Black and shrivelled leaves- Photinias

simonking

Hello, I was wondering if anyone could offer me some advice.

I took the risk of ordering some Photinias online last week (popping down to the local garden centre doesn't seem to be an option for the foreseeable future). At the time, I noticed some dark discolouration and shrivelling on the leaves of each plant. I'd assumed that this was from their being stored and transported. However, since planting, the issue seems to be worsening (see photos below).

Does anyone know what I'm looking at here? Is this a case of the shrubs needing a bit of TLC, or is this a more serious infection? If so, do I need to remove them before they start to infect my other photinias?

If anyone could advise, I'd really appreciate it.

Borderline

Photinias are prone to a fungal leaf spot, but it seldom kills the shrub, maybe weaken them. Looking at your photos, I think you are right, it may have been a plant not cared for well.

The leaves look to be suffering from leaf scorch. Could have been grown in warm controlled conditions, then left out at night or in colder weather leaving young tender leaves to be nipped by frost or wind. The other issue may be something sprayed or watered whilst the sun was out, leading to a burn on the leaves.

Without seeing the full plant, I cannot comment on what best to do. But it could be tolerated if it's only a few areas on the shrub, but if it's quite severe, you may need to prune out some of the branches and leaves so they can grow back later in the year.