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Red Robin Bays

OldHouseNewHouseOldHouseNewHouse Posts: 38
in Plants
Hi All

I have 2 red robin bay trees and they dont appear to be in a good state as you can see from pictures.


I have given them plenty of water, fed them with Chicken Manure pellets but not much new growth on them.

Any ideas?

Thanks

Posts

  • nutcutletnutcutlet Posts: 27,445
    Red Robin aren't Bay trees, they're a Photinia. Are they indoors? Most garden plants are better outside


    In the sticks near Peterborough
  • OldHouseNewHouseOldHouseNewHouse Posts: 38
    nutcutlet said:
    Red Robin aren't Bay trees, they're a Photinia. Are they indoors? Most garden plants are better outside
    No they are outside 
  • CeresCeres Posts: 2,698
    I am assuming you are in the UK in which case, the weather this winter (very wet and very cold) following on from the hot dry weather last summer has caused a lot of damage to many plants and some things are taking a while to get going now that spring is here. A potted standard photinia (nothing like a bay tree which is Laurus Nobilis) is at a disadvantage from the start because it is relying on you to give it the optimum conditions for survival and that isn't always possible. Very hot weather such as we had last year can shrivel leaves and roots, and the very cold days and nights during the winter can freeze the roots as they are near the surface of the pot rather than hunkered down underground. If your photonias have managed to survive these conditions then they need a bit of time to regroup. Try and keep them out of very hot sunshine in the weeks to come (always assuming that is what we will get) and don't drown the pots with gallons of water, just keep the soil moist. With a bit of luck the plants may just bounce back but be prepared to chuck them in the green recycling bin if the miracle doesn't happen.
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    This is the second time recently that I've come across "bay tree" being used to describe another type of tree/shrub that's been trained/pruned into a blob-on-a-stick shape (can't remember where the other one was though). Language changing/evolving or mistaken identity? I hope there isn't someone out there selling Photinia (or anything else other than Laurus nobilis) labelled as Bay.
    Photinia often look pretty ropy by the end of winter - it seems they're quite picky about conditions and in particular don't like windy, cold and/or damp conditions (apparently the species is native to warm temperate parts of Asia). And as @Ceres said, life in a pot is tough for them.

    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Depends where you live too. They always look like that here.
    They can be hit and miss if you don't have the right conditions for them, especially those standard ones. They're much harder to get established, especially if they're staying in pots.

    Standards are sometimes called 'lollipops' as that describes the method of growing, and the resulting shape.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    There is no substitute for genuine baytree mopheads (Prunus nobilis).  I tried to shape my olive as a mophead, but it insists on growing upwrds and being much more open and loose. 

    Maybe a Photinia red robin is similar, don't force it into a shape that doesn't come readily.

    Actually, they don't look too bad to me.

    You can overwater.  You can over feed.
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Can we see the whole plants and how you're growing them @OldHouseNewHouse? How long have you had them?
    They need warmth and moisture, so that's when they can be hit and miss. They certainly don't look good.
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 3,742
    The only time I've grown Photinia Red Robin was in SW France.  I had just created a large pond in the middle of an open field and bought several of these shrubs to plant around the south and west pond perimeter.  They established well and obviously the ground suited them as apart from a light trim, I didn't have to do anything else to them over the next 5 years.
    I believe they can be grown successfully in parts of the UK but I don't think they particularly like to be forced into the Lollipop form. 
    It has also been a bad winter for many plants but those in the OP's photos look extremely thin and spindly for Photinia.

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