Autumn Inferno Cotoneaster Plant Care and Growing Tips

How to Grow Autumn Inferno Cotoneaster

Cotoneasterautumninferno — Bailey Nurseries
Attract birds with cotoneaster’s red berries

Common name: Autumn Inferno cotoneaster
Scientific name: Cotoneaster ‘Bronfire’
Growing zones: 5 to 7
Light needs: Full sun to part shade
Size: 5 to 6 feet tall and nearly as wide
Grown for: A privacy hedge with seasonal benefits
Foliage: Dark and glossy green in the summer

You’ll love looking at this sizzling fall accent. Autumn Inferno cotoneaster transitions from dark green to orange and red as soon as the temperatures start dropping. It grows best in full sun to part shade. Keep in mind if placed in the shade, though, it likely won’t grow as well as a location that includes abundant sunlight — the more sun, the better. Autumn Inferno cotoneaster doesn’t require an abundance of watering, although it does require well-draining soil.

Prune this shrub in late winter or early spring. It’s generally considered deer-resistant, so deer shouldn’t be a problem. Once it’s established, it tolerates drought and even pollution.

Benefits of Growing Autumn Inferno Cotoneaster

Cotoneasterautumninferno 012 13130 — Photo Courtesy of Bailey Nurseries, Inc.
This shrub shines in fall.

For those looking to create fall interest in their backyards, Autumn Inferno is a clear choice. With its eye-catching red berries and brilliant fall leaf colors, it’s sure to light up your yard at a time when many things are turning brown or gray. Berry-eating birds like robins, bluebirds and cedar waxwings dine on the shrub’s red berries in fall and winter, which makes it a great choice for a plant with year-round bird benefits. In spring, the shrub offers lovely pink flowers that bring in bees and butterflies.

Another Cotoneaster to Grow

Blossoming,bearberry,cotoneaster,or,cotoneaster,dammeri,shrub,with,beautiful,white — Uhryn Larysa/Shutterstock
Coral Beauty cotoneaster

For another cotoneaster option, consider Coral Beauty — also known as bearberry cotoneaster. It offers low-growing color in the fall, and, rather than pink flowers, it grows white flowers in the spring. In fall and winter, its leaves turn reddish purple.

Sources

First Editions, “Autumn Inferno Cotoneaster“
Arbor Valley Nursery, “Autumn Inferno Cotoneaster“
Missouri Botanical Garden, “Cotoneaster dammeri ‘Coral Beauty’“

Author

Emily Hannemann

Emily Hannemann is a digital editor for Birds & Blooms. She holds a master's degree in magazine journalism from the University of Missouri - Columbia, as well as undergraduate degrees in journalism and English. In her spare time, she enjoys researching fun facts about corvids.

Reviewer

Melinda Myers

Melinda Myers is a nationally known, award-winning garden expert, speaker, TV/radio host and author of more than 20 books. She is the instructor for The Great Courses How to Grow Anything DVD and Instant Video series and host of the nationally syndicated Melinda’s Garden Moments TV and Radio segments. With a master’s degree in horticulture and ...

Fact Checker

Kirsten Schrader

Now Birds & Blooms' content director, Kirsten has been writing about birding and gardening for 17 years. Her writing and editing roles have spanned the print and digital landscape. Although she has traveled to see amazing birds throughout the U.S., Kirsten has one dream bucket list bird—the male painted bunting.