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Save or Replace Red Robins

joshV2d-eMKTjoshV2d-eMKT Posts: 3
in Problem solving
We’d like to try and save these Red Robins but have no idea
1. What disease they have, and
2. how or where to start.

Or, should we remove and replace them?

Posts

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Can we have a closer picture please … so we can see the condition of the leaves. 

    Can you tell us a bit about the conditions please … whereabouts roughly are you, what’s the soil like, recent weather conditions, that sort of thing. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    It's not a good idea to replace diseased plants.
     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
    Hi @joshV2d-eMKT - is that [very dry!] grass in the foreground? If it is, I'd guess drought is the problem! They need decent drainage and warmth, but they also need moisture to thrive. 
    As @Dovefromabove says though- a close up of the plants will help with advice.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    edited August 2023
    @joshV2d-eMKT Yes a close up of leaves would help.
    There is a tall 'lollipop' Photinia near to me. After the cold wet winter the leaves were blackened. In late spring it had lost all of it's leaves. A scrap of the bark showed it was alive. Now it has fully recovered.
    If your soil is very wet spots are common on the leaves but more often in the winter months. If it is the stress of growing in these conditions that causes leaf spot then I am unsure. The ground at the front of your photo does look dry? I assume you are in the UK?
    Photinias can cope with quite drastic pruning if necessary. Clearing away any diseased leaves as they occur helps.
    Welcome!
    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
  • joshV2d-eMKTjoshV2d-eMKT Posts: 3

    Some photos of the leaves. We are in Toowoomba QLD Australia. 
    This years winter rain has been non existent though this problem isn’t consistent with the seasons.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Your trees are desperately thirsty. Photinia need well-draining but moist soil … drought will not suit them and I think they will need a fair bit of deep watering in order to recover.  
    Possibly not the right trees for your location when climatic conditions are becoming more extreme. 😢 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • joshV2d-eMKTjoshV2d-eMKT Posts: 3
    Thank you DoveFromAbove. Could it be that the healthy trees on the out edges of this photo are stealing the water from the plants in the middle? Or is it something else. 

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Don’t think it’s that … but could they get just a little more shade and protection from drying winds because of the buildings?  

    Also where does the gutter downpipe from the roof to the left of the picture lead?  Could there be a soakaway there which would mean that the soil is marginally damper in that area? 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I don't think those are very happy @joshV2d-eMKT . I know - understatement of the year!
    It might be better to try something that will cope better with your general climate. What do other people grow on properties around your area? 
    Those would have needed a lot of water to get them established, and then keep them thriving. It's the big problem if the weather's inconsistent though. Finding something that will cope with that. Always harder if it's shrubs, trees or hedging too, because it's not easy to replace them and have the height/cover quickly. 
    They also don't like cold wet conditions, so I don't know if removing the failed ones and creating a more retentive soil mix would help where you are. They tend to be dodgy through winter where I am for example, because of the winter weather. They manage better against house walls as a stand alone shrubs, where they have more protection and warmth, and drier soil, but get enough wet stuff through the summer. In more exposed sites -like a hedge, they look terrible.  
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
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