Why should I plant Photinia Red Robin?
Photinia Red Robin (Photinia x fraseri ‘Red Robin’) is a spectacular clone of the evergreen Photinia with glossy green leaves and bright red attractive young leaves. Whilst it is highly attractive and adds an element of colour to the garden, it is not as robust or dense as other hedging plants such as Laurel and should not be relied upon to produce a dense visual barrier as it does tend to go thin with age.
How tall will Photinia Red Robin grow?
A single Photinia Red Robin if left untrimmed can be grown as an attractive specimen shrub to a large size but it responds well to clipping and can be used to make a hedge of any height from 3-8ft in height so will more than adequately produce a hedge to give eye level privacy or grown as a small hedge as an internal garden boundary.
How quickly will Photinia Red Robin grow?
Photinia Red Robin will put on about 1ft (30cm) of growth each year. Once the hedge has reached its desired height it should be trimmed at that height accordingly to maintain its size and increase its density. This will slow down the upward growth of your hedge and encourage growth sideways to make a denser hedge. We often mention to people that Photinia Red Robin can go a little thin and doesn’t create as dense a hedge as some alternatives. We recommend that you speak with us if you are planning on planting a Photinia Red Robin hedge and want it to create a dense visual barrier.
When should I clip or trim Photinia Red Robin?
We recommend that you clip Photinia Red Robin twice a year to help keep it thick and vibrant. This should be done once in the spring before a new flush of growth which will encourage new vibrant red growth and once at the end of the season when the growth has slowed up. This will greatly improve a Photinia Red Robin hedge.
How far apart should I plant a Photinia Red Robin hedge?
Photinia Red Robin should be planted 2ft (60cm) apart regardless of how tall or short they are when you buy them and careful preparation of the planting site is important. See section below on how to look after your Photinia Red Robin hedge after planting.
How do I look after my Photinia Red Robin hedge after planting?
Although Photinia Red Robin plants are tolerant and will put up with most soil types, we recommended that the planting soil is mixed with compost to give the plants the best environment to grow in for their first year. After planting, your Photinia Red Robin hedge should be watered regularly during its first year to give it the best chance of survival and this is especially important if your hedge is being planted in the drier summer months.
How do I water my Photinia Red Robin hedge?
Watering a Photinia Red Robin hedge is especially important if you are planting during the summer or a dry period. For watering, we recommend using leaky hose (sometimes described as porous pipe) which can be connected to your existing hose pipe and will slowly leak water onto the roots of your hedge in a controlled manner to ensure that it soaks in and your hedge becomes properly watered. Leaky hose is cheap, easy to install and very effective. See our Accessories page for more details on leaky hose.
Is Photinia Red Robin tolerant of different soil types?
Photinia Red Robin will tolerate most all soil types (except very waterlogged soils) making it very versatile.
Does Photinia Red Robin like full sun or shade?
Photinia Red Robin will grow well in full sunshine and also in partial shade making it very versatile to different situations.
We usually stock a selection of different sizes of Photinia Red Robin throughout the year.
For more information on our availability of Photinia Red Robin or if you have any questions or queries about existing Photinia Red Robin hedges or need advice about planting a new Photinia Red Robin hedge, please call us on 01252 714552 or email sales@hedgesonline.com