Is this Red Robin past rescue?

tea and coffee

I want to try and bring it under control and replant some of it closer together. It has not been trimmed in 5 plus years.
I want it to be a low bush max 3 foot. At the moment its about 5.5 foot with the foliage only at the top foot

tea and coffee

Photo

lottpaul

You can trim it back at the moment and it should resprout. Replanting will have to wait for the late autumn but it's a hardy plant and should manage. The bigger problem is trying to keep a plant that wants to grow to 5 or 6m at least down to just 1m, max. It can be done but in then end you might be better having a look at replacements that would stay closer to the 1m height with less maintenance/cutting etc.

tea and coffee

Thanks for that info, that's great. Total novice here- why will I need to wait to autumn to move them, pls?

wench

You generally don't want to disturb the roots coming in to the growing season, particularly if you're also going to prune it severely. Too much stress on the plant.
https://hedgexpress.co.uk/blog/pruning-photinia-red-robin

lottpaul

Like wench says you need to wait until the plant is dormant - usually November to late March - and then take as much of the soil as you can with the root etc. Keep an eye on it when it starts to grow again and water it well for the first few months.
If you have a chance there are lots of good videos online about how/when/what etc - just remember to adjust for different places - a garden in the south east of England is much drier, warmer (in the summer), colder (in winter) and less windy than one in the west of Ireland etc. Best of luck!