Firethorn 'Golden Charmer'

Firethorn 'Golden Charmer' (Pyracantha 'Golden Charmer') is an evergreen shrub with two quite different faces. In early summer the dense glossy crown fills with clusters of small white flowers and looks almost delicate, then in autumn it blazes with bunches of bright orange fruit that hang on all winter.

The shoots are thickly set with long sharp thorns, so the shrub makes an impenetrable hedge that also feeds birds through winter; it trains just as happily against a wall. A mature plant takes 2.5-4 m in height and width, wants sun and good drainage, and is best handled with gloves on.

Key characteristics:

• What makes it special: The cultivar resists pyracantha scab, the disease that spoils the leaves and fruit of older varieties. That is what it is valued for most.
• Dimensions: In 10-20 years it grows to 2.5-4 m tall and just as wide.
• Hardiness: It winters down to -23 °C (USDA zone 6).
• Flowering: In May-June white flowers open, gathered into neat corymbs.
• Light: It grows in sun and partial shade, but flowering and fruiting are most abundant in full sun.
• Soil: It likes fertile, well-drained soils - chalk, clay, loam or sand - and is indifferent to pH.
• Watering: Watering is moderate; an established bush holds drought well, and the one thing it dislikes is standing water.
• Care: Pruning is light, right after flowering; wear gloves for the job - the thorns are long and sharp.
• Landscape use: Invaluable in hedges and screens, wall-trained plantings, cottage gardens and gardens for birds.
• Origin: The cultivar received an award from the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) in 1999.