A very attractive medium growing deciduous shrub that produce dense thickets of thorny branches.
It has simple fine toothed foliage and bears profuse clusters of lovely saucer shaped coral/red coloured flowers which appear before the foliage from spring to summer.
The flowers are followed by small waxy yellow fragrant fruits that resemble apples.
They are best suited to cooler climates and their spiny nature make an excellent barrier to people and animals - and therefore a protective environment for birds.
This informal shrub combines well with other early spring bloomers like forsythia and early bulbs like crocus and daffodils.