This ornamental shrub is used to create privacy fences and informal landscaping boundaries such as a clipped hedge around a house. It is also a striking focal point when planted in a flower garden. Both the Japanese photinia (Photinia glabra) and Chinese photinia (Photinia serrulata) are hardy plants.
Reasons to choose Photinia hedging
An evergreen species, Photinia not only provides a dense screen in every season, but the vibrant red foliage that decorates the hedge followed by lush, dark-green leaves, provides an alternative lasting color. Photinia hedges form white flower clusters in spring and attractive red berries later in the year. The foliage creates a thick, dense hedge that moves gently in the wind, showcasing the spectrum of colored leaves.
Whether your garden is a sun-trap or shaded, Photinia will grow well in most positions but does prefer full sun.
If you’re not the best at staying on top of your trimming, Photinia is a great low maintenance option. An annual prune after new growth has lost its colur is all it takes to keep your hedge looking tidy but if you want to encourage more red growth, you can prune your Photinia hedge up to three times a year. It is best to prune back your photinia hedge branches during winter months while they are dormant to shape them properly.
Photinia hedging can handle renovation pruning which is good news if you’re faced with an overgrown Red Robin hedge. You can plant Photinia at any time of the year, using cell grown or pot grown plants. It is pollution tolerant so is the ideal hedge for urban areas.
Preparing the site
- Clear an area for your hedge that receives part or full sun and has soil that drains well.
- Photinia grows at an average width of 5 feet to 8 feet and an average height of 10 feet to 15 feet tall, so keep this in mind as you plan where to plant your hedge.
- Remove weeds, rocks, old roots or other debris in the planting area soil.
- Add manure or organic compost to the soil and turn the soil over with a shovel to mix it in.
- Measure out the planting area and place ground stakes 5 to 8 feet apart. This accommodates the mature width of the photinia hedges. The plants need space to grow, as densely planted photinia can develop leaf spot. Lack of air circulation through dense branches allows water to collect on the leaves and dry slowly, which encourages fungus growth.
Planting
Dig a hole that is twice as wide as the photinia root ball and 2 inches less than the root ball’s height. Thoroughly water the hole and wait one hour to allow the water to soak into the soil.
Gently place the photinia on its side and remove it from its pot. Place the photina in the hole. Rake the sides of the root ball with a hand cultivator to expose the roots.
If your photinia came with the root ball wrapped in burlap and a wire basket, set the root ball into the hole. Cut off the wire basket with bolt cutters and remove the burlap from the root ball.
Fill in the hole and mound the extra soil in a circle around the base of the shrub (about 4 inches from the trunk of the photinia). Add water to the moat until it is full. Wait one hour or until the water is fully absorbed by the soil, and add water to the moat again. Wait for the water to enter the soil. Rake down the the wall with the hand cultivator and fill in the moat.
Cover the soil around the base of the plant with a 2-inch layer of mulch. Leave a 2-inch space around the base or trunk of the photinia to prevent the mulch from touching it. Mulch helps keep moisture in the soil.
Photinia hedge care
Water the photinia once a week during the growing season. During summer months – water every two to four weeks to keep the soil moist. You should water the soil near the photinia and not the leaves in order to prevent black leaf spot.
Let the new shoots of the plant grow to be 1 foot long. Cut the young red shoots back by 6 inches, above an outward-facing leaf bud on the shoot with hedging shears.
Trim the photinia hedge so that the top is more narrow that the base and give it sloped sides to allow sun to filter through the branches to reach the bottom leaves of the plant, which encourages lower branches to grow denser together.
Trim the photinia hedge in early spring, summer and early fall. Water and fertilize your photinia hedge after every trimming with organic fertilizer.
Source: homeguides.sfgate.com
