Lincolnshire,
United Kingdom 
Are my cotoneaster trees dead? I have two mature (possibly up to 50 years old), very large low and spreading cotoneaster trees in my garden. The biggest measures about 12 feet high and 20 feet across. At the time of the very hard frost and heavy snowfall in December, they were in full leaf and covered with berries. They are evergreen, but shed some leaves throughout the year. The foot or so of snow settled deeply all over the tree, and I tried to knock it off but it bowed down the almost horizontal branches so that they touched the floor (splitting one apart along its length), and when the snow did thaw all of the leaves and berries were dead and brown. This has not changed since, and I'm now really worried that I've lost both trees. I have tried snapping little pieces off the ends of branches to look for signs of life, but they are either brittle and brown inside, or bendy and brown. Are they dead?
13 Jan, 2011
Answers
Hello, are the trees in Question Cotoneaster cornubia, if so then its not all bad news, one of the gardens i work in has a large c, cornubia, during last winters svere cold snap it lost all of its leaves and took a right battering, most of the branche's soon foliaged back up a few of the other branche's which were very slow to respond were hard cut back and new growth emerged, this tree has once again sufferd this winters harshnesss all the leaves completely gone, but after last year i am reasured, the pruning i carried out towards the end of April, hope this helps, Julien
13 Jan, 2011
as anchorman says its quite hard to kill off a contoneaster naturally, i've been growing them on and off for 30 years and only lost one, use your thumb nail to peel a small bit back near the bottom and see if it's green if so press it back it will heal, if it's brown it may be serious. good luck..
13 Jan, 2011
I wouldn't write them off til late spring. They may manage to regrow even if they look pretty far gone.
13 Jan, 2011
I would not think they will be dead, just retreating in the face of the weather. I would leave pruning until growth starts to show leaves again, except for the branch which you say has split along its length. I would cut out the split part of the branch asap, so that it does not get worse in the almost inevitable snow still to come.
14 Jan, 2011
Leave 'em alone for now - you'll know by mid spring whether they've keeled over completely, or whether, and how far, you need to cut back to live wood. They're either dead or they're not, and checking now serves no real useful purpose. I doubt very much they're completely dead.
14 Jan, 2011
Mine looks dead as a doornail, but then it did last year and recovered well, so wait and see!
14 Jan, 2011
I still think it is a good idea to cut out a branch which has split along its length to stop the danger of it splitting further in to the main trunk. Anything that damaged could result in disease getting in to the tree and killing it. I would do it now.
15 Jan, 2011
I agree
15 Jan, 2011
so do i, an open wound on a plant this time of year is inviting disease and further damage.
15 Jan, 2011
The bits you have snapped off do sound dead. Keep on taking bits off further dowwn the tree until you (hopefully) find some living shoots.
I'd be surprised if a Cotoneaster had been completely killed by the cold weather but maybe the age has weakened it. I'd certianly leave it a few more weeks and hopefully you'll get some new shoots lower down
13 Jan, 2011