Skylark001, 9 inches seems fine to me. For now, try to avoid pruning branches thicker than 2cms for now. Sounds like the shrubs had a hard time the last year. See how they respond after pruning.
Due to the size of the planters, I don't think it is ideal to keep the shrubs any taller than the height of the planters you have there. The space for the roots will be very restricted.
If you can lug a bag of manure through the house then you can lug an equivalent sized bag of John Innes No 3 (available from all good garden centres) through the house.
Manure on its own is not a complete growing medium ... it is a constituent part of a good growing medium or is beneficial as a mulch.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Borderline, well, thanks for the vote for a 9 inch cut. If it doesn't work, or if it does but this season's weevil gobble up the new growth before it can get away, then I'll just replace the lot with the one of three shrubs on our street which the weevils have steered well clear of! Yes, did a meticulous study of the whole street last summer, with camera! Here's one candidate. Not a single bite from a choisya!
They made a mess of the leaves the little blighters. I was thinking choyisa would be a better bet before getting to the bottom, they probably don't like the aromatic scent the leaves give off, Choyisa White dazzler could be a candidate if your P-laurels fail.
I think those planters are way too small to grow decent laurel and I, personally, wouldn't grow anything that attracts and sustains serious pests and requires chemicals.
I think you are being stubborn and blinkered and will always struggle with those plants in those mean pots. Your choice.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
We want evergreen foliage in those pots, and we have fought hard against a plague of weevils, such that the laurels are still alive! We could just pull them out and replace them with any one of three species that which we see vine weevils steer clear of. But we would like to give the laurels a chance to revive. Obviously they need to be cut down. The question is: how low can these laurels be cut so that they will benefit?
Perki, yes, choisya would be lovely to look at all year round, and we'd have the gorgeous scent as well. If you were to give the laurels a last chance, how low would YOU cut them?
Not provocative. Just honest and realistic. Far too many chemicals about so grow something that will work and get some decent sized containers so they can thrive or else they'll always struggle.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
Freddies Dad, glad to hear you think cutting them back to just under half the existing size would be all right, wouldn't kill them off.
Re. Provado Vine Weevil Killer 2, we used this, and I think it, and the other "weapons" I used, helped to save most of the plants - but unfortunately not all. We lost about half a dozen of the bushes, the leaves all turned brown, there was no sap in the branches, and when I hauled them out to replace them, I found they had barely any roots!
Thanks for the idea of a thick layer of stones. I think that's worth trying. Having picked up and handled so many vine weevils I have seen how tiny their legs are. I know those legs help these "monsters" to walk huge distances, but if they don't allow the vine weevil to heave stones aside, then stones could be a help. I'm thinking round stones too, to cut down on the number of cracks and crevices between them.
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Due to the size of the planters, I don't think it is ideal to keep the shrubs any taller than the height of the planters you have there. The space for the roots will be very restricted.
Manure on its own is not a complete growing medium ... it is a constituent part of a good growing medium or is beneficial as a mulch.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I think you are being stubborn and blinkered and will always struggle with those plants in those mean pots. Your choice.
We want evergreen foliage in those pots, and we have fought hard against a plague of weevils, such that the laurels are still alive! We could just pull them out and replace them with any one of three species that which we see vine weevils steer clear of. But we would like to give the laurels a chance to revive. Obviously they need to be cut down. The question is: how low can these laurels be cut so that they will benefit?
Re. Provado Vine Weevil Killer 2, we used this, and I think it, and the other "weapons" I used, helped to save most of the plants - but unfortunately not all. We lost about half a dozen of the bushes, the leaves all turned brown, there was no sap in the branches, and when I hauled them out to replace them, I found they had barely any roots!
Thanks for the idea of a thick layer of stones. I think that's worth trying. Having picked up and handled so many vine weevils I have seen how tiny their legs are. I know those legs help these "monsters" to walk huge distances, but if they don't allow the vine weevil to heave stones aside, then stones could be a help. I'm thinking round stones too, to cut down on the number of cracks and crevices between them.
Thanks.