Cotoneaster suecicus Skogholm

Cotoneaster suecicus 'Skogholm' is a fast-growing ground cover variety, ornamental throughout the year and not demanding in terms of exposure and soil. It forms a low-growing, spreading bush with dark green glossy foliage, evergreen all year round, effectively covering large areas or difficult-to-plant and inaccessible areas of the garden. Its vigorous prostrate branches bear an abundance of small single flowers in May, giving way to bright coral red berries, decorative until winter. Use it to fill your slopes, borders, rockeries, and the base of your trees. Perfectly hardy, it only requires well-drained soil.

Cotoneaster dammeri 'Skogholm', also known as Cotoneaster x suecicus 'Skogholm', belongs to the rose family. It originates from central and western China. This very vigorous bush is capable of withstanding marked droughts as well as harsh winters, even when growing in poor, stony soil. It has a prostrate, spreading and creeping habit, supported by curved and flexible, branching reddish-brown stems that can root upon contact with the ground. Its growth is quite fast, reaching a height of about 40 cm (15.7 in) and a spread of 2 m (6 ft 7 in) at maturity. Its evergreen foliage is composed of small, thick, and leathery oval-shaped leaves, measuring 1 to 3.5 cm (0.4 to 1.4 in) in length and 5 mm (0.2 in) in width. They are very dark green and glossy. Flowering occurs in May, in the form of very small white 5-petaled flowers. This nectar-rich flowering gives way to bright coral-red berries measuring 5 to 7 mm (0.2 to 0.3 in) in diameter, loved by birds.

This creeping cotoneaster is ideal for covering large areas in difficult areas of the garden, to which it brings a very neat touch. While it can grow in almost any conditions, it will be more fruitful in full sun or partial shade and will grow faster in fertile and moist soil. Perfect at the base of a large hedge or in a shaded and bare corner of the garden, for example under a large tree, it can also be planted in a rockery to fill the spaces between other plants. Plant it on a large slope, above a wall or retaining wall, at the edge of the terrace or an alley. It can be paired with creeping juniper Blue Star, Euonymus fortunei Emerald Gaiety, and the Forsythia intermedia Marée d'or to add the colour it lacks a bit.