Photinia Fraseri Red Robin Damage

Question: Due to the heavy snowfall, my Photinia fraseri red robin has cracked in many places, some are minor cracks but cracks nonetheless, is there any doctoring I can do to save this beautifully shaped 7 year old shrub? We had about a foot of snow here. Answer: I’m sorry to hear about your Photinia. The good news is that this is a very easy plant to grow and responds well to pruning. The important thing here is not to let disease get into the plant through the cracks. Therefore you need to remove any badly cracked branches and prune back those which have cracked further up. In order to maintain a good shape you may need to remove healthy branches, take your time and walk around the plant a few times to make sure the shape is pleasing. By the spring you should see new growth appearing from below the cut, this new growth will be the lovely bright red which the red robin is famous for. If after some time the new growth ruins the shape of the plant, just prune it back again. My mum has a red robin and I frequently prune it hard to encourage the new red growth.

Related Articles

Eucalyptus Tree Problem

Have just been chatting with my neighbour who has suggested that leaves from my Eucalyptus tree falling into her pond has caused lots of the frogs to die. (Don’t think many have fallen in). Think she has more of a problem with its height, as it is now about 20 foot tall, and she thinks it will have an impact on the drains. Can you advise please, shall I get rid (even though it was a gift, and it’s lovely to look at).

How to Grow Chillies from Seed

Although it is possible to grow chillies from your own dried seeds this method tends to less reliable and germination can take longer. You will also find that the variety that fruits will not be the same as the one you took the seeds from due to the possibility of cross pollination…….

Feeding Carrots

If you don’t add manure or compost, what can I add to feed carrots?

Shady, Dry Flower Bed

I have a flower bed below a tall wall – this bed gets very little sun (just a bit from around 3.30 to 6 pm). I had not had much success glowing flowering plants or shrubs here and would like some suggestions of flowering plants/ shrubs which grow well in the shade.

Clematis Niobe Pruning

We have a clematis Niobe, which we have had for 5 or 6 years, it has never been cut back hard as the original label said to just trim. We now understand that it should have been cut back hard each year.

Apricot Hardiness

I have just bought an apricot tree in a container (described as a hardy apricot) is it safe to plant out now or should I wait until weather improves?