If you want to trim a stem, cut it at the node above a leaf. Generally, with a photinia red robin, you can prune it any way you wish, no special treatment is needed. Take a hedge trimmer to the red robin if you really fancy... How to grow red robins in containers A number of Photinia species are used as garden shrubs or trees, including P. davidiana, P. serratifolia, P. glabra and P. villosa. There are also a number of well-established and popular hybrids, such as Photinia‘Redstart’ ( Stranvaesia davidiana × P. × fraseri). This article focuses on Photinia × fraseri, which is the hybrid between P. glabra and P. serratifolia. Photinia × fraseri ‘Red Robin’ Surrounding the Photinia with smaller, slow-growing plants that mesh well with the colourful foliage of the ‘Red Robin’ is best. It is difficult to give you a defining answer to your question Chris but the roots of Photinas are nowhere as invasive as other tree species and to a certain extent a lot will depend on what your new drive has been constructed from. I cannot see any problems with a concrete drive and also if your drive has a sound hard-core structure. The ends of the shoot should be pruned frequently to ensure that it keeps on producing its bright red leaves. Another reason why the plant should be pruned regularly is that its flowers smell unpleasant to some people. Heavy pruning some branches at the bottom of the plant periodically would help to improve airflow. Thus, it would also make the plant less susceptible to some fungal diseases.

Unless you prefer a large shrub, you can prune it between March and mid-July. It is not recommended to prune shrubs after late July since the young shoots that appear after pruning can be very soft and susceptible to early frosts. We would not prune these shrubs until they are three years old or older. For the best chances of success growing Photinia Red Robin from scratch, we recommend taking these cuttings in Summer, so they have plenty of time during the peak season of growth to become established in the soil. When the Photinia Red Robin is young, regular watering is completely fine; however, once the plant is established and reaches maturity, it will not need much water at all. In fact, Photinia Red Robin struggles in waterlogged soil. We recommend applying mulch to the top layer of soil around the established Photinia Red Robin plant – this will hold water for considerably longer, so there is less need to water frequently. Pruning Most shrubs will grow happily in containers, but they will be much more demanding on feeding and watering than shrubs in the ground would be. They will also need potting on every couple of years so that they don’t suffocate or become stunted in their pot. Photinia x Fraseri , also known as “Red Robin”, is well known for its vibrant young leaves, that glow bright red in the sunshine and turn green as they mature. They are very fast growing too, so they fill out no time!

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The root ball of the plant should be placed into the hole so that the soil is as deep as it was in the pot. The soil should be filled in gently but firmly around the root ball. Make sure you water well to settle any surrounding soil around the rootball. However, after a couple of growing seasons, a ‘Red Robin’ grown in the ground should not require much more attention from you at all. Companion Planting We get asked this a lot! Yes, you can take cuttings from Photinia Red Robin – once you know how to propagate these cuttings you can have as many as you like! If your Photinia Red Robinoutgrows its container, you want give it more room so it can grow larger, or the container is damaged, it can be re-potted anytime from early spring to early autumn. You could re-pot in winter, but there seems little point and nothing to gain by not waiting until spring. One of the biggest causes of death in new shrubs is drought stress, so keep it well watered until it’s established.

They must be well watered in, and then watered each time the top couple of centimetres of compost feels dry to the touch. Looks Good With New Red Robin plants should be capable of managing themselves with regards to water except in extreme prolonged dry spells. Over the first year, however, roots are not very deep and may need regular watering during periods if rain is low. Should I cut the flowers off my Red Robin? The hole for planting should be around twice the width of the rootball, make sure you've added your nutrients such as blood, bone and fish. Photinia ‘Red Robin’ is a hardy plant that’s easy to grow. So long as it has the right conditions, it should happily thrive in the garden with minimal maintenance. PlantingSome shrubs may show signs of reverted growth or ‘sporting’. This is where random shoots of different leaves associated with the plant’s parentage begin to appear. Most commonly this is where plants with variegated leaves sprout pure green growths instead of variegated ones. The cuttings should be approximately 10cm long, taken from a stem that is approximately 1cm in diameter. Cut just below a leaf node and remove the lower leaves from the cutting. Place them immediately into a plastic bag to avoid them losing water until they are ready for planting. For three decades, Bill has travelled the county with fellow judges as a regional judge for North West in Bloom.