Photinia fraseri Seeds | Red Tip Photinia
LATIN NAME: Photinia fraseri
COMMON NAME: Red Tip Photinia, Fraser Photinia
Plant Profile
Photinia fraseri, better known as Red Tip Photinia, is a dense, evergreen shrub in the rose family. In good conditions it grows to around Five metres. When it flowers, local bees and other insects make good use of it. Plants that offer this much while asking this little are rare enough to treasure.
Science & Biotechnology
Botanists studying the rose family regularly include Photinia fraseri in comparative work, and the species also appears in horticultural trials aimed at gardeners and growers. Red tip photinia has a real and distinguished place in research. With present-day seed handling, raising this species well within the reach of any careful grower.
Uses & Benefits
Red Tip Photinia brings genuine presence to the garden and earns its keep across the growing season. Red tip photinia is a dense, evergreen shrub of garden origin, bearing glossy, dark-green leaves with brilliant-red, new growth and clusters of small, white flowers in the spring. Its white flowers feed bees and other pollinators, and its red berries are a food for birds, while its dense, evergreen habit gives a fine hedge and a screen in garden and the landscape. To raise red tip photinia, sow seeds in pots of moist, open soil in a cool, bright place, keep them gently watered, and grow little shrubs on in the sun. Once it has its roots down, it more or less looks after itself.
Photinia is the glossy red-tipped hedge of suburbs everywhere, a tough ornamental with no medicinal record.
Growing from Seed
Raising Red Tip Photinia from seed is straightforward. Broadcast the seed thinly over a fine, free-draining compost, sieve a little more compost on top, and water with a fine rose. When the young plants are big enough to handle, space them into pots or a nursery row and let them size up before their final move.
Our Take
Red Tip Photinia repays a little patience at sowing time with plenty of garden presence later.
Related Reading
More species in the same orbit as Red Tip Photinia: