New Photina hedge

Lotus-eater

I've just put a new Red Robin Photina hedge in using plants up to about 20" high, they are bending flat in this wind today and I wondered if I should be staking them?

My instinct says not to and just let them get on with it, but I don't know the right answer.

Over to you.

sobie

No, I wouldn't unless they are just single stem plants? Multistem plants will be fine IMO.

Mind you we shouldn't be getting this much wind in May! it's driving me mad

Lotus-eater

Most of them are multistem and the reason I didn't want to stake them, is then they will never harden up and take the wind we get.
I was thinking of cutting the longer ones down by a few inches, but I'm not sure about that either.
Thanks for the advice.

Davesnave

I put some Red Robin in last year, which were typical cheap nursery plants with longer stems than I'd have liked. I hoped they might fill out, but now I can see that they'll need the Chulmleigh Chop.*

*Like the Chelsea Chop, but with a hedge trimmer.

Cordie

I wouldn't hesitate to cut back the branches that are too long, I cut mine back in the spring and around August bank holiday it's how you get the new red shoots.

grannyjo

We have a small tree of the photina you have. Its shoots are always long and leggy. If you want your hedge fairly thick, I think it would be wise to cut them back quite a lot- ie often, to encourage side shoots. Its a beautiful plant- especially in spring with the red leaves . We cut ours back quite a lot to keep it more or less compact. My sister has one that has been unchecked and it is enormous- sycamore size.

sobie

I agree with all the comments above - chop away. Pruning will stimulate thicker growth.

Personally I use secatures when pruning large leaved hedges (Laurel/ photinia etc) because if the leaves get cut in half they'll go brown and look horrible.

Davesnave

sobie wrote: »

.

Personally I use secatures when pruning large leaved hedges (Laurel/ photinia etc) because if the leaves get cut in half they'll go brown and look horrible.

Sorry, I was joking when I said 'hedge trimmer.'

Round here, we use a tractor with a flail for most jobs. :rotfl:

sobie

Davesnave wrote: »

Sorry, I was joking when I said 'hedge trimmer.'

Round here, we use a tractor with a flail for most jobs. :rotfl:

hehehe

Best way to prune shrub roses is with a hedge trimmer.

Lotus-eater

So the recommendation is to prune then quite hard now, just after they've gone in?
I've done the really long bits, but as others have said, I want a nice bushy hedge and I've been worrying about the other bits which are longer than I'd like, but not dragging on the floor.

annie123

Now is a good time to prune it. My DS and dad both have them and have been pruned already and will be again in around 6 weeks to get another flush of red leaves.

Taken from here :http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/profile.aspx?pid=145

If ‘Red Robin’ is grown as a hedge, remove the tips of young shoots to encourage bright red re-growth. They can be trimmed up to three times a year