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Pyracantha

Pyracantha coccinea

Berries follow the early-summer flowers, and scab is the thing to watch — it spots the fruit as readily as the leaves.

Light Full sun to partial shade.
Water Water regularly for the first two years; drought-tolerant after that.
Height 3 m
Spread 8 ft 2 in
Spacing 250 cm

Spacing & sowing

Plant spacing
8 ft 2 in
In-row spacing
8 ft 2 in
Between rows
10 ft 3 in
Square-foot density
Not suited to SFG

Growing

Type
Shrub · Perennial
Botanical family
Mixed / other
Sunlight
Full sun to partial shade.
Watering
Water regularly for the first two years; drought-tolerant after that.
Feeding
A balanced granular feed in early spring.
Frost tolerant
Yes
Flowering
May
Pruning
Prune once flowering finishes in early summer.
Overwintering
Fully hardy; no winter protection needed.

Through the year

  • Mar–May Spring Growth
  • May–Oct Flowering
  • Oct–Dec Growing
  • Jan–Mar Growing

Pests & problems

Garden allies

Beneficial predators that hunt this plant's pests — grow their favourite flowers nearby to recruit them. companion plant

  • Ladybird (lady beetle) Coccinellidae
    Hunts Scale insectsAdelgids & woolly aphids

    The gardener’s favorite ally: adults and their alligator-shaped larvae each eat thousands of aphids, plus scale, mealybugs, and other soft-bodied sap-suckers. Grow flat, open flowers for the adults and never spray a colony that ladybird larvae are already working.

    Plant nearby CalendulaCilantroCosmosDillFennelYarrow
  • Green lacewing Chrysoperla carnea
    Hunts Adelgids & woolly aphids

    Its bristly larvae — "aphid lions" — impale aphids, mealybugs, thrips, and mite colonies, eating hundreds a week. Adults feed on nectar and pollen from small open flowers and overwinter in hollow stems left standing.

    Plant nearby CilantroCosmosDillSunflowerYarrow
  • Hoverfly Syrphidae
    Hunts Scale insects

    Bee-mimicking flies whose legless larvae graze aphid colonies clean while the adults pollinate. A ribbon of shallow, nectar-rich flowers kept in bloom all season recruits wave after wave of them.

    Plant nearby CalendulaChamomileFennelFrench marigoldPhaceliaSweet alyssum

The Cottage Garden Companion — the gardener's herbarium at cottagegardencompanion.com