to cut a bit higher.

You could wire the thick right-hand branch and twist it upright, don't bend it it will most likely break, twist it up (if it breaks go to option one)

I was thinking something along the lines of this. Is this even a realistic goal? One other thing, can it live inside if I put it on a humidity tray and near a window?

a.  There are 10-20 years put into that little tree.

Maybe you could get this in 4-5 years:



b.  Absolutely not.  These are outdoor  plants -- 100%

Well I read that cotoneasters are zone 4-6, and I'm borderline zone 6, almost 7, and we are having a cold winter this year.

I know that all good bonsai take time, so I'm not too worried about that. I just don't know if I should wire that side branch down, straight, up, or just lop it off. I'd be happy either way.

Wow! Never tought it could get so cold in Missouri....   

Anyway, your Cotoneaster looks like a C. horizontalis on the whole, but it could be a cultivar, or a Cotoneaster dammeri 'Skogholm' a creeping form of Coto with slighter smaller leaves that remain longer in Autumn, and have less spectacular colours than C. h.).

Whatever, I'd chop it off where I put the red cross (Tchack!)



Wintering: I live in zone 8, but now I protect the roots of my Cotos: I put them in a sheltered corner of my garden (little wind), on a bead of dried leaves; I have 2 "adult" Zelkova serrata in the ground, 3+ and 10 meters high, I'm lucky I can use the dried leaves bvecause I'ne never seen a pest ior a disease on them. I add more leaves on the top of the soil, then a layer of pine bark (5-7 cm) on top of that, to the first branches.

This is enough for where I live, and I think sthg similar would be fine where you are.

BUT: the ones that have been repotted recently (by that I mean 6-9 months) must be protected from deep or long frosts. I speak out of experience   

You're young: there's a lot to learn from a Cotoneaster, and you will have plenty of time to make it a stunner   

Be patient. Keeep it alive.

...And cut off that looooooong, boring branch  

Thanks for the help! I'll load it up with pine bark and if it gets in the single digits like it did at the beginning of December (-15 degrees Celsius), I'll put it in the garage at night

Dalton Duffett wrote:(-15 degrees Celsius)

Ooch!

Very harsh Autumn you've got there, brrrr...

You know, it's like when you have wine to keep: the fewer hicups in temperatures, the better it is. Rather than an ideal temperature, avoiding thermal shocks is the right thing to do.

Well, good luck with this lil' one: as I said before, keep it alive and you will learn a lot from it

When you cut that branch, they root VERY easily as cuttings -- tho this is not the best time to start a cutting.

JimLewis wrote:When you cut that branch, they root VERY easily as cuttings -- tho this is not the best time to start a cutting.

I wasn't planning on cutting until spring anyway

Dalton Duffett wrote:Well I read that cotoneasters are zone 4-6, and I'm borderline zone 6, almost 7, and we are having a cold winter this year.

I just realized I had it backwards. I'm in zone 6 almost 5, and Cotoneasters grow in 6-9. Sorry if I confused you.

UPDATE: Now it's even colder and I don't know what to do. The night temperatures are around -7F (-22C) and the day temperatures are around 25F (-4C) which is much too cold for Cotoneasters. Not only that, but January is going to be even colder! I bring it inside at night and bury it to the first branch with Pine Bark during the day, but it's starting to shed leaves. I don't know if that's normal, but I got it with leaves, so I'm assuming that that's bad. Is it dying or is that normal, and how can I save/help it? I would really like to keep it.

Most cotoneaster are deciduous. Some, like C. microphillus are semi-deciduous: according to the climate they keep or shed their leaves in the winter.

But yes, -22° C is probably much too cold if it can't be put in a greenhouse, or under a frame.