Plant Primer | Narrowleaf Firethorn, Pyracantha

Narrowleaf firethorn, pyracantha

Light: full sun to partial shade

Height: 4 to 6 feet

Spread: 6 to 8 feet

USDA Hardiness Zones: 5 to 9

Origin: China, hybrid

A woody shrub with multi-season interest is the narrowleaf firethorn (Pyracantha angustifolia ‘Gnome’).

This thorny shrub has small (2- to 2½-inch-long), narrow, lanceolate, glossy, dark-green leaves. In Ohio, the leaves turn a coppery bronze in fall, but this plant is evergreen in warmer, southern climates.

Gnome narrowleaf firethorn grows mostly in a rounded shape with a few sprawling branches.

In the spring, small clusters of cute but foul-smelling white flowers emerge. The flowers grow on last year’s stem growth. The flowers are followed by small, pea-sized fruit; in the fall, the fruit ripens to a brilliant orange. The fruit is highly visible against the dark-green foliage.

Gnome narrowleaf firethorn makes a nice accent plant, or it can be used as a hedge or screen.

This plant is highly tolerant of urban conditions, including pollution. The only downfall is this plant’s ability to develop some disease, fireblight being at the top of that list.

See Gnome narrowleaf firethorn on the south side of the Conservatory at Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens.

— Barbara Arnold

Franklin Park Conservatory