Ornamentalshrub ornamentalStraightforward

Cotoneaster

Cotoneaster horizontalis

A flat herringbone of branches that lies against a wall or spreads over a bank, smothered in small pink flowers that bees work continuously in June and red berries that blackbirds strip in autumn. One of the most useful wildlife shrubs there is for the space it takes.

Position: Full sun or Partial shade or Dappled shade
Water: low demand
Drainage: Free-draining, Moisture-retentive
Grows to: 60–100 cm × 150–250 cm
Hardiness: H6
Harvest: September to November
Difficulty: Straightforward

August

Nothing to do

No sowing, planting, harvesting or pruning window falls in August.

Coming next month: harvest.

Cotoneaster’s year

Resolved for United Kingdom (general). Every window is stored against a climate event rather than a date, so a late frost pocket runs later than the band shows. What else August calls for.

Activity	M	M	J	S	O	N
Plant	March.				October.	November.
In flower		May.	June.
Harvest				September.	October.	November.

Timing that travels

The band above resolves this plant's windows into months for one region. These are the windows themselves, stored against a climate event rather than a date — which is the form that survives being carried to a colder garden, a frost pocket, or next year.

Conditions it needs

Light: Full sun, Partial shade, Dappled shade
Frost: Very hardy
Hardiness rating: H6 (RHS)
Grows best at: 8–26 °C
Soil: Loam, Clay, Sandy, Chalky
Soil pH: 5.5–8
Drainage: Free-draining, Moisture-retentive
Water needs: low
Drought: good tolerance
Waterlogging: moderate tolerance
Heat: good tolerance
Wind and exposure: good tolerance

Where these figures come from

LightSourced guidancemoderate confidence

Royal Horticultural Society: Cotoneaster — position

Checked 2026-08-13

FrostSourced guidancehigh confidence

Royal Horticultural Society: Cotoneaster — hardiness

Checked 2026-08-13

Hardiness ratingSourced guidancemoderate confidence

Royal Horticultural Society: RHS hardiness ratings

Checked 2026-08-13

Grows best atSourced guidancemoderate confidence

Royal Horticultural Society: Cotoneaster — temperature

Checked 2026-08-13

SoilSourced guidancemoderate confidence

Royal Horticultural Society: Cotoneaster — soil

Checked 2026-08-13

Soil pHSourced guidancemoderate confidence

Plant Finder — Missouri Botanical Garden: Cotoneaster horizontalis — culture

Checked 2026-08-13

DrainageSourced guidancemoderate confidence

Royal Horticultural Society: Cotoneaster — soil

Checked 2026-08-13

Water needsHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

DroughtHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

WaterloggingHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

HeatHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Wind and exposureHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence

Takes coastal wind and cold exposure without complaint.

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

On your soil

Computed by comparing this plant's recorded requirements against each soil's recorded characteristics. A recorded horticultural fact overrides the comparison where GrowingHQ holds one.

Soil	Verdict	Why
Heavy clay	Works, with one condition	Cotoneaster will crop on heavy clay, but one thing has to be dealt with first. It needs ground that drains, and this soil holds water. A plant that stays in the ground through winter with its roots in cold, saturated soil rots — which is what kills most of what fails on heavy ground, rather than the cold.Improve the drainage before planting — a raised bed, or bulky organic matter worked in over several seasons. Do not add sand to clay in small quantities; it makes the problem worse.
Sandy	Prefers this soil	Sandy suits Cotoneaster as it stands: The pH suits it: it wants 5.5 to 8, and this soil is in that range. The free drainage is exactly what it wants. Sandy soil is among the soils it is recorded as suiting. It stands dry conditions better than most, which this soil will test.
Chalky and alkaline	Prefers this soil	Chalky and alkaline suits Cotoneaster as it stands: The free drainage is exactly what it wants. Chalky soil is among the soils it is recorded as suiting. It stands dry conditions better than most, which this soil will test.
Loam	Prefers this soil	Loam suits Cotoneaster as it stands: The pH suits it: it wants 5.5 to 8, and this soil is in that range. The free drainage is exactly what it wants. Loam is among the soils it is recorded as suiting. The soil holds moisture, which saves a great deal of watering.
Silty	Prefers this soil	Silty suits Cotoneaster as it stands: The pH suits it: it wants 5.5 to 8, and this soil is in that range. The free drainage is exactly what it wants. The soil holds moisture, which saves a great deal of watering.
Peaty and acid	Works, with one condition	Cotoneaster will crop on peaty and acid, but one thing has to be dealt with first. It needs ground that drains, and this soil holds water. A plant that stays in the ground through winter with its roots in cold, saturated soil rots — which is what kills most of what fails on heavy ground, rather than the cold.Improve the drainage before planting — a raised bed, or bulky organic matter worked in over several seasons. Do not add sand to clay in small quantities; it makes the problem worse.
Shallow over rock	Prefers this soil	Shallow over rock suits Cotoneaster as it stands: The free drainage is exactly what it wants. Loam is among the soils it is recorded as suiting. It stands dry conditions better than most, which this soil will test.
Made ground and urban soil	Works, with one condition	Cotoneaster will crop on made ground and urban soil, but one thing has to be dealt with first. It needs ground that drains, and this soil holds water. A plant that stays in the ground through winter with its roots in cold, saturated soil rots — which is what kills most of what fails on heavy ground, rather than the cold.Improve the drainage before planting — a raised bed, or bulky organic matter worked in over several seasons. Do not add sand to clay in small quantities; it makes the problem worse.

Not sure which you have? Four hand tests will settle it.

Space and spacing

Mature height: 60–100 cm
Mature spread: 150–250 cm
Rooting depth: 50 cm
Spacing: 120–180 cm apart

Where these figures come from

Mature heightHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
Mature spreadHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
Rooting depthHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13
SpacingSourced guidancemoderate confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Cotoneaster — spacing
Checked 2026-08-13

Measured centre to centre. Plants set closer than this compete for light and water long before they look crowded, and the crowding cannot be undone once they are in.

Habit and ultimate size

What the plant becomes, rather than what it is when you buy it. The gap between the two is where most planting mistakes live.

Foliage: Deciduous
In a container: Good in a container long-term

Where these figures come from

FoliageSourced guidancehigh confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Cotoneaster horizontalis — foliage
Checked 2026-08-13
In a containerHorticultural consensusmoderate confidence: No external citation — see the evidence type above.
Checked 2026-08-13

Growth rate: Moderate — roughly 30–60 cm a year
Ultimate height: 60–100 cm
Ultimate spread: 150–250 cm
Time to reach it: 8–12 yearsSourced guidance

Where these figures come from

Growth rateSourced guidancemoderate confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Cotoneaster horizontalis — growth rate
Checked 2026-08-13
Ultimate heightSourced guidancemoderate confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Cotoneaster horizontalis — ultimate height
Checked 2026-08-13
Ultimate spreadSourced guidancemoderate confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Cotoneaster horizontalis — ultimate spread
Checked 2026-08-13
Time to reach itSourced guidancelow confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Cotoneaster horizontalis — time to ultimate size
Checked 2026-08-13

Cutting it back. Tolerates hard cutting back but never regains its flat herringbone pattern afterwards, which is the whole character of the plant. Prune as little as possible and site it where its eventual spread is welcome.

source

Horticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

How it spreads. Seeds itself around from bird-dropped berries. Not a garden problem, though Cotoneaster is a genus with several species listed as invasive in the wild, so seedlings are worth pulling rather than moving.

source

Horticultural consensusmoderate confidence

No external citation — see the evidence type above.

Checked 2026-08-13

Value to wildlife

Recorded only where the evidence names a resource and the months it is available. Most plants flower; that on its own is not what this section is about.

Nectar: A significant source
Berries for birds: A significant source
In flower: May, Jun
In fruit: Sep, Oct, Nov

Where these figures come from

NectarSourced guidancemoderate confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Cotoneaster horizontalis — value to pollinators
Checked 2026-08-13
Berries for birdsSourced guidancemoderate confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Cotoneaster horizontalis — fruit and birds
Checked 2026-08-13

What keeping this costs

The flowers are small enough that most people never notice bees working them, and the berries form on wood two years old or more. A shrub clipped over annually therefore carries neither, which is the whole reason it was planted. Prune as little as possible and site it where the eventual spread is welcome.

Where and how you can grow it

Each way of growing is assessed separately, and “not assessed” is a real answer rather than a gap we have filled in with a guess.

Method	Suitability	What it needs
Open ground	Well suited source Sourced guidancemoderate confidence Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability Checked 2026-08-13
Traditional dug bed	Well suited source Sourced guidancemoderate confidence Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability Checked 2026-08-13
Raised bed	Well suited source Sourced guidancemoderate confidence Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability Checked 2026-08-13
Container	Workable source Sourced guidancemoderate confidence Royal Horticultural Society: Growing method suitability Checked 2026-08-13

Growing it

PlantingAgainst a north or east wall it lies flat and builds its herringbone pattern without any training or support, which is unusual — it is not a climber and does not attach, it simply grows in one plane against whatever it meets.
PruningPrune as little as possible. The berries come on wood that is two years old or more, so a shrub clipped over annually never carries a crop, and the flat branching pattern that is the plant's whole character is destroyed by shearing.

Where this guidance comes from

PlantingSourced guidancemoderate confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Cotoneaster horizontalis — habit
Checked 2026-08-13
PruningSourced guidancemoderate confidence: Royal Horticultural Society: Cotoneaster — pruning
Checked 2026-08-13

The bud you cut to becomes the new shoot, and it grows in the direction it points — which is why an outward-facing bud opens the plant up and an inward-facing one crosses the middle.

Sources for this page

GrowingHQ editorial synthesis · Plant Finder · Royal Horticultural Society

Each figure on this page carries its own citation, under the “where these figures come from” note in its section. Record last reviewed 2026-08-14.