Photinia glabra Super Red

Common Name: Super Red Photinia (Photinia glabra ‘Super Red’)

Description:
Super Red Photinia is a vigorous evergreen shrub admired for its vibrant red new foliage that matures to a glossy deep green, creating striking year-round contrast. This cultivar is a popular choice for hedging and screening due to its dense, upright growth and fast-establishing habit. It produces clusters of small, creamy-white flowers in late spring to early summer, which are subtle but attractive. New foliage emerges in a strong copper-red tone, especially in spring and after pruning. This low-maintenance plant thrives in Melbourne’s climate, performing best in full sun to part shade and adapting to a wide range of well-drained soils. Once established, it is both drought and frost tolerant and copes well with wind and coastal conditions. It responds well to trimming and shaping, making it ideal for formal hedges or informal screens.

Form:

• Shrub – Large

• Tree – Small (if left unpruned)

• Suitable for Hedging / Screening

Mature Size:

• Height: 3–5 m (typically maintained at 2–3 m)

• Width: 1.5–3 m

Aspect:

• Full Sun

• Part Shade

Flowering:

• Flowers in Late Spring

• Occasional repeat flowers in Summer

Flower Colour:

• Creamy-white

Key Attributes:

• Evergreen

• Perennial

• Fast-growing

• Vivid red new foliage

• Suitable for Hedging and Screening

• Low-Maintenance

• Drought Tolerant once established

• Frost Hardy (light frost)

• Wind Tolerant

• Coastal Hardy

Toxicity:

• May be toxic if ingested in large quantities—contains compounds that can affect grazing animals (e.g. horses); generally low risk to humans and pets when used ornamentally

Companion Plants:

• Camellia japonica – provides shade and flower contrast

• Hebe varieties – compact forms for layered evergreen structure

• Hydrangeas – for flowering contrast beneath taller hedges

• Lomandra spp. – tough grassy underplanting