Christmas Berry Hedge | The Tree & Hedge Company

Soils

Grows on all substrates as long as they are well-drained and not too dry

Location

Likes being planted in a protected position, can be north, east, south or west facing. Likes warmth but sensitive to frost and wind.

Annual Growth Rate

Christmas berry can grow 30cm per year.

pH TOLERANCE

Can be grown on all substrates

Root Structure

Shallow, spreading fibrous root system

Potential

When regularly trimmed, Christmas berry makes a good, solid, colourful hedge or large upright bush.

Annual Trimming

Photinia takes well to cutting, so can be pruned as and when required. The trim at the end of summer is the most important.

Characteristics

Christmas berry can grow to 4m tall. If you like the flower display, pruning should only be carried out once, when all the flowering has finished.

Christmas berry has become very popular due to its stunning light-red to crimson coloured shooting leaves which appear on the plant in early spring and continue through the summer. The leaves eventually turn bronze and shiny green.

Although listed as an evergreen the Christmas berry can act semi-evergreen like in exposed, colder UK areas by thinning out with some leaf drop occurring during the winter months. They do however quickly leaf, and thicken up again when the spring arrives.

An abundance of white pungent flower clusters appears in May. These flowers take a lot of energy from the plant which impacts the new leaf growth.

Tip: By removing the flower heads as they appear will increase the new bright-red leaf growth which the plant is best loved and famous for.