Do you have a beautiful Red Robin plant in your garden? With its year-round interest and easy-to-grow nature, Photinia ‘Red Robin’ is one of the most common plants in UK gardens and landscapes.

However, despite its stunning appearance, the plant can become overgrown and overcrowded if not properly pruned. And though pretty, the plant’s flowers give off a pungent smell. Many gardeners, hence, face a dilemma of whether it is safe to prune Red Robin during its flowering season. This article answers this concern and discusses everything you need to know about pruning Photinia ‘Red Robin,’ along with some helpful care tips for the plant.

About Red Robin

The technical name for Red Robin is Photinia x fraseri ‘Red Robin,’ also commonly known as Red-tip photinia. It belongs to the Rosaceae family, and its genus is Photinia, which consists of 40 – 60 species of small trees and large shrubs growing up to 3–15 m in height.

Colourful Foliage

Red Robin is an evergreen shrub, most famous for the shiny and vibrant red foliage it carries as a younger plant during the spring season. The plant continues to display exciting foliage as the seasons and climate change.

As the plant matures, its leaves turn lush dark green with some red tinges. The newest shoots, however, continue to remain a dark red or crimson all year round. All in all, adding a splash of colour to one’s garden or landscape never fails.

Soil Type and Environmental Aspects

Red Robin is quite flexible in terms of soil. The most optimum soil for the plant is well-drained, humus-rich, and fertile. The plant does not thrive in heavy clay or waterlogged soil. It prefers deep loam-type soil, sand, chalk, or other soils with a pH value of around 6.5-7.5. The shrubs display different characteristics in different growing substrates.

The plant prefers to grow in a full-sun area; however, it can also be planted in a warm, sheltered spot with partial shade. It does not grow well in windy, cold, or damp conditions. The ideal temperature for the Red Robin is between 16 and 26 ℃.

Flowers and Fruits

Clusters of tiny, creamy-white flowers appear after the crimson foliage in late spring and early summer. These flowers, though beautiful, don’t give off a pleasant smell and are pretty sparse. Their growth is unusual as they only appear if the pruning is delayed in the previous summer. Later, they transform into a bunch of red berries, which is why Photinia Red Robin is also known as ‘Photinia Christmas Berry.’

The fruits are ornamental but also believed to be potentially harmful. Cyanogenic glycosides present in the fruit cells can turn to cyanide once eaten, so it is advisable to avoid eating them.

Good for Hedging

A Hedge or hedgerow is an artificial wall made by closely lining up shrubs or trees around a place. It enriches the place’s aesthetic beauty and marks its boundary.

The Red Robin is an excellent choice for hedging or screening in front yards or around the perimeters of one’s garden. The plant is ornamental, evergreen, and fast-growing. It sprouts new leaves and flowers every spring. Though not overly dense, the plant’s leaves are relatively large, making an excellent privacy barrier. Similarly, the branches growing from the ground up are adequately dense. When trained as a hedge, the branches weave together to create a perfect, wildlife-friendly screening hedge.

Growth Rate and Size

When left on their own accord and untrimmed, red robins can grow up to 4 to 6 meters in height and spread around two or more meters in width. However, if trained as a hedge, their height can be managed to the size of only a couple of meters tall and one meter wide, just with some annual pruning. Once established, Red Robin grows at about 30 cm per year.

Pruning Red Robin

Pruning is selectively removing undesired parts of plants, such as branches, twigs, buds, or roots. These parts are cut to maintain the plant’s size, give it a good shape, and reduce its density. Pruning is essential for maintaining the plant’s health and promoting its fruitful growth.

When and How Should You Prune Red Robin?

Minimal pruning once or twice a year is enough for Red Robin to maintain its size and look neat. However, more regular pruning may encourage new, vibrant red growth. Pruning about a few weeks into the growing season might be practical to promote more red foliage.

When the red leaves of the plant start losing their colour and, in due course, fade into bronze, pruning shears can be used to cut the branches short to 15 cm, just above new buds and shoots. This will lead to the sprouting of more new red leaves. In Europe, the growing season for the plant runs from late March to September. So, the red foliage fades to bronze from mid-April, which is the right time to do the first pruning.

It is advisable to prune the plant mostly in early spring and summer to maintain its shape and healthy growth. Cut the stems above a leaf node to keep the Red Robin fit and flourishing.

Can You Prune Photinia ‘Red Robin’ When It’s in Full Bloom?

As mentioned earlier, while the tiny white flowers of the Red Robin may play a fair part in contributing to its visual appeal, they fall short in terms of fragrance. These flowers later develop into red berry-like fruits, poisonous to humans and animals. As a result, most gardeners opt to eliminate the growth of the flowers in the plant. If you wish to do the same, it would be wise to prune off these flowers while they are still in bloom. Pruning them before they fade will lead to little flowering in the next season.

On the other hand, if you wish to encourage flowering, you should delay the first pruning until after one and a half months. In Europe, the flowers of the Red Robin start to fade and wilt in late May or the beginning of June. So, instead of April, you should wait till mid-June to do your pruning. This will increase flowering in the following growth season and encourage more vibrant red foliage.

So, whether or not to prune the Red Robin plant when it is in flower ultimately depends on whether you encourage or prevent flowering in the next growing season.

What Happens if You Don’t Prune Red Robin?

While it is resilient, not pruning the Red Robin can lead to some potential downsides.

• The plant will become dense and overgrown without pruning, spoiling its tidy shape.
• Flowering will be reduced as branches will shade out the potential buds.
• The plant will turn weak and vulnerable against strong winds.
• Unpruned leaves will be susceptible to diseases and fungal infections.

Essential Tips to Remember When Pruning

• First and foremost, sterilize your gardening tools, such as secateurs and shears, with diluted rubbing alcohol or a bleach solution, as Red Robin is vulnerable to diseases like leaf spots. You can also shape the plant using manual tools or even electric clippers.
• Wear gardening gloves before undertaking pruning, as the plant can act as an irritant.
• For disease prevention, try to open up the lower and inside parts of the shrub if it is too dense. You can do this by removing the older and unshapely entangled branches. This also improves air circulation and permits sunlight to reach the centre.
• Clear out trimmings or cut foliage from under the plants, as leaving them be may also lead to diseases.
• Instead of throwing and wasting this cut foliage or trimmings, the good ones can be used for indoor flower arrangements.
• Photinia ‘Red Robins’ can endure hard pruning. If the plant has grown too large or out of control, cutting it back to 60 cm above the ground surface is okay.
• You should avoid trimming Red Robin after some time in mid-August, as new growth would not survive the winter frosts.
• Red robins are perfect for shaping because they can handle and recover well from pruning. You can try shaping a single Red Robin into simple shapes like a cone, sphere, square, and even more intricate and exciting designs!

How to Take Care of a Red Robin Plant?

Photinia Red Robin is a hardy and low-maintenance plant. So, while it may not need much care, you can still water and fertilize it to ensure healthy growth.

Watering

When the plant is young, i.e., under two years old, it is essential to water it once a week. Always check whether the soil is dry 5-6 cm in depth before you water the plant. Once it has matured or established, the plant becomes drought tolerant; hence, there is no need to water it frequently. However, if kept in containers, they can dry out quickly and must be watered regularly, especially in summer.

Fertilisation

Photinia ‘Red Robin’ may not require fertilizing if the soil is nutrient-rich. But to encourage maximum growth and abundant foliage, you can fertilize the plant twice a year with an all-purpose fertilizer. The best times to fertilize the shrub would be first in spring and second in winter.

Red Robin can be subject to occasional leaf drop. At such times, you must prune it back short, apply a slow-release fertilizer to the plant and water it adequately if required. Using a potassium-rich fertilizer may enhance the plant’s hardiness in late summer.

Ultimately, deciding whether to prune a Red Robin when it is in flower depends on the gardener’s goals and preferences. If unsure, consult a horticulture specialist or an expert gardener. However, one cannot deny that Photinia’s ‘Red Robin’ undoubtedly adds to a garden’s aesthetic beauty.

Conclusion

Photinia ‘Red Robin’ is a supposedly easy plant to care for in the garden. However, to help it grow healthy, it’s good to be knowledgeable about certain essential aspects of the plant, like its soil preferences and growth habits. Following the above pruning methods and care tips, you can unlock the plant’s full potential, cultivating striking red foliage and year-round allure.

Last Updated on May 7, 2024 by AnoushkaRoy