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Photinia Red Robin buying guide

Updated: 22 October 2026

You are about to order a live Photinia and the photograph looks like a finished hedge. A photinia red robin buying guide has to settle a plainer question first: which size and which cultivar the listing is actually selling. A 9 cm liner, a compact Little Red Robin, and a title that says 140 cm are three different purchases, and a low price does not turn one into another. The [Photinia comparison](/hub/ornamental-plants/photinia) holds the seven amazon.co.uk rows, with shelf prices captured on 20 October 2026. This page explains the rungs those rows sit on. There is no laboratory test. A qualifying purchase through our links can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You are about to order a live Photinia and the photograph looks like a finished hedge.

Our top picks

Carbeth Plants Red Robin, six 9 cm pots

Best overall

Carbeth Plants Red Robin, six 9 cm pots
7.8/10about £23.99
View offer
Chelsea Direct Little Red Robin, 11 cm pot

Rank 2

Chelsea Direct Little Red Robin, 11 cm pot
0.4/10about £14.40
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middlewood nurseries Red Robin, 140 cm title

Rank 3

middlewood nurseries Red Robin, 140 cm title
0.4/10about £54.00
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.What a 9 cm plant is
  2. 2.Red Robin or Little Red Robin
  3. 3.When the numbers fight
  4. 4.Passport and the parcel

What a 9 cm plant is

A 9 cm pot is an age band, not a finished hedge. Nursery snippets are not amazon.co.uk prices. The Carbeth six-pack (B0BQCCBDPY) is six 9 cm plants at £23.99, about £4 each. The pair (B09CCQPDG3) is two at £13.99. The 2.5 metre bullet is one seller's sentence.

Red Robin or Little Red Robin

The RHS profile of Photinia × fraseri 'Red Robin' gives 4–8 m if left to mature, hardiness H5, about −15°C to −10°C, in sun or partial shade, including on chalk. Trim two or three times in the growing season to keep a hedge lower. 'Little Red Robin' is about 1.5 m and will not become that screen. Chelsea Direct (B0HL95LBNS) is an 11 cm pot at £14.40, with about 25 cm in a bullet and 1 metre in the height field. Portal Cool B0BR7ZGCD1 states the pot only. B0BR7ZB94Q states neither. Detail stays on the Little Red Robin page. A tall hedge is 'Red Robin'. A low hedge or patio shrub is the compact name.
Carbeth Plants Red Robin, six 9 cm pots

Testsieger

Carbeth Plants Red Robin, six 9 cm pots
7.8/10about £23.99
View offer

When the numbers fight

Stop when the title and the height field disagree. Do not average them. B0FHBFV21D says 140 cm in the title, 1 foot in the height field, and 3–4 metres in a bullet. Pieces are 1 and the unit count is 10, so it is not a 140 cm plant and not a ten-pack. B0H9M8C7XG at £44 has no pot diameter and a 3 metre field that is not labelled supplied or mature. The six-pack can be read as a 9 cm liner because pot and height field agree. Who to skip is on best Photinia Red Robin.

Passport and the parcel

A UK plant passport traces plants for planting. It is not a height certificate. GOV.UK requires one when a professional operator moves plants in Great Britain, including a distance sale. DEFRA's FAQ, section 2.9, says the passport still has to reach you. None of these files shows one. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 still applies to a dead plant or a plant that does not match the description. Photograph the parcel on arrival. USDA zones on these pages are not the RHS H5 rating. If the live page still shows two heights, leave it.

Common questions

Is a 9 cm Photinia a hedge or a starter plant?
A 9 cm Photinia is a starter. Crocus treats that pot as a young plant, about one to two years old, and a 2–3 litre pot as older again. The Carbeth six-pack at £23.99 and the pair at £13.99 are that young size. They can begin a hedge if you space them for liners and wait. They are not an instant screen.
What does a 2 litre pot change, in nursery terms?
On the Crocus ladder a 2 litre plant is roughly a year or two ahead of a 9 cm plant. It is still not a specimen shrub, and the nursery's own snippets for that pot disagree (£15.99 and £19.99). None of the seven amazon.co.uk listings here states a 2 litre pot. Do not treat six 9 cm plants at £23.99 as one 2 litre shrub.
Which listing states Little Red Robin rather than Red Robin?
Chelsea Direct (B0HL95LBNS, £14.40, 11 cm) and both Portal Cool titles (B0BR7ZGCD1 and B0BR7ZB94Q, each £13.50) use the compact name. The Carbeth packs and both Middlewood rows use 'Red Robin'. Only Chelsea Direct also prints a supplied-height bullet, about 25 cm, and that page still has a 1 metre height field beside it. The other two compact titles are thinner.
What do I do when the title and the height field disagree?
Do not average the numbers and do not buy the one you prefer. On B0FHBFV21D the title says 140 cm, the height field says 1 foot, and a bullet says 3–4 metres. On B0HL95LBNS a bullet says about 25 cm and the height field says 1 metre. Leave the listing until one figure is the plant in the box.
Does a UK plant passport prove the height?
No. A plant passport traces plants for planting through a professional sale, including a distance sale to you. It does not certify that a shrub is 140 cm or that the cultivar name is correct. These saved listings do not show a passport at all. Photograph the plant on arrival if the size or the condition does not match the description you paid for.
Are the Crocus prices the Amazon prices?
No. Crocus snippets in this research show both £6.99 and £9.99 for a 9 cm 'Red Robin', and both £15.99 and £19.99 for 2 litres. ComparePlants tracked other nursery 9 cm plants from £6.99. The amazon.co.uk prices in this set are the Carbeth £23.99 and £13.99, Chelsea Direct £14.40, Portal Cool £13.50, and the Middlewood £44 and £54. Delivery on a nursery order is a separate cost.
How many plants are actually in B0FHBFV21D?
The number of pieces and the number of items are 1. The unit count field is 10, and the title says plants in 40 cm pots. The file does not reconcile that. Do not order it as a ten-pack, and do not order it as a single 140 cm plant while the height field says 1 foot. Wait until the live page states one count and one height.

Related pages

Photinia Red Robin hedge

Photinia

Best Photinia Red Robin among these stored listings

How to plant Photinia Red Robin without burying it

Little Red Robin photinia for a patio or low hedge

Sources

Public sources from the research digest, last checked on 20 October 2026. Shelf prices and star lines are the amazon.co.uk figures in the display file. The price band is this set, not a market average. No listing was trialled in a garden.

  1. RHS: Photinia × fraseri 'Red Robin' (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  2. RHS: Photinia growing guide (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  3. GOV.UK: plant passports to trade plants in Great Britain (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  4. DEFRA: plant passport FAQ (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  5. Buckingham Nurseries: Photinia Little Red Robin (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  6. Hopes Grove Nurseries: Photinia hedging (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  7. RHS: fireblight (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  8. amazon.co.uk listings for the seven ASINs (retrieved 20 October 2026)