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Photinia

lindseylaing1972lindseylaing1972 Posts: 7
in Problem solving
Hi there,
Our Photinia, which appeared pretty healthy on the 10th of March are now covered in fungus.
Would anyone have advice on how to treat it?
We are in Scotland, where it’s still pretty cold and wet.
Thanks Lindsey

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Posts

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I'm afraid that's how they tend to look here @lindseylaing1972.
    Our climate really doesn't suit them. Too wet and cold, especially in the west, so it's hard to site them well. If you're in the drier east side, you may find them ok most of the time, but they do benefit from cutting back each year   :)

    It's black spot by the way. Very common with them. Not much you can do other than cut them back. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • lindseylaing1972lindseylaing1972 Posts: 7
    Thank you, we’re in the east but but it has been pretty wet so far this year,  I’ll give them a trim and see how we go 😊
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I know they get promoted all the time as good hedging plants etc, but the truth is - they aren't great in many parts of the country. 
    You should see some of the ones round here!  :D
    Ironically, the only decent ones I've ever seen round here are in the garden across from me. However, they're right up against the house wall, so they get warmth/protection from that, they're south facing so they get the direct sun, as well as plenty of rain, but there's lots of other shrubs at the foot of them so they help take up any excess moisture. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • lindseylaing1972lindseylaing1972 Posts: 7
    It’s disappointing as they weren’t cheap , they were shipped up from Yorkshire as I remember. I’ll need to do more research next time.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    It's a pain @lindseylaing1972, but you might be ok with them where you are, most of the time.
    They do benefit from fairly regular trimming which promotes the red foliage. They're a bit fussy though with their requirements - moisture and warmth. 
    All evergreens get damage though, and drop foliage, which is then replaced, so if that's the worst you get, it's not too bad.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • lindseylaing1972lindseylaing1972 Posts: 7
    When your trimming, how much should you take off?
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    You can take them back quite hard, but it depends what you're trying to achieve. Many people use them for hedging, so they get regularly pruned back quite a bit,  and they're also sold as standards, which just means they're shaped to look like lollipops and trimmed regularly to keep the globe shape. 
    If you just want to remove the damaged stuff, you can just take that off and generally tidy them all round   :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • lindseylaing1972lindseylaing1972 Posts: 7
    Ah, we’ve only really been trimming the top so far as we wanted them to join to form a hedge. 
    I’ll try taking off the damaged bits and flatten out the front a bit too.
    Thank you for the advice. 
    Lindsey x
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    If you cut them lightly all over, you should get new growth all over.  Sideways growth will happen when you cut the sides back a bit, so it's always beneficial to do that with any hedging plant. 
    I'm assuming you bought them as quite big, established specimens? That's always a bit harder as they take longer to establish well than smaller plants do. It's the same with any hedging - you can plant closer together with small plants/whips, and they establish more quickly, so you get a fuller, denser hedge sooner, rather than waiting for big ones to fill out. It might seem counter productive, but they actually work better planted smaller.   :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • lindseylaing1972lindseylaing1972 Posts: 7
    Yes, they’ve only been in (here) two years.
    That’s interesting, I thought I was going for the foolproof option 😁 
    It was a quick fix after new neighbours cut down all the trees and bushes behind us and it suddenly felt very bare. 

    We’ll trim all over then. I’ll let you know how we get on. 
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