Photinia Pink Marble Care Guide (Photinia x fraseri ‘Pink Marble’)

This robust, evergreen shrub is a variation of Photinia ‘Red Robin’. In spring the young leaves are bright red with shocking-pink new leaves and variegated foliage. A cluster of beautiful creamy white flowers complements the colourful foliage in the mid to late spring season.

Photinia x fraseri ‘Pink Marble’ thrives in most garden soils and is an attractive, low-maintenance shrub that can also be grown as a low, durable hedge.

American growers discovered this new variety by chance in amongst crop of ‘Red Robin’.

It can resist temperatures as low as -13°C virtually anywhere in the UK. It is resilient down to a few degrees lower in shielded positions.

Along with it’s colourful young foliage it also produces clusters of white / cream flowers every year.

Planting locations and types of gardens that this plant is suited for:

• A low maintenance garden
• Screening and hedging

How To Plant A New Pink Marble Photinia

Planting photinias is best done in autumn to spring, unless the ground is frozen or waterlogged. However, if the soil around the roots is kept moist, they can be planted all year long.

If you want to make sure your Photinia Pink Marble is planted correctly and in the best location, follow these steps:

• If you are going to plant this plant, make sure it is in full sun or partial shade position, they usually only flower in sunny conditions. You should avoid planting it together with two walls or fences due to the fact that it needs some air circulation in order to thrive, even though it will thrive against a wall or fence if planted against it. 
• It is always a good idea to mix in plenty of well-rotted compost or aged manure to the area if the soil is heavy or if it is not free draining.
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• It is recommended that you dig a hole twice as wide as the rootball.  
• The root ball of the plant should be placed into the hole so that the soil is as deep as it was in the pot. The soil should be filled in gently but firmly around the root ball. Make sure you water well to settle any surrounding soil around the rootball.

Pink Marble produces small, creamy white, scented spring flowers followed by red berries in autumn. It has multicolored foliage that turns reddish bronze in the fall and deep burgundy in the winter.

Where To Buy Pink Marble Photinia:

You can buy your Photinia Red Robin from one of the trusted online retailers listed below.

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Photinia Pink Marble Hedge

When looking to create a hedge with your plants, you should plant them at least 75cm / 2ft apart in order to create a dense hedge. They should also be spaced at least 60cm / 2ft away from walls and fences.

There is a possibility that Pink Marble hedges may lack moisture if they are planted close to walls and fences since the base of walls and fences receives less rainfall than in an open location. Pink Marble hedges do not prevent intruders from entering your property.

After settling in your Pink Marble Photinia will take care of itself with little maintenance.

Watering Needs:

• During the first two years after planting, water the plants regularly
• Except in exceptionally hot and dry spells, they should not need additional watering once established
• If grown as a wall shrub may need regular watering if it is protected from rain
• During the summer, container plants can dry out quickly, so they should be watered regularly

Feeding Needs:

A general-purpose fertiliser at the recommended dose should be applied to in spring if they are planted in poor soils or to stimulate growth. Weeds and grass should not grow around their base.

If you like to keep your garden tidy be aware that Photinia Pink Marble can drop it’s leaves throughout the year, which can require frequent sweeping up. Fallen leaves can also provide a safe haven for slugs and snails.

It is, however, important to fertilise plants that are being grown in containers on a regular basis, as most composts run out of nutrients after a few months.

How to prune a Photinia Pink Marble

Pruning depends on how big and how tall you want the your bush or hedge to be. Without pruning, it will grow to about 4m high and 13ft wide after seven years. 

Unless you prefer a large shrub, you can prune it between March and mid-July. It is not recommended to prune shrubs after late July since the young shoots that appear after pruning can be very soft and susceptible to early frosts. We would not prune these shrubs until they are three years old or older.

It is recommended that you prune your Pink Marble plant after it’s white spring flowers have died down, so that it will have flowers the following season.

It is traditionally believed that stems should be pruned just above the leaf nodes. Yet I have been pruning mine with a hedge trimmer without any adverse effects. As soon as you cut the plant down, it sprouts healthy new growth, regardless of how you prune it.

It’s common for people to ask about how far back they should prune their overgrown photinia fraseri pink marble. It is possible to cut them very severely and they always come back. If the plant is out of control, it can be pruned back to 60cm / 2ft. If you are going to be giving your Pink Marble a drastic prune then wait until May when it has it’s most vigorous growth period.

In a year, a Pink Marble  can grow up to 30cm (1ft) just like the similar Red Robin, so keep it under control and encourage bright young leaves by cutting stems down by 15cm (6in), just above the outward-facing buds.

Pruning isn’t essential for anything except controlling size and shape of the plant.

Photinia x Fraseri Pink Marble Toxicity

The Royal College of Physicians has stated that the pink marble is extremely toxic. The leaves of these plants contain cyanogenic glycosides that are stored in vacuoles within the cells. The enzymes in the cells convert these compounds into hydrogen cyanide when chewed, which makes them extremely toxic, especially to ruminants.

Growing a Pink Marble Plant in containers or pots

When you decide to place your Pink Marble into a container, the first thing you need to make sure is that the container has at least a 45 cm diameter and is large enough to hold them in it. As a rule of thumb, the bigger the container the better it will be for them, as it will allow them a lot of room to growl.

The container needs to be filled with good quality compost mix. You should plant your Pink Marble Photinia plant and feed it regularly every 3 months to ensure your plant receives enough nutrients. When it is in a container, it will require regular watering. When the soil’s top 3 cm appears dry, water it again. Pruning a container Pink Marble to maintain its desired shape and size can be done the same way you would prune a regular plant.

Photinia Pink Marble Tree

You can grow a pink marble  as a tree quite easily, you simply just plant one on it’s own and avoid pruning the top of  it. Allowing the plant to grow upwards and fill out naturally. A Photinia Pink Marble tree can grow to a height of around 5ft. 

 It takes the plant about 10 to 20 years to reach its full height, but as a specimen tree it can grow as high as 6 metres. Its full spread ranges from 2.5 to 4 metres.

How To Propagate Pink Marble Photinia

Propagating your Photinia Pink Marble is done by taking cuttings.

Where To Buy Pink Marble Photinia:

You can buy your Photinia Red Robin from one of the trusted online retailers listed below.

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Diseases And Pests Of The Red Robin Plant

Usually a Pink Marble Photinia plants do not attract pests or diseases, but you might encounter these occasional problems:

Powdery Mildew – occurs on plants as a fungal infection that causes purple blotches on their leaves.

Wine Weevil – creates distinctive notches in leaf margins by feeding on the leaves.

Leaf Spot – The symptoms of this problem are dark red/black spots on the leaves.

It is believed that there are two possible causes of the spots. One is a fairly harmless condition which only occurs after bad weather. The other is known as Entomosporium (a bacterial disease) which also requires cold, wet weather to occur. It can be very difficult to differentiate between them.

Leaf spot is usually caused by damp, humid and / or cold conditions rather than disease, according to the latest research. Affected leaves eventually fall off and in severe cases the plant can suffer severe damage. 

In cases of only partial damage, the spotted leaves can be removed and burned as soon as they’re noticed, but in cases of more severe damage there are two options:

• If you prune hard back in mid-May, you’ll likely find the plant will bounce right back with new red growth in a month or so after it’s been pruned hard back. Remember to destroy the cuttings and don’t compost them.
   
• It’s best if you move the plant and replace it with something that can cope better. Take cuttings first, we have a part about propagation in this guide.

In our experience, the shaded side of plants is most affected by leaf spot.

Do not worry if you get a few spots coming back each year; this is just nature trying to do what she has been perfecting for thousands of years. Do not waste your time trying to waste chemicals and sprays and simply rethink your planting scheme if you are getting a plague of spots every year.

Photinia x fraseri ‘Red Robin’ – Photinia Red Robin

The versatile evergreen shrub is known for its parrot-red, glossy foliage, and large, rounded heads of ivory flowers, which make it very popular among gardeners. Generally speaking, it produces the best colors in full sun, and will usually only bloom when it is in full sun, although it also makes a beautiful evergreen bush for partial shade, as well.

Photinia x fraseri ‘Carré Rouge’ – Photinia Carre Rouge

With this naturally bushy, compact new Photinia variety, the young growths emerge in early spring, and they are brilliant red. Compared to ‘Red Robin’, Carre Rouge’s leaves are a bit smaller and have a deeper red colour when young, persisting for a longer period of time, often accompanied by new flushes in the summer.

Photinia serratifolia ‘Pink Crispy’ – Photinia Pink Crispy

The mature glossy evergreen leaves are irregularly marbled and flecked with shades of light creamy green and dark green. Initially, the new growth appears brightly rosy pink and gradually darkens to a mixture of cream, light green and rosy pink.