The firethorn is an important design element in the garden. A plant that can be used alone, as a hedge or as a climbing plant. For today's hobby garden, hedges are indispensable elements for a variety of tasks.
What is firethorn used for in the garden?
Firethorn (Pyracantha) is an undemanding, evergreen plant that is used as a hedge, individual design or climbing plant in the garden. It offers privacy, serves as a natural protection against burglary and supports the ecosystem by providing nesting places for birds and attracting insects.
The classic in the garden
Evergreen hedges, including the firethorn, are the classics of garden design. They take up little space, even in small gardens, but offer you privacy all year round. The firethorn is special because of its thorns. The plant offers you protection from unwelcome visitors, especially in rural areas, for example from deer, which like to peel the bark off fruit trees and eat flower buds. The solid and very large thorns make every firethorn hedge almost impenetrable and so you not only get a living fence, but at the same time a very natural burglary protection.
The garden becomes a bird paradise
The choice is yours and you can choose from different Pyracantha species. The firethorn is a strong plant that thrives in almost all soils. The different firethorn varieties have one thing in common: they form white flower umbels in spring and bright berries in autumn. You can use the Pyracantha coccinea Red Column variety as a hedge plant, but also as a climbing plant. The red berries are characteristic of this firethorn. On the other hand, the Firethorn Orange Glow produces orange berries and the Pyracantha Golden Charmer produces bright yellow berries.
The right firethorn care
The firethorn is a fairly undemanding plant that thrives just as well in the sun as it does in the shade and partial shade. The good news first: watering and fertilizing don't play such a big role with firethorn. The plant also copes well with drought. Because of the widely branched root system, the plant is able to provide sufficient nutrition. However, you must remember that the evergreen firethorn must be watered even on frost-free days in winter.
Practical gardening tips
Always cut the evergreen firethorn with garden shears, never with hedge shears. Because hedge trimmers not only cut through branches, but also leaves. Large leaves turn brown at the interface, which affects the aesthetics.
Songbirds delight us with their singing and eat aphids and caterpillars. The birds like to breed in the firethorn because the thorns protect them from martens and cats. Cut firethorn before breeding season in spring. You should leave the hedge and the birds nesting in it alone until the end of July.
