Species · Flowering trees like quince and crab apple
Firethorn
Pyracantha coccinea
Firethorn is grown chiefly for its display of small orange-red berries held through much of winter, set against small evergreen leaves and genuinely sharp thorns worth respecting when working on the tree. Fast growth needs regular pruning to keep in scale, and it flowers white in spring ahead of the berries.
Care at a glance
- Watering
- Keep evenly moist while flowering and while fruit sets. Roughly every 1 days in spring, 1 in summer, 2 in autumn and 7 in winter.
- Light
- Full sun.
- Winter
- Semi-evergreen; shelter below this even where it holds its leaves. Protect it when the forecast drops below -5 °C.
- Feeding
- Every 14 days, Apr to Sep, paused in the hottest weeks.
- Repotting
- Every 2 to 3 years, right after flowering, in May.
- Growth
- Fast growing. Hardy in zones 6 to 9.
The work calendar
| Work | JJan | FFeb | MMar | AApr | MMay | JJun | JJul | AAug | SSep | OOct | NNov | DDec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prune | May | Jun | Jul | |||||||||
| Wire | Jan | Feb | Oct | Nov | Dec | |||||||
| Pinch | May | Jun |