The Red Tip Photinia is a spectacular medium-sized evergreen shrub that has striking bright-red shoots in spring. These keep their color for months, and new growth later in the year has the same red coloring. It also has attractive, scented clusters of small white flowers in spring, followed by big bunches of red berries in fall and winter. it makes a perfect background shrub, growing 10 to 12 feet tall, and the same across. Planted in a row they can be used for a beautiful screen or a trimmed hedge, depending on how far apart they are placed. No matter how you use it, this reliable plant is very fast-growing, adding at least 2 feet each year, so it will soon reach its mature size.
- Spectacular bright red spring growth
- Attractive clusters of white flowers
- Bunches of red berries in fall and winter
- Easily grown in sun or shade
- Easily made into a dramatic hedge
The Red Tip Photinia grows well in full sun or partial shade, and in full shade too. it will grow well in any kind of soil, including alkaline soils, where it is especially valuable. Once it has become established it will survive ordinary periods of drought, and it has no particular pests. It grows best in warm areas with not a lot of summer humidity. It can easily be trimmed at almost any time of year, so screens and hedged are easy to maintain with this fast-growing and reliable plant.
The Red Tip Photinia is a versatile plant that is a great choice for an individual specimen, a group planting, or trimmed into a hedge. With its glossy, evergreen leaves, it always looks attractive, and in spring it really puts on a show. The main event is the striking red color of the new shoots, as they burst from their winter buds. This color gives a big lift to the garden, and brightens all your planting. A hedge will become a wall of rich, glossy red, and if used as a background plant the whole garden will come alive with this vibrant effect.
Nestling among these bright new leaves are large clusters of white, scented flowers, adding to the show. The red leaves last and last, sometimes for up to 4 months, before gradually fading to the rich green of the mature foliage. The flowers develop into clusters of red berries, which add a great feature to the fall garden, and often last well into winter, brightening the garden before becoming food for waxwings, thrushes and other wild birds.
Growing Red Tip Photinias
Not only is the Red Tip Photinia an attractive addition to any garden, it is a tough, reliable plant, able to cope well in many different garden conditions. It is also fast-growing, adding 2 to 3 feet of growth every year when young. It will grow in full sun, partial shade, and even in full shade beneath taller trees.
Soil Conditions and Hardiness
As for soil, unlike those fussy plants that only grow in acidic soils, this bush will grow in all kinds of soils. That makes it especially useful if you garden on alkaline soils, where the range of plants is more limited. It is also hardy to zero degrees Fahrenheit, so it grows across all the mild and hot parts of the country. It will also grow in zone 6, with colder winter temperatures, but there it should be planted in a southern or western facing spot, close to the shelter of a building. It has no particular pests or diseases, although in very humid areas some leaves may fall in summer. Avoid wet soil, and wetting the foliage when watering during humid seasons. Plants can be cut back and will quickly recover from any leaf loss.
Uses in Your Garden
Plant the Red Tip Photinia as part of your shrub borders. It grows 10 or 12 feet tall – a good size for background planting, but not so big that it will take over your garden. It will grow a similar width, but this is a plant that is easily trimmed to keep it smaller, if you need to. Because it is easy to trim, it also makes a wonderful screen or hedge plant. As an informal screen, place the plants about 8 feet apart – they will need little or no trimming to quickly form a dense barrier. For a clipped hedge lower than 6 feet, space out the plants 3 or 4 feet apart. Space them 5 or 6 feet apart for a taller hedge.
Trimming
Start trimming when your plants are still young, so that you develop a dense, twiggy structure to your hedge. With its fast growth-rate you will have a full-sized hedge in no time at all. Once established and clipped, the growth will slow a little, so this plant will not be hard to manage. The best time to trim an individual bush or a hedge is in late winter, before the new growth begins. Trimming in spring will remove the attractive red shoots, but if you trim just after they have turned green, another flush of red leaves will appear, continuing the color display.
