Photinia fraseri Red Light - Christmas Berry

The Photinia Fraseri 'Red Light' can be considered an improvement over the classic Red Robin that it surpasses with even redder spring coloration of its young leaves and with the fluorescent red color of its young shoots. The leaves then turn dark green during the growing season, but summer pruning stimulates the appearance of new red shoots in autumn. Forming a bushy habit 2.50 m (8ft) tall and 1.50 m (5ft) wide, this beautiful bush can be planted either as a standalone specimen or in a border, or grown as a hedge as it tolerates repeated pruning very well. Hardy down to -15°C (5°F), it grows in full sun or partial shade in most soils and tolerates the atmospheric pollution of our cities very well.

The Photinia belongs to the large botanical family Rosaceae. This family gives us most of our temperate climate fruit trees (Apple trees, Pear trees, Plum trees, Apricot trees, Peach trees, etc.), but also many ornamental plants (Hawthorn, Cotoneaster, Rose of course, Prunus) as well as 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, from the cross-breeding between the Photinia glabra, native to Japan, and the Photinia serrulata (or P. serratifolia), native to China. This hybrid has given rise to some famous cultivars, including 'Red Robin', widely planted in our parks and gardens. In recent years, some beautiful improvements have been developed, more compact, more colorful, and more disease-resistant.

'Red Light' is a Dutch selection from 2013, introduced to the market by Alexander van Opplo, a nurseryman in the south of the Netherlands, in Bavel, near Breda. This variety is remarkable for the intensity of the red color of its young shoots in spring, with stems that are almost fluorescent red, further enhancing the visual effect. In April, clusters of white-cream flowers, with a diameter of 8 to 10 cm (3 to 4in), appear, and are very decorative against the glossy foliage. The young leaves gradually evolve into an elegant dark green, and by pruning two-thirds of the spring shoots in summer, new red shoots are encouraged to appear in autumn. This also helps maintain the dimensions of the bush, especially if it is grown as a hedge, for which it is excellent. Resistant to atmospheric pollution, making it ideal for urban gardens, it also tolerates repeated pruning very well.
If planted as a standalone specimen or in the center of a border, it will form a beautiful dense bush about 2.50 m (8ft) tall and 1.50 m (5ft) wide. Its elliptical leaves with acuminate tips, finely toothed margins, of a beautiful dark green with a slight gloss, are decorative in all seasons. Planted in the background, it forms a dark vegetal mass that highlights the bright flowering of low shrubs or perennials at its feet.

In addition to the beautiful coloration of its young foliage, it is also its hardiness and adaptation to all types of soil that have earned the Photinia (x) fraseri worldwide success. Thus, 'Red Light' tolerates all types of well-drained soil, deep, moist to dry, neutral, or even moderately acidic or alkaline. It grows well in sunny or semi-shaded locations. It is an easy-to-cultivate and easy-to-maintain shrub that can withstand temperatures down to -15°C when exposed to the sun. It truly is the epitome of an easy plant, requiring little maintenance, consisting of summer pruning and a few waterings during hot periods, knowing that once well-rooted, it is quite drought-resistant. Particularly welcome for creating hedges, trimmed or not, it is also remarkable as a standalone specimen or in a border.
 

This Photinia Red Light will allow you to create superb hedges by combining it with other evergreens with decorative foliage. The Elaeagnus ebbingei Eleador, a Chalef with yellow leaves margined with green, is one of these easy-to-grow shrubs that will create a magnificent contrast both with the spring red and the summer green of Red Light. The Choisya Goldfinger, a Mexican Orange with a golden appearance, is another one, and its white and highly fragrant spring flowers will delight your sense of smell. Also consider the Euonymus japonicus Président Gauthier, a classic among Japanese Spindles, with its beautiful tender green and creamy white foliage that is always appreciated. And to enjoy a magnificent orange flowering followed by decorative blue berries, go for the Berberis darwinii, with its miniature dark green leaves, admittedly thorny, but in a hedge, this is of little inconvenience, or even useful if it needs to be defensive. In this case, the Pyracanthas are essential, with their multitude of decorative fruits in bright colors.