Question
QUESTION: several of my red tips had a fungus at the beginning of the spring....I used fungicide on them and the new growth seems to be disease free.  However, the lower half of the bushes has lost all of the leaves...question:  would it be ok to prune them down severely this fall?  Will they come back in the spring?  I live in Southwest Missouri.

ANSWER: Hi Barbara:
Greetings from Arkansas!  Do you know what disease that you had/have on your redtips (Photinia)? How big are your plants in question now? This information may help with my answer.
Thanks
Steve

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QUESTION: I'm certain it was entomosporium leaf spot...they are 3 years old and about 5' tall....I want to prune them severely so they basically have to start over next spring, or trim them down to about 3' so I can manage them myself.  thank you for your help.

ANSWER: Barbara:
Oh yes, I know this one well! In our part of the world, this is the most important disease on these plants. It can get real bad here- so bad that pruning the shrub at ground level is suggested!  We no longer recommend planting this shrub in Arkansas anymore because of this disease. Lots of other substitutes to consider.

The red leaves formed in the spring that give this plant its beauty are the most susceptible part of the plant. You need to time your pruning so that there are not a lot of these tender/succulent leaves present in the spring when the fungus gets active- here it is March-June.
I am providing you a link below to an information bulletin that I produced some time ago about this disease. Hopefully it will address your concerns.

http://www.uaex.edu/Other_Areas/publications/PDF/FSA-6112.pdf

This is a pdf file. It will require a small free program to be on your computer called Adobe Reader in order to open/read/print.

Regards
Steve

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QUESTION: Strangely enough, it was not the new red shoots that contracted the leaf spot....it was the more mature well established lower leaves....I sprayed and the new growth came out just fine and unaffected.  I will definitely prune it to the ground...  I have other red tips close by that were not affected.  Should I prune them all the way too, to keep everything even?  I haven't gone to that website yet...I will however...thank you ever so much.

Answer
Barbara:
I was being a bit sarcastic about pruning it to the ground. I did not mean this as a recommended way to control the spot- but because the disease can get so bad that removing the shrub is best solution. Obviously, pruning it to the ground would kill the plant.  Here, this disease can overpower this plant, thus growing something different is preferred.

Infection may occur on the tender/red leaves but may not show up on those leaves for some time, depending on how much rain and cloudy weather you get.

Steve