categoryZShrubs Shrubs List 
categoryZBroadleaf Broadleaf List 
categoryZEvergreen Evergreen List 

RED ROBIN

Photinia x fraseri

Photinia glabra x Photinia serratifolia
(Formerly: Photinia glabra)
Family [Rosaceae]

month8apr month8april month8may

category
category8Shrubs
category
category8Broadleaf
category
category8Evergreen
status
statusZneophyte
flower
flower8white
inner
inner8green
morph
morph8actino
petals
petalsZ5
type
typeZclustered
stem
stem8round

20th April 2019, 4th park, Waterloo, Sefton Coast. Photo: © RWD
We were always warned at the garden centres that Red Robin never flowers - it's just leaves, some of them red.


4th April 2019, Julie Blands garden. Photo: © RWD
It was three weeks earlier in Julie Blands garden that your Author spotted this and was duly amazed that the Red Robin had developed flower buds! Neither of us had ever seen such a sight before! In 2019, about 150 years since Global Warming first started gathering pace, we were amazed that Red Robin was disobeying orders from all Garden Centres and flowering all over the Northwest of England! (your Author doesn't know about anywhere else in the UK).


20th April 2019, 4th park, Waterloo, Sefton Coast. Photo: © RWD
Here are adjacent red Robin shrubs one flowering, the other not. It might be that the flowering one is shading the non-flowering one - certainly the one in your Authors shady garden is still not flowering after a month more.


20th April 2019, 4th park, Waterloo, Sefton Coast. Photo: © RWD
The more sun the leaves receive then brighter red they are.


20th April 2019, 4th park, Waterloo, Sefton Coast. Photo: © RWD
Flower buds yet to open (top) and opened flowers.


20th April 2019, 4th park, Waterloo, Sefton Coast. Photo: © RWD


20th April 2019, 4th park, Waterloo, Sefton Coast. Photo: © RWD
Typical Rosaceae type flowers found on many species of Rosaceae except for Roses and some others.


20th April 2019, 4th park, Waterloo, Sefton Coast. Photo: © RWD
Ice-cream cones anyone? Raspberry flavour.


20th April 2019, 4th park, Waterloo, Sefton Coast. Photo: © RWD
As yet unopened flower buds in a flattish corymb.


20th April 2019, 4th park, Waterloo, Sefton Coast. Photo: © RWD
Some leaves are dark green, others are dark red.


9th April 2004, in your Authors garden. Photo: © RWD
It is not flowering, and still doesn't, but this young specimen has some striking bright-scarlet leaves when illuminated from behind by the sun.


A garden shrub, a hybrid called Photinia x fraseri but commonly called 'Red Robin'. In England (or at least in the NW of England) it is not known for flowering at all. But this AD2019 many specimens (those in the sun) have flowered - whilst those not haven't. They grow to between 4 and 15m tall (probably not this tall in England).

The fruits are between 4 and 12mm across, but your Author is still (1st June 2019) waiting to see any.

The leaves (fruit especially) may contain toxic Cyanogenic Glycosides, but this never troubles birds.

There are many cultivars of this hybrid. Who knows which ones are on this page...


  Photinia x fraseri  ⇐ Global Aspect ⇒   

Distribution
 family8Rose family8Rosaceae
 BSBI maps

genus8Photinia
Photinia
(Stranvaesias)

RED ROBIN

Photinia x fraseri

Photinia glabra x Photinia serratifolia
(Formerly: Photinia glabra)
Family [Rosaceae]