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Photinia Red Robin hedge

Updated: 22 October 2026

You have a run of fence and a photinia red robin hedge in mind, and the spacing figures you have collected do not match. Nurseries publish anything from about 30 cm apart to about 60–90 cm, and one Amazon bullet says six plants cover about 2.5 metres. Those numbers describe different starting sizes. The [Photinia comparison](/hub/ornamental-plants/photinia) holds the seven amazon.co.uk listings, with shelf prices captured on 20 October 2026 by the Products Compared editorial team. There is no laboratory test. A qualifying purchase through our links can earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Match the gap to the pot you actually bought. How deep to set that pot is on [how to plant Photinia Red Robin](/hub/ornamental-plants/photinia/sub/photinia-how-to-plant).

You have a run of fence and a photinia red robin hedge in mind, and the spacing figures you have collected do not match.

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
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Carbeth Plants Red Robin, two 9 cm pots

Rank 2

Carbeth Plants Red Robin, two 9 cm pots
5.3/10about £13.99
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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
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On this page
  1. 1.Why the numbers disagree
  2. 2.The six-pack sentence
  3. 3.Privacy, not a barrier
  4. 4.Instant cover

Why the numbers disagree

Small plants go closer than large ones. Impact Hedging puts most Red Robin at about 45–60 cm. Sunnyside Nurseries puts plants of about 20–30 cm at 40–50 cm. Five metres is 10 plants at two a metre and 15 at three. That is arithmetic, not an RHS rule. A 9 cm liner uses the closer end. Newgate Nurseries put growth, once established, at around 30 cm a year.

The six-pack sentence

Only the Carbeth six-pack (B0BQCCBDPY), six 9 cm plants at £23.99, states a length: approximately 2.5 metres. Five gaps in that run is about 42 cm, arithmetic on the sentence, not a screen in year one. Do not reuse the bullet. The pair at £13.99 claims no length. A £54 title of 140 cm beside a 1 foot field is not a unit for that plan. For 5 metres, two six-packs is 12 plants. Order the count your spacing implies.
Carbeth Plants Red Robin, six 9 cm pots

Testsieger

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

Privacy, not a barrier

Red Robin makes a screen with time and trimming, and it stays looser than cherry laurel, privet, or yew. Newgate Nurseries put laurel where speed and deeper shade matter, and Photinia where the red flush is the point. Shade weakens that red. Garden Focused says the hedge will not stop an intruder, so keep people out with a fence and plant in front of it. The 2.5 metre line is ground cover, not a solid wall in the first winter.

Instant cover

Instant hedging is a trough grown as a one-metre unit. Captured Hedges Direct prices were £143.99 for 80–100 cm and £299.99 for 160–180 cm. Those are nursery prices, not in this Amazon set. The six-pack is six separate 9 cm pots. Little Red Robin stays around 1–1.5 m, which is the wrong plant for a tall screen: see Little Red Robin. For cover this year, buy a trough where the height is one number.

Common questions

How far apart should I plant Red Robin?
For most plants, UK hedging nurseries use about 45–60 cm, which is two a metre at 50 cm. Smaller plants, around 20–30 cm, are often set at 40–50 cm. Larger plants are set wider. Match the gap to the size you bought. Do not treat 75 cm as an RHS rule, and do not use one number for a 9 cm liner and a trough.
How many plants do I need for 5 metres?
At two plants a metre you need 10. At three plants a metre you need 15. Those counts are arithmetic on the nursery band, not a single official table. A 5 metre run of 9 cm liners usually sits toward the closer spacing. A run of plants that are already large sits toward the wider spacing. Order the count your spacing implies, rather than rounding to a six-pack and hoping the fence is shorter.
Does the Carbeth six-pack really cover 2.5 metres?
The listing says it will cover approximately 2.5 metres. Five gaps in 2.5 metres is about 42 cm, which is arithmetic on that sentence, not the seller's diagram. It fits the close end of nursery spacing for small plants. It does not mean six 9 cm pots are a 2.5 metre screen in the first year. Reviews describe the plants as very small. Use the sentence for a future run of liners, not for a shrub or a trough.
Will a 9 cm liner make a privacy screen this year?
No. A 9 cm plant is a starter. Newgate's figure of about 30 cm of growth a year applies once the plant is established, and it is a nursery figure, not a measurement of these Amazon pots. Shoulder-height cover from a liner is a job of more than one season, and only if the first two years of water actually happen. For cover this year, look at instant troughs, which are not in this Amazon set.
Is Red Robin as dense as cherry laurel?
It is looser. Hedging nurseries say Red Robin does not thicken like laurel, privet, or yew. Choose laurel if the job is a faster, denser screen, including deeper shade and cold pockets. Choose 'Red Robin' if the red new growth is the point of the hedge. You can tighten Photinia by trimming two or three times in the growing season. You will not turn it into laurel by spacing it closer.
What is instant hedging, and is it in this Amazon set?
Instant hedging here means a nursery trough, one unit per metre, already at a stated height. Hedges Direct prices captured for this brief were £143.99 for an 80–100 cm trough and £299.99 for a 160–180 cm trough. Those pounds are not Amazon prices. None of the seven listings in the comparison is a trough. The Carbeth rows are 9 cm pots. The tall Middlewood titles do not agree with their own height fields.
Will the hedge keep people out?
No. A Photinia hedge is not a security fence, and Garden Focused says it will not stop an intruder. Use it to soften a view once it has filled. If you need to keep people out, put up a fence and plant in front of it. Even a mature run remains a shrub. Privacy in a product bullet is not a barrier.

Related pages

Photinia Red Robin buying guide

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)