Pyracantha ‘Saphyr Orange’

Pyracantha makes an excellent winter backdrop with its evergreen foliage and profusion of berries from the autumn into winter. Its thorns make a good security feature for back fences and it can easily be trained to the extent of covering a fence panel yet only coming 10cm from the fence.

Pyracantha ‘Saphyr’ varieties are resistant to fireblight and produce masses of berries so are well worth considering, blackbirds will enjoy the feast over the cold winter months. They are available in several coloured berries, red, orange and yellow. In early summer they produce an abundance of creamy white flowers.

Pyrancantha can grow in conditions from full sun to shade (although there tends to be fewer berries produced in darker conditions) and from well drained to moist soil but not waterlogged. They can grow as a freestanding shrub but look best trained to a fence.

By growing pyracantha as a backdrop, there are many nice shrubs and perennials that can be planted in front such as berberis which is also enjoyed by the birds and Choisya ternata ‘Sundance’ whose golden foliage will stand out against the dark green backdrop.

Pyracantha ‘Golden Charmer’	Pyracantha ‘Rouge’	Pyracantha ‘Sol d’or’	Pyracantha covering a fence