Pyracantha 'SAPHYR® Rouge' scarlet firethorn

Scarlet firethorn has been a favourite plant for a long time because it presents a low-maintenance plant that can grow almost anywhere. The French have recently come up with a range of new varieties called SAPHYR® with improved resistance to fire blight and scab, making them more beautiful = attractive for new landscapes, and ecological at the same time = less demanding for chemical treatments.

SAPHYR® Rouge is a variety with mid-sized to large, glossy, vivid red maturing in mid October. Leaves are narrowly ovate, deep green and glossy, mostly evergreen. Branches have thorns. Berries are not edible but not poisonous.

You can grow it as an upright shrub, trim it into a hedge, or shape it. It is not climbing so needs no support, but still we suggest staking young plants to train a terminal leader. It flowers and produces berries on 2-years-old wood (last year’s) so trimming should be done in early to mid-summer to avoid cutting all flowering branches.

It can take almost any soil type but will thrive in fertile, well-drained soil, reaching about 3m high and 1.5m wide. Firethorn withstands pollution and is therefore often planted at motorways, and in towns and industrial estates. Fully hardy to about -27°C (USDA zone 5b).

Last update 16-10-2008.