Cotoneaster tips please

Hi everyone.

I need a few tips on styling cotoneasters if anyone has anything to pass on. i have a tree that needs thinning, a bit of wiring etc and was wondering it you can remove the leaves safely before wiring? also do the seeds weaken the tree, what soil is best as its in fine grey sandy loam atm and any other help greatly appreciated.

Its a chunky little cotoneaster horizontalis 'pre bonsai' i think

cheers marcus

Hi Marcus,
Nice material to work with.
Probably yours is already getting new shoots at this time, wiring would then be a bit of a problem.
I never removed leaves because of wiring.
Mine is potted in cat litter.
Seeds use energy, but when you are working on thinning and building up fine branches there will be not much on the tree anyway.
Sunip

Hi Marcus,
I've had a play, or 2, with this type of tree so here's my 2 cents worth

I've never generally removed leaves before wiring as I've tending to do it early in the year when the leaves are jsut starting to show. I know that Will B has and it has caused no ill effect that I'm aware of. The seeds will sap a wee bit of strength but I've found that during development I've never had too many flowers/berries to worry about. Bottom line is they grow like weeds so a little bit of energy lost to the berries (if you want to keep them) would not be too big a draw back.

My Cotoneasters that I'm growing on go in the largest realistic pot with a open mix, same general mix that I use. I've had some that have come to me in very clay or loam mixes and they have suffered. So open mix, loads of food & water and watch the wire and you'll have months of pruning fun with these little beauties.

One last point. I tend to repot, unless it is in a huge pot, every year as they don't like being pot bound when developing. Finished/Show trees isn't as much of a problem but these babies love to throw roots and can easily start pushing their way out of their pots. Beleive me, it's happen a few times!!

Keep us posted of how you get on Marcus,
Ook, Ook,
Simon

Hi and thanks sunip and simon,

my leaves never fell off?? so i was guessing they are an evergreen in cornwall. I saw two pictures of show ones recently and they were bare so i guessed they had been defoliated for the show.

Soil wise i guessed it needed changing asap as the 'delivery soil' is that dense grey mixture of clay/loam/sand that eastern imported bonsai always seem to come it. I have a quick picture of it 'out the box' so to speak - supplied by Graham Potter a few months ago



This is the start of my shohin tree collection for when i'm old and cant move the big trees any more! I want to thin the top out a lot, select some branches and make domed clouds - thats the plan atm anyway.

cheers for the advice.

Marcus

my leaves never fell off

Neither do mine, though they get a bit purplish by the end of winter.

This is the start of my shohin tree collection for when i'm old Very Happy and cant move the big trees any more!

Well, I'm already there.



But seriously, this is perhaps the most uncomplaining species of plant I have ever worked with. Just do not let them dry out. I grow mine in Turface and composted pine bark, close to 50-50. They stay outside all year long. I don't remove any leaves to wire, and the branches seem to set very quickly when they are wired. You can prune them anyway and any time, and so far, every twig I've pruned has struck roots as a cutting within a few weeks. If it wouldn't get boring, this is all I'd grow.

JimLewis wrote:
But seriously, this is perhaps the most uncomplaining species of plant I have ever worked with. Just do not let them dry out. I grow mine in Turface and composted pine bark, close to 50-50. They stay outside all year long. I don't remove any leaves to wire, and the branches seem to set very quickly when they are wired. You can prune them anyway and any time, and so far, every twig I've pruned has struck roots as a cutting within a few weeks. If it wouldn't get boring, this is all I'd grow.

Okay, I will have to buy/own at least one now. LOL Thanks for that endorsement Jim!

Alas, Poink, it is unlikely that they will thrive in Texas. Zone 7 is about as warm as they'll go and be happy. They'll struggle in zone 8a, but will survive.

JimLewis wrote:Alas, Poink, it is unlikely that they will thrive in Texas. Zone 7 is about as warm as they'll go and be happy. They'll struggle in zone 8a, but will survive.

Are you sure? I see them here from the box stores to yards...actually I believe I have some in front of my house but the HOA owns it. Maybe we have a different variety?

If that's so, don't buy the crappy box store plants, take cuttings!

But I've never seen a Cotoneaster whose zone range extended far into zone 8. (But I haven't seen them all.) Just remember that if you grow them outside their comfort zone they no longer will be "uncomplaining."

North Carolina Cooperative Extension lists C. horizontalis & dammeri for Zone 8, so try them & see.
Iris

Hello,
Here in Holland we have zone 8 and they are popular in gardens all over.
I have each year seedlings from them in the garden, the one i have in a pot is a spontaneous seedling from the garden as well.
To bad Marcus lives in tropical Cornwall hey.
Sunip