Cotoneaster

Cotoneaster cornubia is a highly acclaimed, small, versatile tree that is useful for screening.

This pretty small tree can also be found in many gardens as a shrub. However, we grow it as a proper tree with a 1.8-m clear stem and rounded crown.

The leaves are small and light green, with a slightly silvery underside. In autumn, it becomes festooned with a large abundance of bright red berries.

Cotoneaster connubial is great for stilted hedging and screening. It's considered semi-evergreen but not as much as our favourite for stilted screening, Ligustrum japonicum. As winter progresses, the tree tends to lose leaves and becomes thinner in the crown.

This versatile tree was raised in the famous Exbury Gardens in the early 1930s and won the Award of Garden Merit in 2002 and 1933 and the First Class Certificate in 1936.

Sometimes classified as Cotoneaster x watereri or as a cultivar of C. frigidus, we list it as Cornubia.

Cotoneaster cornubia is a tough tree and will tolerate most soil conditions.

It is a welcome addition to any planting scheme that aims to create some autumn and winter interest through higher-level screening.

Mature height: 3-7m

Common names

Cotoneaster

Height of tree

3-7m

Soil type

Well drained, Will tolerate most soil types

Shape

Rounded

Blossom Colour

White

Foliage Colour

Green

Information Flags

Good for bees, Award

Looks good in

Summer

Privacy

Screening above the fence

Location

Garden, Parkland

Genus

Cotoneaster

Autumn Colour

Yes