My redtip photinia shrub is bright and pretty right now. This shrub always begins vigorously growing every year in early spring. These broadleaf evergreen shrubs are fast growing and can get up to 20 feet tall and can spread to 10 feet wide if left unpruned. Mine is about 10 feet tall and I trim it often. These shrubs are very tough and easily withstand severe pruning. After pruning, the shrubs will quickly produce new sprouts and it is only this new growth that produces the bright red color. The deep red color of the leaves lasts a month or longer and then gradually matures to a dark, glossy green.
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Bright red new growth
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My redtip is covered in bright red new growth right now, and this will last about a month. I’ll prune it again in early summer, and it will again produce the bright red leaves. I usually prune mine two or three times throughout the summer. It grows very fast and would become leggy quickly if I didn’t keep it pruned.
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Redtips are very easy to grow and will do fine in full sun to partial shade. I have found though that the more sun the shrub gets, the brighter red the new growth will be. I know that these shrubs are very susceptible to leaf mold so they need to be planted where they have excellent air ciruclation around them. I also try never to wet the leaves when I’m watering, and I haven’t had problems with fungus or leaf mold.
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Closeup of newest leaves on redtip
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I’ve had good success in propagating these shrubs by cuttings. In fact, the very first one I had (the one that is the largest now) came from a cutting I took from a neighbor’s shrub several years ago. Last summer, I took cuttings of about 8-10 inches from the softer, younger tips of this shrub and placed them in a large container I have in dappled shade in the woods. In this old tub, I have a mix of potting soil, loam, peat moss, and sand. Most of my cuttings rooted quickly and I left them in the container through the fall and winter and now have several small red-tip shrubs to transplant. I love the look of these shrubs, and they really are striking with all the new red growth. Click on any of the photos in this post to view a larger version. Also, be sure and read the comments below this post for a lot more information on Redtip Photinia shrubs.
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Redtip Photinia related posts:
Misc. Garden photos
Flowers & Plants this week
Plants this week, April 20
Winter color
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