Fraser Photinia               fo-TIN-ee-a × FRAY-zer-i

• Broadleaf evergreen shrub, 15-20 ft (4.5-6 m), very upright, often pruned or hedged which encourages basal branching.  Leaves alternate, simple, are initially brilliant red (or orange-coppery) but fade to a deep glossy green in 2-4 weeks, elliptic to obovate, 7-9 cm long, finely serrate, upperside of petiole pubescent when young.  Flowrs small, white, in umbellate clusters 10-12 cm wide.  Usually few or no fruit (red) produced.
• Sun to part shade, may show nitrogen stress with off-color (yellowish) foliage.  Generally a tough plant.  Some think it is overused.   Susceptible to a fungal leaf spot caused by Entomosporium maculatum.    The disease can cause severe defoliation and death of plants and has greatly reduced the use of P. × fraseri (i.e., "red tip") in parts of the US.
• Hardy to USDA Zone 7       Developed at Fraser Nurseries in Birmingham, Alabama; a cross of P. serrulata (seed parent) and P. glabra, this is the cultivar ‘Birmingham’.  Several other cultivars available, including a variegated form named Photinia × fraseri Pink Marble™, cultivar name 'Cassini'.
• Oregon State Univ. campus: west side of Gilbert Hall.