Garden Escapes

Cotoneaster

Cotoneaster spp.

How does it spread?

The seeds of are apread by fruit-eating birds. They tolerate extreme heat and cold, dryness, wind, salt spray and poor soils.

How does it affect us?

Cotoneaster will grow virtually anywhere a bird drops the seed, in any soil. Thickets of Cotoneaster displace local native species and shade the soil under the birds' favourite roosting places in particular.

When does it seed?

Cotoneaster has clusters of orange-red seeds in Autumn and into Winter.

Getting rid of Cotoneaster

Manual Control

Seedlings and small plants can be pulled out by hand. Collect berries and dispose of them in a bin, preferably an Otto bin, not compost. To prevent regrowth ensure all roots are removed or treated. You don't need council approval to remove Cotoneaster.

Herbicide control

Cut and paint larger plants with glyphosate.

Natives to grow instead

Narrow-leaf Myrtle (Austromyrtus tenuifolia)
Blueberry Ash (Elaeocarpus reticulatus) to 8m
Lillypillies (Acmena smithii varieties)
Heath Banksia (Banksia ericifolia) 4m

The information here was taken from information sheets published by Ku-ring-gai Council and by the Lindeman Road Bushcare Group in the Blue Mountains.

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