Pink Marble Photinia Hedge Plants

Photinia 'Pink Marble' Hedging

Photinia 'Pink Marble' is a large and colourful, vigorous and upright evergreen shrub, which can also be used to make a classy formal hedge: it has variegated bright pink-red young leaves in spring that mature to green and cream. White flowers are followed by red decorative fruit in Autumn.

You can also grow it as a tree with a domed canopy, to about 5 metres high.

Browse our selection of garden shrubs, or all of our hedging.

Photinia hedge plants are only delivered pot-grown, year round.

Features:

• Evergreen. Vivid red-pink new leaves
• Variegated green/cream mature leaves
• Vigorous specimen tree or hedge.
• Shade tolerant; colour is best in the sun.
• Grows on the coast.
• RHS Award of Garden Merit
• Max. Height: 5m
• Pot Grown: Year Round Delivery

Growing 'Pink Marble' Photinia

It does need sun to flower well, but otherwise will grow in quite shady spots at the back of a border. It is hardy, but not recommended for more exposed, inland sites, where cold dry winds tend to damage the foliage.
It will grow in most well -drained soils and if on heavy clay, it is best to site it on is good on a slope or ridge that does get waterlogged.

As the first flush of new leaves begins to lose its glow, lightly trim them again to encourage another wave; you can do this a couple of times a year until July, which helps to prevent unsightly leaf spot caused by humidity. It clips easily and can be hard pruned.

Spacing a Photinia hedge: These large, bushy plants are good at 2 plants per metre, 50cm apart.

In Your Garden Design

Not only does 'Pink Marble' provide lovely variegated foliage on red-brown stems for a shrubbery or back drop to the herbaceous border, you get the bonus of it being covered in brilliant red new growth in spring. No wonder it has been given a Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit. A classic companion plant is Euonomynus europaeus.

Did You Know?

The original Photinia x fraseri is a cross between Photinia glabra and Photinia serratifolia. 'Pink Marble', also known as 'Cassini', is a version of Red Robin, which was bred in New Zealand.

Photinia will grow well in any soil with decent drainage, including heavy clay on a site that doesn't get waterlogged. They are shade-tolerant, but look their best in full sun.
It is hardy, but can suffer cosmetic damage from cold dry winds or frost pockets in the coldest inland Northern areas. It grows well in sheltered Scottish gardens in the warmer coastal areas.

Prepare your site before planting:
It is good to dig over the area where you plant a hedge several months in advance, especially if the soil is poor, to remove rocks and roots, and then mix in well rotted compost or manure down to the depth of about 2 spades. If your soil is rich, you may opt not to dig it over.

Destroy tough, established weeds. Nettles, brambles, and ground elder in particular will cause you problems. A weed-killer is the best way to remove them quickly. If you prepare well in advance, you can dig the soil on two occasions, with an appropriate interval between them for the weeds to regrow from the roots you left behind on the first dig.

Watch our video on how to plant a garden hedge for more details.
Remember to water establishing plants during dry weather for at least a year after planting, without wetting the leaves. Watering should be thorough, so the ground is soaked. Let the soil almost dry out before watering again. Like all evergreen plants, Photinia is active in winter, so it still needs watering if the weather is dry. Watering & weeding will be necessary for at least one year after planting, and it is recommended for dry spells in the second year.

Hedge Planting Accessories:
Prepare your site for planting by killing the weeds and grass with Neudorff WeedFree Plus.
A hedge planting pack includes sheets of mulch fabric with enough pegs to hold it down.
We always recommend using mycorrhizal "friendly fungi" on the roots of new trees and shrubs.
You can give the soil a boost with bonemeal organic fertiliser and Growmore. Mulch is always good too, especially on dry soils.

Trimming Formal hedge plants:
Photinia doesn't need any clipping at all in its first year. In the winter of the following year, your young hedge should be trimmed lightly and every winter after that until it is mature.
When it is fully grown, you can clip it at anytime  Regular clipping in spring and early summer will encourage new red shoots.
Stop trimming in late summer, to give the last new growth time to mature before winter.

Special notes on caring for Photinia Pink Marble:
Mulch around the base of the hedge each spring with well rotted manure or compost, and apply any seawater or seaweed based plant food.  

Leaf spot occurs in humid weather, causing cosmetic damage. You can clip and burn affected leaves, clean up fallen leaves, improve the air flow in and around the plants, but it is not worth using a fungicide on it. If you have a bad case of it,  your plants healthy with a plant feed once a year and a bit of mulch around (but not touching) the bases of your plants.

Hygiene & Diseases:
Dead, damaged or diseased wood can be pruned off as soon as it appears.
Disinfect your pruning tools between every cut if there is any sign of disease.
Burn or dispose of any diseased material, do not compost it.