Hesse cotoneaster grows to only 1 or 2 feet in height and has spreading, horizontal branches. The rounded, glossy, dark-green leaves are very striking. Tiny pinkish-red cupped flowers open in late May or early June and small red fruits mature in late summer; they persist until late fall. This low-growing cotoneaster has attractive spring flowers, beautiful fruits in late summer, and outstanding reddish-purple fall color. It is the most extensively planted cotoneaster in the Chicago Botanic Garden's collection.

This shrub is a Chicagoland Grows® selection. Chicagoland Grows® is a plant introduction partnership of the Chicago Botanic Garden, the Morton Arboretum and the Ornamental Growers Association of Northern Illinois formed to promote plant cultivars that perform well in northern Illinois. This variety was selected from the collection of the Morton Arboretum.

Members of the genus Cotoneaster are characterized by a stiff, dense branching structure; small, glossy leaves of fine texture, and abundant fruit in the form of small pomes, which are generally in shades of red/orange but may also be cream or black and may persist into winter. Generally unfussy about soil pH, cotoneasters are reliable and durable shrubs often used as hedges or groundcovers.

The genus Cotoneaster includes at least 90 species of shrubs native to the temperate regions of Europe and Asia, with a concentration in western China. There are no cotoneasters native to the U.S., though a number of species and their hybrids and cultivars flourish in the northern U.S. and Canada. The Chicago Botanic Garden's collections contain almost 20 species among nearly 30 varieties and more than 2,500 individual plants.