| I planted 2 pyracanthas on an east facing wall where they get lots of sun until afternoon. They've been in for over a year, are growing, but not producing berries. Is something wrong? |
| Pyracantha is hardy in zones 6-9, thrive in all day sunshine, but will tolerate some afternoon shade, and do best in slightly dry soil. Your plants have probably taken a full year to become established, and can now be expected to put on lots of new growth. Fruit is produced on little spurs that develop on one-year old stems. It's likely that your plants are too young to be able to produce an abundance of berries, but with a little selective pruning this spring, you can encourage the production of lots of fruit the following spring. Cut back the stems that have already produced berries, so new growth will be produced during the summer. Prune some of last year's growth back by about one third to force fruiting spurs on the remainder of the stem. These should flower and produce berries the following year. If you pinch the growing tips back during the summer months, you'll encourage fruiting spurs on the rest of the stems. With a little patience and a little pinching, your pyracantha should be ablaze with orange berries in a few short seasons. |
