Rockspray Cotoneaster (Cotoneaster horizontalis) - pink flowers, illustrated plant cardIllustration

Rockspray Cotoneaster

Cotoneaster horizontalis

Also called rock cotoneaster, wall cotoneaster, rock spray and wall spray

Rockspray Cotoneaster blooms from May through June.

Bloom calendar
Bloom time
May–Jun
checked
Hardiness
Zones 5–7
checked
Sun
Full sun
checked
Water
Moderate water
checked
Mature size
2.5 ft × 7 ft
checked
Type
Shrub
house classification

Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.

Growing Rockspray Cotoneaster

Plant it in full sun. It prefers moderate water. It is hardy in USDA zones 5–7. Expect it to reach about 2.5 ft tall and 7 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 5 years (a house reading).

No toxicity note is on file for Rockspray Cotoneaster. That is not a clearance: check its safety for people and pets before planting.

Verification
What was checked

Mature height and spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and the trait tags were checked against named botanical sources for this plant, with what the sources could not settle written down; years to mature size rests on a recorded house rule where no publisher states one, and is marked so; its common name and alternate names have not been checked yet. Each fact above carries its own mark. The planting, spacing and size sections are derived from these checked facts by a fixed rule, not checked separately, and the plant type is the library's own classification.

See the 8 sources it was checked against

When to plant Rockspray Cotoneaster

Plant Rockspray Cotoneaster in early spring as soon as the soil is workable, or in early fall at least six weeks before your first frost, so roots establish in cool weather. In zone 6, the middle of its hardy zones 5 to 7, spring means March to May and fall means August or September. Once settled, it blooms from May to June.

Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 6, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 6 in March. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.

How big does Rockspray Cotoneaster get?

Illustration of Rockspray Cotoneaster drawn to scale beside an adult2.5 fttall5 ft 7 inan adult7 ftwide
About 2.5 ft tall and 7 ft wide at maturity: thigh-high beside an adult.

See Rockspray Cotoneaster in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.

How far apart to plant Rockspray Cotoneaster

Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.

Space Rockspray Cotoneaster about 7 ft apart, center to center, so each plant has room to reach its full width.

Plant them
7 ft apart
Per 10 sq ft
one needs about 49 sq ft
4 by 8 ft bed
about 1

Add Rockspray Cotoneaster to a garden plan and the planner draws it at its full width, so you see the spacing before you buy.

Where these facts come from

Rockspray Cotoneaster's height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, trait tags, soil, diseases, pests and toxicity were checked against 8 published sources on September 23, 2026. Each one is linked below with every fact it carried, which can include a fact this page still marks as not yet checked, because a source carrying a value is not the same as the value being held to the standard. Facts not in that list, and the planting, spacing and size sections, are not covered by these sources.

  • Missouri Botanical GardenPlant Finderheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, trait tags, soil, diseases and pests
  • The Morton Arboretumheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, trait tags, soil and diseases
  • NC State ExtensionGardener Plant Toolboxheight, spread, hardiness zones, water, soil, diseases, pests and toxicity
  • University of Illinois ExtensionSelecting Shrubs for Your Homeheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, bloom months and color, diseases and pests
  • RHSRoyal Horticultural Societyheight, spread, sun, bloom months and color, soil and toxicity
  • Chicago Botanic GardenPlant Finderhardiness zones, sun, bloom months and color and trait tags
  • plantdatabase.uconn.eduUniversity of Connecticut Plant Databaseheight, hardiness zones, water and bloom months and color
  • Oregon State UniversityLandscape Plantsheight, spread and soil

How the checking works, and what each standard covers, is on the verified plants page.

The Cotoneaster group

One of 3 in the Cotoneaster group. Same genus, similar care.

Explore similar plants

You might also like

Design a garden with this

Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.

Design a garden with this →