Cotoneaster cornubia / Cotoneaster x watereri - Tree Cotoneaster - Standard Trees

Cotoneaster x watereri / Cotoneaster cornubia

Known variously as Cotoneaster cornubia and Cotoneaster x watereri, this Cotoneaster tree is a large, vigorous shrub that we have grown with a single stem so it forms a tree. It has clouds of little white flowers, attractive red berries and loads of winter interest. The long, narrow leaves are semi-evergreen, meaning that the mottled yellow and tan red autumn foliage stays on the tree through the winter, barring the kind of exceptionally harsh and regular frosts that we are seeing less of these days. If you live in the middle of a city, you are pretty much guaranteed a good screen all year round. Cotoneaster cornubia produces masses of little white flowers in summer which are a glorious sight, foaming out of the tree and attracting as many bees and butterflies as a Buddleia. These flowers develop into almost equally abundant red fruit in thick clusters which will brighten up your garden's winter scene and are loved by birds everywhere. Cotoneaster trees are distantly related to apples and the fruits are edible, though not wildly tasty. The recommended method for preparing them is to make jam or jelly, straining out the seeds and mixing them with other fruit (rowan berries and crab apples would be a great combination).

Cotoneaster cornubia was bred in Exbury gardens around 1930. Your Cotoneaster tree should reach 20 feet (6 metres). They make a great specimen tree for a smaller garden and are also well suited for planting in a row to create a screen.

Caring for your Cotoneaster cornubia

Your tree will form a loose, rounded crown all by itself. If you need to prune any stray branches, do so in midwinter, until February. Cotoneaster cornubia will benefit from a bit of mulch each autumn and we always recommend mulching around newly planted trees - after they have been well watered.

Planting Cotoneaster cornubia

Cotoneasters will thrive in almost any soil; their range extends from heavy clay - where they are best planted on a bank or slope to very poor and chalky or dry and sandy soils. They are happy on the coast, so long as there is a decent ratio of organic matter to sand in the soil and they certainly aren't fazed by city pollution.

Please watch our tree planting video for full planting instructions.

How Standard Trees are Measured:
All the plants in the ornamental trees section are graded as standards, which means that they are measured by their girth in centimetres 1 metre above ground level (basically, their trunk's waist measurement). They aren't measured by their height, which will vary.

So, a 6/8 standard has a trunk with a circumference of 6-8 centimetres and an 8/10 standard has a trunk 8-10 centimetres around.

This measurement makes no difference to the tree's final height. Most standards are between 2 - 3.5 metres tall, but this is just an average. We cannot tell you how tall your trees will be before we deliver them.

Read our full terms and conditions here.

Delivery: Any order with a standard sized tree in it has a basic delivery charge of £12.55 + vat.
Because couriers sometimes experience delays, we schedule delivery by week, not by day. Therefore, please plan your planting day for the weekend at the end of the delivery week or for the week following delivery, at the earliest.
You can choose the delivery week that suits you during checkout and we will email you the day before your plants are due to arrive.

Payment: We do not charge your card until we begin to prepare your order for packing.

Guarantee: If any plants die within a year, we will replace them. We only ask that you follow our planting & growing instructions and sent us clear photographs of the dead plants in situ, so we can help to make sure that the replacement plants succeed. You only pay for the delivery of the replacements.

Please note that our guarantee is void if there is a hosepipe ban in your area: your newly planted trees must be watered in dry weather while they are establishing. The best way to water is very thoroughly every few days: at least once a week if there is no heavy rain.

Our nursery has been supplying large ornamental trees to gardeners since 1949. Our website started in 2003, so we do understand the concerns that you may have about buying specimen trees online. If any of your plants are damaged when they arrive or if you are otherwise not satisfied with your order after you inspect it, please repackage it and contact us. We will give you a refund or send replacements and send a courier to come and collect the unwanted plants.