I like a nice thick laurel hedge for screening, good winter protection for birds, sound proofs a road hedge, obviously a lot of people like them or the previous thread wouldn’t have been so long. They look good now Mike. Stand back and wait for new growth. If your weather stays dry, give them a bucket full of water each to get them going,
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
I've read through many very helpful threads on here on the run up to purchasing some 7ft laurels, I've planted these using much of the advice on here and have chopped back 6-8 inches from all stems to encourage some growth.
I planted these about a month ago and 4 have taken really well with healthy leaves, however two of them have very droopy leaves, a small amount that were yellow I pulled off.
I'm not sure why these 2 look so unwell versus the rest and would appreciate your opinions and help.
Can I please ask if the steps you took resolved the issue? I seem to have the same problem with a couple of plants looking a bit poorly whilst the others are thriving.
Good morning Colleen, I'm glad to say that it did work. I'll post a picture a little later when I get outside. I had been over watering some plants which was causing the damage.
It's a hard balance as when they wilt you assume they need all the more water, but in this case, less was more...
Updated picture 2 years on from my original post. They've almost doubled in height and width I'd say, but I'm not sure if I should be cutting off the flowers (see second photo) to encourage further growth?
I have the same issue with 3 x 6ft Portuguese Laurels I bought and got shipped to Ireland from the Netherlands. They are wilting and loosing leaves. Not sure what to do. They took 3 days in a container to get here with no water. I planted them and watered they heavily but they are still wilting. We did have really bad east wind for a few days. Also because they are so tall and rootballed they are moving in the ground.
@fairky It would seem to me that they might be in a state of shock. Did they have enough root to support a plant that is 6ft tall? With Laurels of any kind the plants that grow best are the smaller plants say 3ft that quickly estabish their roots and soon catch up with a plant twice their size. A picture would be helpful. Drastic action may be needed by cutting back but unable to comment without a photo.
I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
I’ll send some photos tomorrow. The rootballs were fairly small but I bought 15 and all of the others seem to the thriving. I put some chicken manure on around the base a few weeks back also. Do I need to stake them if they are moving in the ground?
I'd have cut those back @fairky . I know it's not what you want to hear, but it's far easier for them to establish if there's less top growth for the roots to support. It may be because their soil or site isn't as good as the others - even more exposed to wind, drier/much wetter, more compacted soil etc. Even cut back, you may need a little support for them for a while. A photo will certainly help though.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
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They look good now Mike. Stand back and wait for new growth. If your weather stays dry, give them a bucket full of water each to get them going,
It's a hard balance as when they wilt you assume they need all the more water, but in this case, less was more...
Any further advice would be appreciated.
It may be because their soil or site isn't as good as the others - even more exposed to wind, drier/much wetter, more compacted soil etc.
Even cut back, you may need a little support for them for a while.
A photo will certainly help though.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...