Pyracantha variety

[samaith]

Hi,
I've recently moved house and have a garden for the first time. Its fairly small, and the previous owner decked the lot which I've now removed. I'd like to see if I can get more (in fact any) wildlife to use the garden so am looking for (amongst other things) a pyracantha to grow up one fence. I've been looking on the web for varieties which are particularly good for birds, but am now totally confused! Some websites suggest "mohave red", others say the birds won't touch mohave and suggest "orange glow", whilst still others say the birds don't like orange berries and suggest "red column". Can anyone advise me on which one to get?!

Also, does anyone know of an evergreen cotoneaster, which could also be trained up a fence?

best wishes,
Samaith

[Hedera]

I would go for a red-berried variety; my daughter had a hedge made of alternate red, orange and yellow species, and the red berries got eaten, some of the orange, and the yellow ones were still there in the spring. Mohave is a fast grower, lots of fruit. Watereri is more compact and has bright red fruits.

[aeshna5]

You could try Cotoneaster salicifolia or C. lacteus. The latter can develop into a very large shrub, but by suitable pruning could be trained against a fence/wall. To me it's one of the most handsome of the very many Cotoneaster species.

The birds in my garden don't seem to fussy regards Pyracantha berries!

[Malcolm Fraser]

I bought an 'Orange Glow' a couple of weeks ago and have already seen Blackbirds eating the berries