Here's the history, and why I took them out.
These were put in by the builder under the spruce at the front door, and they have really spread. Nice groundcover. Red berries in summer and fall.
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| in 2010 |
In 2009 they got a sawfly infestation that Bartlett treated, but it has not returned in 2010. Kind of hard to maintain ... weeds get in under the dense arching branches and it's hard to get them out. But overall, a nice effect.
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| Good color and berries, November 15, 2010 |
The cherry tree is gone now, taken out in the October snowstorm in 2011, so the area with the cotoneaster is more open now. The stand has filled in and is quite attractive. The problem is weeds --- the woody stems arch and leave open ground underneath. Grass and weeds get started in there and then shoot up through the cotoneaster branches, impossible to remove.
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| April 25, 2012 |
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| November 27, 2012 |
In 2013 I have done some pruning back -- these do want to spread more and more. I am still frustrated by the weeds and grass that grow under their arching stems. It's very hard to keep these weed free.
The do produce abundant berries in fall!
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| September 24, 2013 |
They really do shine in fall, and are a rich red complement at the foot of the big spruce.
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| November 21, 2013 |
In 2014 the cotoneasters did not do well. It was inevitable that the spruce would overtake them, and in 2014 they were getting crowded out. I did a lot of cutting back to get them out from under the spruce branches, but they do not take well to pruning and ended up looking deformed.
And the weed problem got worse. Grass and bittersweet and vetch grows in under the arching stems and then starts shooting up through the stand of woody branches and I can't get at it. It's not a great look close up, and seemed like a lot of trouble to keep tidy.
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| November 8, 2014 |
So they will all come out. In late fall I started digging them up, but won't finish that job until next year. Getting the tangled stems and rootballs out is pretty difficult. They have been there for 10 years now, and the spruce has too -- time for a change.
In 2015 I did finish removing them, or most of them. It was quite a job, and there are still some roots in the ground that shot up suckers all summer, but if I keep after those eventually they'll die out.
It's much cleaner, uncrowded look under the light post now, and the fir has more room to grow outward.
Propagation:
Semi-ripewood cuttings in summer, overwinter in coldframe.
