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Red robin help needed!

nic007tennisnic007tennis Posts: 7
in Problem solving

Why is my red robin dead at the top? It's been like this for a couple of years & has just grown from the bottom but now leaves are spotty & it looks diseased. What can I do?

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  • nic007tennisnic007tennis Posts: 7

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  • Dave MorganDave Morgan Posts: 3,123

    Nic your picture hasn't come up but it's probably Photinia leaf spot, usually caused by stress to the plant. The causes are varied, cold winds, exposed siting a cold winter (which it been relatively)

    I don't know if the ground it's planted in is heavy, but I'd add a good quantity of well rotted manure and feed it generously with growmore.

    I'd prune out any dead stuff afterwards. They can recover quite well as the weather improves.

    Just seen the picture, prune the dead out and feed as above. It's probably better off in the ground rather than in a pot.

  • nic007tennisnic007tennis Posts: 7

    Thanks Dave, I've just uploaded my photo again, can you see it? The top is all dead & I pruned it last year in the hope of getting new growth but it's completely dead & only grew from the base. It's standing in a pot by the front door? Maybe I should re pot it? What soil would be best? I don't have access to manure, only B & Q so us there anything I should mix with new soil?

  • Dave MorganDave Morgan Posts: 3,123

    If you can't put it into the garden you need to pot that on into a larger pot. It's a very small pot for a large plant.

    Normal wisdom is to pot on into a pot one size larger, but in this case you'll need a pot double the size of the one you have.

    Pot on and use a John Innes No3 compost. Add some bonemeal to the pot when potting on and water well. To get bushier growth prune back the stems by about 6 inches late April early May back to an outward facing bud. Once it settles you'll see the new growth appearing.

  • nic007tennisnic007tennis Posts: 7

    Thanks Ed, I've just inspected it & there seems to be one stem - the main one is dead & there's one fork off it which has all the leaves & growth. I've taken off here photos for you to see out of its pot - it's very damp - should I re pot it? Where should I cut the dead main stem?

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  • nic007tennisnic007tennis Posts: 7

    Thanks Dave! Where should I cut the dead stem?

  • nutcutletnutcutlet Posts: 27,445

    I would cut lower than that. Those two stem up against each other will be where the rot sets in. Maybe has set in.

    If Verdun is right about 2 plants you may be able to separate them and remove the dead one completely



    In the sticks near Peterborough
  • nic007tennisnic007tennis Posts: 7

    Thanks so much for the advice!

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