Japanese name: トキワサンザシ（常磐山樝子） Scientific name:Pyracantha coccinea
[Overview]
An evergreen shrub 2 m tall, sometimes 5 m.
The branches are dense, grow vigorously, and have thorns.
Young branches are covered with grayish brown hairs.
The leaves are simple and alternate, long ovate to lanceolate, 2.5–5 cm long and 0.6–1.8 cm wide, and thick and fleshy.
The upper surface of the leaves is glossy.
The leaf margins have serrations.
Corymbs arising from the leaf axils bear many flowers.
The flowers are white with 5 petals.
The fruit is flattened-spherical, 6 mm in diameter, and ripens to bright red.
[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed or cuttings.
Seed loses its germination rate when dried, so take fully ripe fruit, wash off the flesh thoroughly, and sow immediately.
It grows well regardless of soil type as long as the site is sunny and well drained.
The sunnier the site, the better it fruits.
It dislikes being transplanted as a mature tree.
For potted plants, water thoroughly when the soil surface dries; for plants in the ground, rainfall is sufficient unless summer brings a long spell of sunny weather and the soil becomes severely dry.
Apply organic fertilizer or slow-release chemical fertilizer in winter.
Prune after flowering, finishing by late autumn when the flower buds form.
It tolerates hard pruning.
There are no particular pests or diseases.
