Pyracantha x coccinea Teton

Pyracantha 'Teton' is a variety of bush that stands out for its denser, bushier and more upright habit compared to usual varieties. Resistant to bacterial fireblight and canker, it is just as floriferous and fruitful, covered in white and honey-scented flowers followed by pretty berries ranging from golden orange to yellow-orange. Modern varieties have restored the reputation of this spiny shrub, which was long relegated to a defensive role and maintained without care. They are incredibly robust and very easy to succeed with even in poor soils, with multiple advantages, which deserve to be added into the garden!

Native to Asia and southern Europe, pyracanthas have given rise to many horticultural varieties. Like cotoneasters, they belong to the rose family. 'Teton' has a particularly bushy and upright habit, less chaotic than other varieties. It reaches approximately 3 to 3.5 m in height with a spread of 2 m. Its flowering period extends from May to July, depending on the mildness of the climate. Along the branches, numerous clusters of small pure white flowers appear in corymbs. This flowering is honey-scented and pleasantly fragrant. It is followed by the production of yellow-orange and shiny berries, about 1 cm (1in) wide. The glossy, dark green foliage remains evergreen and dense throughout the winter. It is composed of small ovate leaves with undulate edges. The reddish branches are equipped with formidable thorns about 3 cm (1in) long, and they arch as they age.

Overplanted, overpruned, diseased and overexposed? The modern pyracantha is in any case a shrub that tolerates any growing conditions and especially does not suffer from geometric or less artistic pruning. Perfect for uncultivated or even rocky soils, it has the advantage of bringing a bit of lushness and colour to neglected gardens and abandoned boundaries, while perfectly serving its role as a defensive plant.  Perfect for creating defensive hedges or topiaries, it will attract attention especially in autumn and winter with its abundant colourful fruiting, while preserving the garden from prying eyes and sheltering many small beneficial animals. Let it grow freely, in the distance, at the corner of a somewhat sad building, or at the edge of a natural grove; it will be spectacular in these conditions, either in flowers or in fruits. In hedges, mix it with other varieties to play with different fruit colours, but also with other shrubs like cotoneasters, hollies, eleagnus, deciduous or evergreen euonymus, brooms, bay laurels...