Firethorn
Pyracantha coccinea 'Red Column'
- Size
- 2.5 m tall, 2 m across
- Light
- Full sun, part sun
- Hardy to
- -23 degrees
- Flowers
- May to June
- A hedge
- A barrier nothing walks through
- Screening a view
- Food and shelter for wildlife
- Evergreen
- Good in a hedge
- Good for pollinators
- Worth looking at in winter
Safety
- Eaten, it may upset a stomach.
- A dog that chews it may get an upset stomach.
- A cat that chews it may get an upset stomach.
- Thorny: not under a window and not along a path children run down.
Reviewed and approved for Poland by a qualified gardener with thirty years of practice, 22 September 2026.
What it needs, what it becomes
- Type
- Shrubs
- Family
- Rosaceae
- Size when mature
- 2.5 m tall, 2 m across
- Light
- Full sun, part sun
- Moisture
- Medium, dry
- Soil
- loam, sand, clay, chalk
- Soil pH
- 5.5 to 8
- Hardy to
- -23 degrees
- Flowers
- May to June
- For pollinators
- Very good
- Water
- Low water
- Upkeep
- Some
- Growth
- Fast
- In Europe
- Introduced
- Spreading risk
- Low
- If eaten
- People: Can upset a stomach · Dogs: Can upset a stomach · Cats: Can upset a stomach
- Worth knowing
- Has thorns · Drops fruit, which makes a mess over paving
Design a garden with this plant
The studio draws a plan for your own plot and picks plants that suit its light and soil. It needs no account.
Design my gardenFree, no account and no card
Lists it is on
- Plants for bees and butterflies60 plantsForage from early spring to late autumn, with each plant's flowering months stated.
- Drought tolerant plants42 plantsA garden that gets through July without a hose starts with the plant list.
- Evergreen plants24 plantsWhat holds a garden together from November to March, when the rest of it is underground.
- Plants for a hedge13 plantsSpecies that take clipping and close into a line, with the mature height of each.
- Plants for screening24 plantsFor a neighbour's window, a road, and anything you would rather not look at from the terrace.
