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A few plant IDs if possible

adrian_maidmentadrian_maidment Posts: 41
in Plants
Hi All,

We have a number of large bushes in our garden that have been there since we bought the house, all about 8ft tall.  I think I know what two of them are, but would appreciate your help.

I think this is a Laurel:


I think this is a Bay / Bay Laurel:



And I'm not sure about this one.  It's worth pointing out it got huge, so was cut back, but the leaves are usually much thicker.



Thanks
   Adrian
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Posts

  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    1&2 Correct, laurel and bay.
    3 , I think is forsythia. did it have yellow flowers in spring?
    Devon.
  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,384
    100% agree with HF. ;)
    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • adrian_maidmentadrian_maidment Posts: 41
    I *think* 3 had yellow flowers in spring, although I might be confusing it with something in my mother-in-laws garden.  I'll check with my wife.  I've googled it though, and it definitely didn't flower anywhere near as much as in the pictures.

    Two quick follow-up questions:
    - I assume I can just pick the bay and use it in cooking?  We always buy dry, so it would get used.
    - How hard can I prune back the 3?  They're all now huge (8ft tall after gentle trimming) with a spread of 4-6ft (possible forsythia being the biggest) and I would really like to cut back hard to reduce the shade they create.

    Thanks
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    Forsythia is best when you remove about 1/3 of the oldest stems right to the ground. Leave the rest and repeat over the next 2 years. 
    They flower on wood made the previous year, so if you cut the whole thing hard back, you'll lose a year's flowers.
    Devon.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I'd agree with all those too.
    You may even not like the forsythia that much Adrian - they can be fairly dull shrubs apart from when they're in flower, so if you feel a change coming over you, you could always bite the bullet and hoik it out and plant something else   ;)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Papi JoPapi Jo Posts: 4,254
    I would go further than @Fairygirl and hoik out ALL of them. ;) And start with a clean slate. There's such a large choice of much nicer alternatives. 
  • adrian_maidmentadrian_maidment Posts: 41
    All three are large, the forsythia the biggest (6ft diameter plus 10ft tall before I cut it back a little) and I think all have been there 15 years or more. Getting rid would likely be a huge task that would need a professional.
    I'll see about cutting them back hard (but sensibly) as a starter.

    Thanks again
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    I've got a forsythia, larger than I'd like , but it's very good as an early nectar source for insects , so I leave it.
    Devon.
  • Papi JoPapi Jo Posts: 4,254
    Hostafan1 said:
    I've got a forsythia, larger than I'd like , but it's very good as an early nectar source for insects , so I leave it.
    I provide early nectar for the bees in my garden with less obtrusive (?) plants, such as hellebores and heath. But if you can bear the sight of that oversize forsythia for the sake of the bees, then good for you!
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    I would get rid of the laurel altogether because they are, IMO, dull, ugly and thuggish cos when pruned they grow back with a vengeance.   Assuming you like it I would wait till after flowering next spring to cut back the forsythia very hard.  New growth can then be thinned, if needs be, and you'll have a renewed shrub with stems that will flower the following year.  otherwise, I'd hack it and take out the roots too.

    Bay is not reliably hardy in bad winters so I'd thin out just 1 in 3 of its stems now to the lowest point possible, choosing the oldest looking stems.  The foliage can be stripped off into small sprigs and hung up to dry for the kitchen.   Next spring, after the worst frosts are over the remaining stems could be cut back to make a smaller, neater shrub.
    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)."
    Plato
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