When is the best time to prune back an overgrown cotoneaster horizontalis?
Now or wait until spring?

Also, can it be cut back really hard or should it only be pruned lightly?

I didn't cut it back earlier because I wanted to leave the berries for the
birds, but now the berries are gone.

Thanks.

In article , Barton
Bloggs writes
When is the best time to prune back an overgrown cotoneaster horizontalis?
Now or wait until spring?

Also, can it be cut back really hard or should it only be pruned lightly?

It can be cut back as hard as you like. It's indestructible.
Remember it berries on 2nd year wood - it won't have berries next winter
on anything it grows over the summer, so you might want to remember this
as you decide what to cut.

I didn't cut it back earlier because I wanted to leave the berries for the
birds, but now the berries are gone.

Our birds leave it till last, and in most years don't get around to it
at all.
--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/garden/

On Wed, 8 Jan 2003 23:30:34 +0000, Kay Easton
wrote:

In article , Barton
Bloggs writes
When is the best time to prune back an overgrown cotoneaster horizontalis?
Now or wait until spring?

Also, can it be cut back really hard or should it only be pruned lightly?

It can be cut back as hard as you like. It's indestructible.
Remember it berries on 2nd year wood - it won't have berries next winter
on anything it grows over the summer, so you might want to remember this
as you decide what to cut.

I didn't cut it back earlier because I wanted to leave the berries for the
birds, but now the berries are gone.

Our birds leave it till last, and in most years don't get around to it
at all.

Agree on the cutting back, we need to cut ours quite hard every year
to keep them in bounds. Interested to learn it is 2nd year wood that
berries.

The ever-present blackbirds and mistle thrushes (when around) only
just wait for cotoneaster berries to ripen, then the whole lot goes
very quickly. Not a berry left, well before Christmas! What other
berries are the birds in your garden taking first?

VivienB

In article , VivienB
writes

The ever-present blackbirds and mistle thrushes (when around) only
just wait for cotoneaster berries to ripen, then the whole lot goes
very quickly. Not a berry left, well before Christmas! What other
berries are the birds in your garden taking first?


First of all is redcurrants.
Then they have recently star6ed taking loganberries and other hybrid
berries.
Then elderberry and rowan (the white berries from other Sorbus are left
till later)
Then it's most of the other berries - honeysuckle, rose hips, holly (the
red ones, not the yellow ones), apples, medlars.

The ones that get left are cotoneaster, viburnum, pernettya, skimmia,
orange pyracantha, yellow holly and pink/white sorbus.
--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/garden/

VivienB wrote in message ...

Agree on the cutting back, we need to cut ours quite hard every year
to keep them in bounds. Interested to learn it is 2nd year wood that
berries.

The ever-present blackbirds and mistle thrushes (when around) only
just wait for cotoneaster berries to ripen, then the whole lot goes
very quickly. Not a berry left, well before Christmas! What other
berries are the birds in your garden taking first?


Mine ahs been relatively untouched, but it is growing just a few feet
from a well stocked bird table. Actually it is due for the chop very
soon as I am going to move my grape vine there, it is growing in front
of a nice south facing brick wall and I think the situation would be
ideal for a grape vine.

Mike
www.british-naturism.org.uk