Cotoneaster problem

movingpictureTV

Am working through the issues (and mistakes) I've been making in my small patio garden here in Brighton.

I have a Cotoneaster that's looking pretty awful right now - very dry, little foliage, very woody at the end of the stems, and generally looking unhealthy. I've been reading about a condition called fire blight and wondered if that's what my two plants have?

Reading about the disease has raised my concern because it says it can spread to apple and pear trees - for which only last year I planted five cordoned varieties against the wall (which currently look great).

Anyway, can anyone confirm whether it is fire blight?  And if so should I just remove them asap?

Here are four pictures of the affected plants:

 

 

 

Many thanks for your help,

Mark

 

nutcutlet

My feeling is not fireblight but they look pretty rough and I would probably get rid of them if they were mine

Dovefromabove

They look dead - the bark's peeling off.  Dig them out and burn them or put them in the bin.  

Fireblight shows itself through initially with blasted foliage - what did they look like last year?