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[cclarke74]

I hope you can help.
I had four Photinias planted a year ago but they are growing low across the ground rather than upright.
Why has this happened and how can I make them grow upright?  Thanks

[jakipop]

Photinia will tend to grow as wide as it does tall if you don’t prune or guide it. It’ll take advantage of light wherever it shines. That’s what makes it such a good hedge shrub: if you cut it back, it’ll grow from the trunk, and if a bare spot appears then after a year it’ll already fill in with new leaves.

So if you want your photinia to look like trees with a bare trunk and a bunch of leaves and branches at the top, it’s best to get your pruning shears out and to remove any side growth you don’t like. For instance you’d mark a height with a piece of yarn and anything that grows out beneath that level  you cut off. I think you’d need to walk by shears in hand like two or three times a year, it’s not difficult to control.

It kind of depends how you want it all to look. I know the photinia hedge at my neighbor’s is always nice and full from bottom to top, but that’s because it’s a hedge so it matches what they want.

[cclarke74]

Thank you so much, this is really helpful!

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