If you’re looking for the perfect ground cover, look no further than the Cotoneaster (often called Rock Cotoneaster or Dwarf Mistletoe). It’s a fantastic choice for creating a lush, green carpet in your garden, but the secret to getting that picture-perfect look really comes down to your spacing.
How to Grow a Lush Green Carpet
On average, a Cotoneaster grows about 4 inches (10 cm) per year. When you plant several of them together, they naturally want to spread out and fill in the gaps, creating a dense, carpet-like growth that looks amazing. Of course, you don’t *have* to go for the full carpet look—these plants look great as standalone specimens in a garden bed or even in a container. They are even a popular choice for bonsai styling!
To get that thick, weed-suppressing carpet, I recommend planting about eight plants per square yard. If you prefer a bit more breathing room between your plants, you can scale back to about five plants per square yard. Just a heads-up, though: if you leave those gaps, weeds will definitely try to move in, so you’ll need to stay on top of your weeding game until the plants fill out.
When you’re putting your young Cotoneasters in the ground, aim for a spacing of about 24 inches (60 cm) between each plant. Also, make sure to leave about 20 inches (50 cm) of space from the edge of your garden bed so they have plenty of room to spread without overstepping their bounds!
