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Poorly photonia trees
susan.heyland
Posts: 3
Just over 18months ago we bought 5 photinia trees about 8ft tall. With advice from the nursery we planted them in 100l tubs as we wanted them to shield a rather ugly motor home parked immediately next to our rear fence. Tubs were necessary as the area was York stone paved. They are now covered in blossom but seem to have lost almost all their leaves! Will they grow back? I have used a good recommended fertilizer.
Last edited: 16 May 2017 09:08:08
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Photinia are (to my mind) useless in tubs. They require so much food and water that it's worse than looking after summer bedding. They'll come back, but the dry April has put a strain on them and flowering, too, will cause them further stress. Water and food, water and food etc.
H-C
Thank you. I'm doing that and I think they are responding albeit slowly if I decide to start afresh can you recommend any trees that go ok in tubs? I've a eucalyptus that is going very well.
Eucalyptus will, but it'll keep doing well until it's 40, 50, 60ft.! The smaller forms of pittosporum, P. 'Golf Ball', P. 'Tom Thumb', P. 'Pom-Pom', will all perform well in pots. Box, bay, yew, for evergreen and formal (keep on top of the feeding), and for flower, camellias and rhododendrons are magnificent, albeit seasonal. Again, anything in pots needs to be looked after more than things in the ground. You are Mother Nature.
H-C