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Red Robin shrub

Cerifrancis1973Cerifrancis1973 Posts: 1
in Problem solving
 Does anyone have any idea why my Red Robin appears to be dying. It's been in the same spot for the last 10 years and was thriving until this year.

Posts

  • tessagardenbarmytessagardenbarmy Posts: 346
    Hi Ceri. 3 possible causes if purple blotching appeared first it's powdery mildew . Not all Photina are fully Hardy so this cold wet winter could have upset it. They take hard pruning so cut it back feed it and hope for the best. Worse case scenario is the dreaded Fireblight! 
  • BorderlineBorderline Posts: 4,700
    What was the shrub like in spring? Just trying to find out the time line. Your first picture shows leaves suffering from the fungal leaf spot, a common problem with Photinias. They can go on to re-infect over the years if you have not raked all dead and fallen leaves which tends to thrive in damp wet conditions. In some instances, it weakens the shrub to the point of continuous leaf drop which then prompts people to prune more, and that often stresses the plant even more.

    Even though these shrubs are tough, they need a bit of protection from taller shrubs or a barrier to keep strong winds from stressing them. Very often, in exposed places, the shrubs lose a fair bit of their leaves. Check all of these factors along with possible winter cold damage earlier on this year. All possible reasons for your shrub to look like this. 

    If it is still showing some sign of life, prune off the leaves and lay a thick layer of mulch and feed it to see how it responds.
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