- 1). Prepare the planting site. Cotoneasters are not particular about the type of soil they grow in, as long as it is well-drained. They grow in sandy or clay soils that are acid or alkaline. Dig a hole twice as large as the root ball. Add peat moss to help loosen the soil and encourage good drainage. Add about one or two 5-gallon buckets of peat moss to the soil that you removed from the planting hole. Mix together well and use to transplant the cotoneaster.
- 2). Add back some of the soil you removed from the planting hole until it is high enough to set the cotoneaster at the same level at which it was growing in the nursery. Backfill the hole. Firm the soil around the roots with your foot, but don't compact it. Form a ridge of soil with your hands around the edge of the planting hole to catch rainwater.
- 3). Water your newly transplanted cotoneaster thoroughly. Fill up the indentation from the planting hole twice and let it drain.
- 4). Feed every other week with liquid water-soluble plant food until it flowers, and then fertilize monthly during active growth, until the leaves begin to change in fall.
- 5). Remove suckers from the base of the plant to keep it well-shaped. Cotoneaster can be pruned at any time during the year.
- 6). Mulch for winter protection from freezing temperatures. Cotoneasters are not hardy when temperatures drop into the single digits. Mound leaves over the bush if winter temperatures fall lower than that in your location.
Source...