Cotoneaster

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

This medium pleached tree has a 1.8-m clear stem and is trained onto a flat frame that measures approximately 1m high by 1.2m wide.

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.

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.