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Photinia‘Red Robin ’ is a popular garden shrub with shiny , evergreen leave . leave it is not trim the previous fall , it will make masses of flatten heads ofsmall , white flowers from April to June .
Some hoi polloi dislike the fragrance , which is often compared to hawthorn . However , the works ’s main value lies not in the blossom , but in thebright reddened people of colour of the new leaves and shoots . The foliage gradually turns calendered leafy vegetable as it matures .
Photiniais a genus of approximately 50 species of shrub and small trees . The name derives from the Greek parole ‘ photeinos ’ , mean shiny , name to the sheeny young foliation .
‘ Red Robin ’ is a miscellanea ofPhotinia x fraseri , a hybrid name after the Fraser Plant Nurseries in Alabama in the United States , where it was first discovered as a seedling in 1943 . The ‘ Red Robin ’ variety was subsequently developed in New Zealand , and with its highly coloured new growth it has become by far the most democratic of all gardenPhotinias .
Photinia‘Red Robin ’ is available as a container - grown shrub or as a three - quarter touchstone , pleached or full received tree diagram . With its colourful foliage , fast growth rate and evergreen part , it is a good hedging choice . As it is easy to shape , Photiniaalso ready an fantabulous topiary shrub .
This guide will help you prefer and care for this beautiful shrub .
Photinia Care
Photinia ‘ Red Robin ’ isa hardy plant that ’s wanton to acquire . So long as it has the correct conditions , it should happily thrive in the garden with minimal sustentation .
Planting
The near times to plantPhotinia‘Red Robin ’ arespring and autumn , though container grown plants can be planted at any time of the twelvemonth long so long as the soil is not glacial . Summer plantings will involve a lot of tearing over the first few month .
To plant a container - grownPhotinia , dig up a kettle of fish double the width of the containerto a depth that allow for the top surface of the compost to be flat with the palisade filth . ferment a smattering of blood , fish and bone fertiliser into the fundament of the hole , loosen the soil at the same time .
Place the plant into the centre of the hole and back - fill around the plant . Firm the works in softly but firmly to eliminate any aura pockets without damaging the base . urine well to square off the plant and the surrounding ground .
For aPhotiniahedge , single plants are generally imbed at 75 cm intervals .
Modern shrubs should be watered whenever there are ironic weather condition shape during the first two growing season . A outpouring and autumn provender with bloodline , Pisces the Fishes and pearl over the same period will help produce a good root organisation , and sustain the area around the plant weed - free by mulching will also help with establishment . After two years they will rarely want much further attentionother than normal pruning or swerve to keep the desired stature and form .
Specimens grown in container will require regular lacrimation and feeding .
Light Requirements
Photinia‘Red Robin ’ prefers a berth infull sunlightbut it will also grow quite successfully where there is light refinement for part of the day .
An extra note on works placement : young shoots can be damaged by cold , drying wind instrument and frosts if planted in an let out part of the garden .
Watering
Once established , the plant isfairly drought kind , but newly planted specimen and hedge will require even watering over the first two age while they evolve a healthy and extensive root system .
Soil Conditions
Photinia‘Red Robin ’ grows well inmost garden grime types so long as they are well drained . Some moisture retention is demand , and adeep loam is idealistic . They are unlikely to survive in waterlogged or very intemperate cadaver land . While some species ofPhotiniarespond badly to a chalky dirt , Photinia‘Red Robin ’ will brook any normal acid , neutral or alkaline condition .
Fertilisers
Established bush will not ordinarily need feed , but if they suffer from excessive and sudden leafage driblet or are clearly not doing well , then a top dressing with blood , Pisces and off-white may provide a hike .
After six to eight week in new compost , pot - grownPhotinia‘Red Robin ’ will need feast monthly from March to Augustwith a balanced , slow going fertiliser with suggestion element : specific formulations are now usable from garden centres for shrub , and these are idealistic .
Re-Potting
Photiniado well in containers , with some of the dwarf or little varieties such as ‘ Little Red Robin ’ being ideal . A individual ‘ Red Robin ’ will grow quite happily inacontainer with a diameter of 50 curium or more , though care must be taken to apply a flock of suitable size , shape and system of weights to avoid a top - gruelling shrub blow over in the idle words . Standard multi - purpose compost or a John Innes No 3 can be used .
They must be well water in , and then water each time the top distich of centimetre of compost find dry to the touch sensation .
Looks Good With
Photiniasdo not compete well with more vigorous bush and trees for weewee and nutrients , so if grown as specimens or hedges in or alongside bush border , measured choices of neighbour demand to be made .
Smaller , slow - develop shrubs are preferable . Evergreen , vary varieties will put up relief during the summertime when thePhotinia‘Red Robin ’ is green and a startling contrast in the spring and autumn when the colours of thePhotiniacome into their own .
VariegatedEuonymuscultivars such as ‘ Harlequin ’ , ‘ Emerald ‘ n Gold ’ and Emerald Gaiety are worthy , or for a taller alternative , ‘ Silver Queen ’ . The red and cream variegation ofHebe‘Rhubarb and Custard ’ beak up the red foliation colour of ‘ Red Robin ’ well .
Other shrubs that make full companions to ‘ Red Robin ’ on more acidic soils includePieris japonica‘Little Heath ’ andPieris‘Flaming Silver ’ . The vary Japanese spurge , Pachysandra terminalis‘Variegata ’ can be constitute aroundPhotinia‘Red Robin ’ to produce a complementary , 20 cm tall mat of evergreen leaves with ointment margins .
The cast and people of colour ofPhotinia‘Red Robin ’ also provide an excellent backdrop for a herbaceous border with plants such aslupin , phlox , delphinium , hardygeraniumandRudbeckia , or to ornamental grasses such asMiscanthus sinensis , Stipa giganteaandMolinia caerulea .
Pruning
Photinia‘Red Robin ’ can grow up to 30 curium in a year and it will achieve a meridian and bed cover of some 5 megabyte if lead unchecked , so it will need pruning quite frequently to keep it in physical body . plant should not be pruned in their first three year .
Pruning also promote Modern foliation growth with the shining red colour , though this will be at the expense of bloom unless the pruning is carried out no later than mid - June when the flowers are kick the bucket back . Pruning afterward than this have in mind that the wood on which next year ’s flowers will form is remove .
Fresh red foliage can be produced by lop at any time from spring through to fall , so a decision can be made as to whether the red foliage or efflorescence are the more suitable lineament . A further thoughtfulness is that pruning from August into the autumn will produce newfangled growth that may be susceptible to damage by early frosts .
Regular sustenance pruning take cut staunch back to just above a leafage or outward face bud . absent 15 cm to 20 cm of ontogeny should be sufficient to keep the shrub at its existing size , and it will respond well to this sort of maintenance as long as it has extend to around 1.5 m high as a lower limit . The serious of the deletion stems can be used in vases and blossom arrangement .
Photinia‘Red Robin ’ hedging can be trimmed with shear or hedge clippers without worrying too much about the lieu of bud or leaves , as the saucy new emergence will soon disguise any mar or stubby twigs .
A shrub that has develop out of control can be apply a drastic renovation pruning . In May , cut all of the stems down to 60 cm above the ground and slight what is go forth by removing some stems to ground floor to give an open sum to the works . As new growing forms , retain the secure stem and remove any others .
Photinia Propagation
The best method for propagatingPhotinia‘Red Robin ’ and otherP. × frasericultivars is bysoftwood or semi - ripe cuttings .
Propagating Photinia by Cuttings
deal cuttings should be taken in other summer and semi - right cuttings taken in summertime or autumn . Both types take well with a high rate of winner .
The cuttings should beapproximately 10 cm long , taken from a prow that is approximately 1 atomic number 96 in diameter . Cut just below a leaf lymph gland and get rid of the lower leaves from the film editing . position them immediately into a plastic udder to stave off them lose water until they are quick for implant .
They should beplanted around the side of a 12 cm potas soon as possible after cutting , using an equal mix of general purpose compost and horticultural sand . Insert them some 4 curium into the compost and gently truehearted to ensure good link between the stem and compost .
Place the Mary Jane in a shallow tray of piss for thirty minutes to ensure that the compost is wet without waterlogging the surface . get over the pot with clingstone film or a plastic dish underpin on sticks or wire frame to debar the charge card touch the leave-taking . Place the gage in a cool , bright billet , out of direct sunlight .
The cutting should showsigns of stem growth within three weeks , at which period the plastic dish should be removed . They can be kept over winter in a insensate skeletal system or unheated greenhouse , watering meagrely when the compost is dry , before planting out the following spring when any risk of frost has overstep .
Common Photinia Problems
Photinia‘Red Robin ’ is generally a respectable industrial plant and it is rarely seriously damaged by pests or diseases . However , as always , there are a twosome of thing which could get problems .
Pests
Hardy Photinia is n’t often bothered by pests , but it ’s possible you ’ll notice the pursual :
Some moth caterpillars will run through the leaf ofPhotinia , but damage is seldom serious or long long-lived .
Container - grown plants from garden centres and supermarkets should be check for signs of vine weevil impairment by carefully strike hard the works out of its heap andinspecting for secernate - tale damage to the roots . Adult vine weevils are generally only active at night so are seldom seen , so it may be the cause of otherwise inexplicable damage to leaves . At that stage it is likely that the larvae have already damage the roots and caused more serious terms . Badly affected plants may need to be destroy and replaced .
Diseases
Photinia‘Red Robin ’ generally has good disease ohmic resistance , but there are a couple of exceptions .
The symptoms of leaf spot areround , dark red or black blotches on the leaves , sometimes more perceptibly on parts of the plant that are less exposed to full sun . The affected foliage eventually fall off and in utmost case the plant can be defoliated .
If caught early , individual diseased leaves can be removed . With more extensive damage , the whole plant can be pruned firmly back in May and all of the stinger material burned or disposed of . The plant should issue forth back well with fresh growth . If the problem repeats , it may be good to destruct the plant and provide a replacement elsewhere in the garden .
Leaf spot is not the only possible cause of blotchy leaves and foliage drop , so careful diagnosing is necessary . In many instance , defoliation can be cause by environmental conditions such as prolonged humidity or exposure to cold , drying lead .
Photiniasare also quite prone to dearest fungus . This spread just under the control surface of the soil from shrub to shrub andattacks the plants ’ root systems , restricting their power to occupy piss and food . Affected plants look generally insalubrious with wilting and loss of leafage people of colour , and the ashen fungal mycelium may become apparent around the foundation of the stems .
A whole area of shrubs and Tree can be feign , though some metal money are relatively less susceptible thanPhotinias . Often the only successful track of action is to destroy moved plantsand to replant with species that are resistive .
Photinia Varieties
A bit ofPhotiniaspecies are used as garden bush or trees , includingP. davidiana , P. serratifolia , P. glabraandP. villosa . There are also a act of well - instal and pop hybrids , such asPhotinia‘Redstart ’ ( Stranvaesia davidiana × P. × fraseri ) . This clause concenter onPhotinia × fraseri , which is the intercrossed betweenP. glabraandP. serratifolia .
Photinia × fraseri ‘Red Robin’
This variety is the well known and most well sourcedPhotinia . It can be used as a specimen shrub or small Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree , or plant as a hedge . ‘ Red Robin’grows to 5 m improbable and has the RHS Award of Garden Merit .
Photinia × fraseri ‘Little Red Robin’
This more recently introduced cultivar is similar in colour and general visual aspect to the popular ‘ Red Robin ’ but is a dwarf variety that grow toa height and spreadhead of no more than a metre .
Photinia × fraseri ‘Cracklin’ Red’
This is a latterly originate variety with bright scarlet redden young growth and a free branching riding habit . With an ultimate height of just 2 metre , ‘ Cracklin ’ blood-red ’ issuitable for container , smaller garden and for downcast hedge .
Photinia × fraseri ‘Camilvy’
‘ Camilvy ’ is interchangeable to ‘ Red Robin ’ , with slightly deeper , more coppery - red young growth . It reaches about 3 m tall and is slightlymore tolerant of light refinement . It has the RHS Award of Garden Merit .
Photinia × fraseri ‘Curly Fantasy’
‘ Curly Fantasy ’ haswavy - edge , curl up and toothed dark green leavesthat are characteristically red when youthful . It farm up to 3 m grandiloquent .
Photinia × fraseri ‘Pink Marble’
Also known as ‘ Cassini ’ , this cultivar has develop - pink tinted Modern growth and marble , creamy - ashen leaf diversification . It has a denser growth form than Red Robin and isparticularly desirable for duck .
The young parting emerge in graphic reds and pink , and the variegation develops through the spring and other summertime , though the leave of absence retain a slight pinkish tinge until fall when they develop a deeper burgundy or bronze colour . It will grow to 4mbut color better when regularly cut down as a hedging or trained shrub .
Photinia × fraseri ‘Louise’
This is another eye - catching motley form with leafage in various shades of gullible , cream and pink , giving the shrub or hedge a colorful and decorative appearance in a sunny smear throughout the year . The young foliage is a warm garden pink , and it develops into the typical sheeny putting surface with cream and dark pink patterning during the summertime . It will spring up up to 3 m improbable , but it can be pruned tofit a large patio container .
FAQs
While Photinia ‘ Red Robin ’ is a very versatile bush that throw a decorous hedging , it may not be the most suitable for the office you describe . It will certainly produce quickly and look very attractive , but it will not organize the most unassailable roadblock because it has no pricker and it is easy to part and tug through . In addition , it can quite often lose a lot of lower leave at one time and can therefore be intermittently piteous as a ocular screen at the lower levels .
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