standard photina problem
By Don13
pembrokeshire,
United Kingdom 
my standard photina (red robin) are looking abit short on leaves l pruned them last year but they dont seem to send out many new shoots they are about 6 years old with a stem circumference of 5 inches They are in large pots which have been top dressed each spring. If l want to prune them back hard when should l do this. Any suggestions?
On plant
PHOTINA
12 May, 2009
Now is the time to hard prune your photinias but,if they're in pots, that's probably why they're short on leaves. Hard pruning, though, may well induce shoots from the base of the trunk, which as they're standards, you don't want. Don't know how big your pots are, but if the plants are 6 years old and the trunk is 5 inches, I'm willing to bet there's nowhere for new roots to go. You probably need to turn them out of the pots and trim the rootballs, a difficult and risky business, but that might give you new growth if you replant them in fresh soil.
Otherwise, give them a good feed with something nitrogen rich every six weeks - growmore or similar pricked into the soil or a liquid feed.
12 May, 2009