| PSC 2620: Woody Trees and Shrub | Course Home | Week 3 |
Cotoneaster apiculatus - Cranberry Cotoneaster
Plant Viewer
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| Cranberry Cotoneaster forms a dense mat. | The small leaves are a shiny, dark green and circular in shape. |
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| Bright red pome fruit covers the shrub in the fall and into winter. |
Plant Description
Cotoneaster apiculatus is a low, spreading shrub (3 feet high and 6 feet wide). The branches arc and cross over each other, creating a dense, but tangled mat that is very effective as a ground cover.
The 1/4 - 3/4 inch circular leaves are a dark green, glossy on the top and arranged alternately on the stem. The leaves tend to have a crinkled appearance, and are warped or wavy. In the late spring or early summer, small cream-colored blossoms appear in loose clusters along the stem. The blooming is not as attractive or showy as Cotoneaster dammeri.
As the name suggests, Cranberry Cotoneaster is most noted for its abundant production of small, 1/4 inch red pome fruit. The fruit beings to appear in the summer and ripens to a bright red by fall. The fruit remains showy until snow falls, at which point it will begin to wither and fall.
Landscape Use
Use as a ground cover and in mass plantings.
Points of interest
To ease identification between C. apiculatus and C. dammeri during the winter, break a stem and smell the wood. Cranberry Cotoneaster emits a faint cherry scent.