Cotoneaster Bonsai | Summer Pruning for Back Budding & Fine Branch Structure - 2025

🍂 Cotoneaster is a brilliant species for bonsai—with fine branching, tiny leaves, and seasonal interest. But without proper summer pruning, it can quickly get leggy and lose internal structure.

In this video, I take you through my Cotoneaster bonsai and show how I prune it in summer to refine its silhouette, manage energy, and encourage back budding. Careful branch selection now sets the tree up for tighter ramification and healthier growth throughout the year.

In this video, you’ll see:
✂️ Selective summer pruning for tighter internodes and back budding
🌱 How to choose branches to remove and which to keep for structure
🌿 Managing dense outer growth to let light reach the interior
🪴 Tips on how Cotoneaster responds to pruning compared to other species
🍁 How this summer work sets up stronger autumn colour and fruiting

Whether you're developing a young tree or refining a mature Cotoneaster, these techniques will help you build natural structure and keep growth balanced.

💬 Got a Cotoneaster you’re working on? Let me know how you’re styling it in the comments below!

👍 Like and subscribe to Brooker Bonsai for more seasonal work, structural pruning, and species-specific bonsai guides.

🔖 Hashtags:
#CotoneasterBonsai #SummerPruning #BackBudding #BonsaiStructure #BrookerBonsai #BonsaiRamification #TinyLeafBonsai #BonsaiTips #CotoneasterCare #BonsaiBranchSelection