Wondering How to Save My Scorched Photinias

Question

I planted young photinias in a full sun (west wall) environment a month ago. We’ve had record heat in OK this year and the plants getting most sun are scorched and leaves are brown in spots and falling off. I used weed block paper and lava rock to preserve root moisture. Initially, I started watering more often, but scared of leaf spot I backed off and put a canopy over them to only allow partial sun/dappled light throughout the day. The canopy is up for over a week now and the plants aren’t looking much better. Looking for watering tips, shade/sun hour advice and possible fertilizing advice.

Answer 1

It is possible you have entomosporium leaf spot. Photinias have been plagued with this the last few years and many people are replacing them with something less disease prone. Fungicides don’t help much if that is what you have and require consistent use by spraying. With the terrible heat we have this summer, new plants, etc., it is hard to diagnosis any problem. They do like to be moist but not wet and that is difficult to accomplish now, too. I guess if they were mine and I was determined to have photinias, I would make sure they are deep watered by trickle hose every few days and hope they last until Fall when the weather cools. If they do not recover, consider a shrub that is less prone to disease. We see many old, very tall plantings here being removed. Kind of sad. Good luck!