Photinia fraseri Little Fenna - Christmas Berry

The Photinia Fraseri 'Little Fenna' is a very interesting variety for its particularly dense and compact habit, allowing it to be grown in a pot to decorate a terrace or a pathway. Hardy, this bush can also be planted in the garden in open ground, where it will form a nice dense clump of 80 to 90 cm (32 to 35in) in height, and 70 cm (1 and 28in) in width. It is particularly attractive in spring thanks to its young shoots, which are a bright pink with a hint of red and stand out against the fairly dark green adult foliage. It also produces decorative white umbel flowers in April-May. Easy to grow, this small bush thrives in full sun or partial shade in most soils.

The Photinia belongs to the large botanical family Rosaceae. This family includes most of our temperate climate fruit trees (Apple trees, Pear trees, Plum trees, Apricot trees, Peach trees, etc.), as well as many ornamental plants (Hawthorn, Cotoneaster, Rose of course, Prunus) and numerous wild plants that brighten up our countryside. The Photinia (x) fraseri or Fraser's Photinia is an old horticultural creation born in 1940 in the United States, resulting from the cross-breeding between the Photinia glabra, native to Japan, and the Photinia serrulata, native to China. This hybrid has given rise to some famous cultivars, including 'Red Robin', which is widely planted in our parks and gardens. In recent years, some beautiful improvements have been made, with more compact, more colorful, and more disease-resistant varieties.

'Little Fenna' is a recent variety fortuitously discovered by the Dutch nurseryman Niesing, from Boskoop, a major nursery center in Europe hosting multiple specialized companies. He named it after his daughter, Fenna. This charming little bush surprises with its compactness, not exceeding 90 cm (35in) in height and 70 cm (28in) in width, where a 'Red Robin' can quickly become cumbersome. Its annual growth is also quite moderate, about 10 cm (4in), which limits its maintenance to a light pruning in summer to maintain its compact shape. Like the others, it shines with its young shoots, which have a beautiful bright pink color with a slight touch of red, before gradually turning to a fairly dark green during the season. Its particularly dense and ramified vegetation is adorned with evergreen foliage composed of thinner leaves than those of Red Robin. Arranged alternately on the branches, they are about 5-8 cm (2-3in) long, subtly toothed at the edges and carried by relatively long petioles. In April or May, decorative clusters of small cream-white flowers appear at the terminal part of the branches.

In addition to the beautiful coloration of its young foliage, it is also its hardiness and adaptation to any type of soil that have earned the Photinia (x) fraseri its worldwide success. Thus, 'Little Fenna' tolerates all types of well-drained soils, from deep to shallow, from moist to dry, in sunny or partially shaded locations. It is an easy-to-grow and low-maintenance bush that can withstand temperatures down to -18°C when exposed to the sun. It is truly the epitome of an easy plant, requiring little maintenance, limited to occasional pruning in summer to maintain its shape, and a few waterings during hot periods, knowing that once well rooted, it is quite resistant to drought. Particularly welcome for creating low hedges, trimmed or not, due to its size, it also adapts very well to container gardening and makes an excellent subject in the foreground of a flower bed.

This Photinia Little Fenna is a fortunate discovery that pleasantly renews the genus and will easily find its place in small urban gardens, where 'Red Robin' often takes up too much space. Easy to grow in a container, it can also decorate a terrace or even a balcony, where its spring foliage and flowering will create attraction. In open ground, it will be perfect in the foreground or background of a flower bed mixing shrubs and perennial plants. To enjoy decorative foliage all year round, accompany it with variegated plants, such as Euonymus fortunei Emerald Gaiety, a euonymus as easy and accommodating as it is, with evergreen foliage edged in white. Add some deciduous plants with autumnal coloring, such as the superb Cotinus coggygria Golden Lady, whose almost oval leaves change color throughout the year; from yellow-orange in spring, it then turns golden yellow in summer before blazing orange in autumn. Another very easy compact shrub, the Winged Euonymus, or Euonymus alatus Ciliatodentatus, with slow growth, has the particularity of developing small corky bands resembling wings on its branches, which are decorative in winter after the leaves have fallen. This Euonymus has one of the most beautiful autumn colorations, a dazzling bright pink, turning to red and then to purple, an unforgettable spectacle!