Firethorn 'Soleil d'Or'

Firethorn 'Soleil d'Or' (Pyracantha 'Soleil d'Or') lives up to its name - the golden sun. In autumn the shrub is showered with lemon-yellow berries that glow against dark green, leathery evergreen leaves. Young plants grow strictly upright, and with the years the bush spreads outwards on strong, thorny branches.

Plant it where you need an impenetrable barrier: a boundary hedge, a thorny screen for privacy, or an espalier trained flat against a house wall. A mature bush reaches 3-4 m tall, so give it room. Unlike the red-berried firethorns, this one carries sunny yellow fruit that stays on the branches until the frosts.

Key characteristics:

• What makes it special: The berries here are purely ornamental: neither people nor pets eat them, yet the flowers are valuable to pollinators - the RHS lists this cultivar as Plants for Pollinators.
• Dimensions: A mature shrub grows to 3-4 m tall and 1.8-2.4 m wide.
• Hardiness: Hardy down to -20 °C (USDA zone 6b).
• Flowering: In late May to June the shrub is covered with dense corymbs of white flowers - petite, but wonderfully pretty.
• Light: It loves full sun or partial shade; on a south, west or east aspect the berries ripen best.
• Soil: It takes any moderately fertile garden soil in its stride - chalk, clay, loam or sand, as long as water never stands.
• Watering: Watering is moderate; established bushes cope calmly with dry, well-drained soils - the one thing they dislike is standing moisture.
• Care: Prune right after flowering, keeping as much two-year-old wood as you can - that is where the berries set.
• Landscape use: Excellent for hedges and screens, wall-trained shapes, city courtyards, borders and wildlife gardens.