We can't all be Stars !

This reflection was prompted by the 'rediscovery' of my Cotoneaster lacteus. Of course they have been there all the time, but for most of the summer one hardly notices them. They do have flowers in the Spring, in some quantity indeed, but they are a rather dingy white, so nothing to write home about. But as the autumn progresses the plants become more and more noticeable. Mostly this is because of the berries which are a very good red, in large clusters, and appear to last a long time. But what sets the berries off is the colour of the leaves which become an increasingly deep, almost glossy green - very eye-catching. I suppose at this time of year they become stars, but unlike stars they are not expensive. They self seed easily - if anybody wants them I have plenty to give away - and they require absolutely no cosseting. In a previous blog I lamented the fact that I find hollies too difficult to grow, but Cotoneaster lacteus are a good substitute.

I am rather confidentally calling mine C.lacteus, but if somebody said that they were C. salicifolius I would not argue with them. C.salicifolius to my way of thinking has, as the name suggests, more willow-like leaves, which is to say longer and thinner, and Hilliers suggests that it has rather fewer berries, but it is clearly a good plant. I have two other cotoneasters - C. franchetii and C.simonsii. The former is much praised for its gracefulness, and it is true that it has a good form which I wrongly no doubt rather hide by growing through it a clematis. It also lacks the berry-power of C.lacteus. So does C.simonsii, though there are berries enough, and it can hardly be called elegant, with its rather rigid and upright growth, but it is that quality that makes it a useful shrub in a confined space. I have got my eye on C. bullatus. It is more of a tree than C.lacteus, but its leaf colouring is rather similar. The berries are a very good red, but bigger - cherries rather than red currants?

Meanwhile there are plenty of other cotoneasters, C. Exburiensis for example, but this shrub comes into the my 'out of kilter' category. Its berries are yellow, when I want my cotoneastar berries to be red, in the same way that I want my Rowan berries to be red, not pink (Sorbus vimorinii), or white (S.cashmirana). But I wish that I could grow rowans here- attractive leaves, flowers and berries, and often very good autumn colour; one could hardly ask for more, except a greater resistance to heat and drought. Some people manage to grow them, and I have even seen some municipal planting, but in the autumn when they should come into their own they appear to be under great stress, losing both leaves and berries. Moreover their berries appear rather too early for my liking - berries are for autumn, not summer.

But I seem to have strayed from my original purpose, a discussion of stars, or rather non-stars. Amongst the shrubs non-stars might include Forsythias, Philadelphus and Weigelas, while Magnolias and Rhododendrons for the most part have star quality. Amongst the herbaceous plants delphineums are obvious stars, nepetas (catmints) more humble folk, ditto many hardy gernaniums, though amongst these are to be found stars, even, like Geranium Rozanne, what I would call celebrities, but more of those another time.