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Portuguese Laurel Trees - Please Help!!!!

jamesbloxhamjamesbloxham Posts: 7
edited April 2020 in Problem solving
Hi All,
Hope everyone is safe and well.
New to the forum here and an amateur gardener. Sorry if this is long winded.
So.....had the back garden redone last year, completely levelled, new patio and re-turfed etc.
we previously had 3 cherry blossom trees at the back of the garden which had thrived and never been an issue but the landscaper advised that the roots of these trees were very destructive and could be cut back, but would most likely kill them off and if the roots did grow again like they had, could potentially ‘pop’ the retaining wall he was building along the back of the garden. As we had houses behind, we still wanted something along the back of the garden for privacy, so visited the local village garden centre. He recommended us to buy some Portuguese Laurel trees he had in stock, we liked the look of them, so brought 2 for a sum of £500. 
The landscaper planted them at the end of June (2019) and we were happy with them.
I was advised to water every night for first 2 weeks then once a week there after and twice a week if really hot until we got into autumn.
Fast forward to September 2019 and the leaves are starting to droop. 
 So I went back to the garden centre for some advise and the owner offered to come to the house and take a look. When he came he said he thought that I had over watered the trees, which I was a little surprised by, but didn’t know any better, I had pretty much stopped watering them by this point anyway. So another month or so went by and one of the trees in particular was seriously dropping leaves now. So the garden centre owner came back and said that some of the ends of the branches had started to die, so he pruned both trees for me, but said they should re grow. A couple of weeks after this he called me and said he had spoken to the grower, and whilst they both agreed that it was probably the initial over watering, he was going to give me another tree for free as a gesture of good will. 
I have not planted this tree yet as did not want 3 dead looking trees in the garden, but this potted tree has received plenty of water from the rain etc over the autumn/winter and I’m pretty sure this is dying also as the leaves have gone dry and have started to droop - see image attached.
I would like to open this up to the community for thoughts, do we think these trees are salvageable? The 2 that are planted, I scraped some bark back and they seem very dry to me, and the branches can be snapped quite easily.
Thank you all for your time.
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Posts

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Hi @jamesbloxham - those should never have been sold to you IMO.
    The owner of that GC and the landscaper should be ashamed of themselves. Those would have been difficult for someone experienced to get established, never mind someone who is a novice.
    Your potted one would have need watering despite rainfall - it really doesn't penetrate properly, and if it's against a wall, it's even harder for  it to get in because of the canopy.

    If you can get it away from the wall, and make sure it's really well  watered - ie soak it until there's no water coming out of the bottom, that will hydrate it. I don't know how easy that will be for you though. If you have a tray or something similar that you can put under it, that will collect any water that runs through, and the roots will soak it up. Do that until the soil in the pot is thoroughly hydrated. 
    If you can, prune off all the dead stuff. That will make it easier for the tree to stay hydrated. Then keep it watered, do it at night if you can, as it will evaporate less rapidly. That might get it happier for a while. Then you'll need to tackle planting it. It'll need the roots teased out a bit, and the hole you plant it in will need prepped well. Leave that until you get it back to some health though, and you'll get help with that when, or if,  you get it back to some health. 
    I doubt the others will be salvageable though. You'd be better looking for something more suitable, and don't buy anything big - far too difficult to establish, especially at this time of year, when it's been so dry, and it's not going to be much better in the next month or two. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited April 2020
    I’m afraid I agree with every word @Fairygirl has said 😞

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • SlumSlum Posts: 385
    When you were watering once a week, how much water were you using?
  • jamesbloxhamjamesbloxham Posts: 7
    Thank you @Fairygirl and @Dovefromabove for your input, it is greatly appreciated. I think I am done with these Laurels now, I will most likely dig the 2 planted ones up and as for the potted one, see if the GC want it back and if not, I’ll dispose of it. We would still like something easier to maintain and grow that has a good coverage for privacy, would you have any recommendations. 
    @Slum: I was watering them with a hose, about a bucket full or so per tree at a time as this is what was recommended to me by the GC owner and the landscaper.

    Thanks again all 
  • SlumSlum Posts: 385
    I don't think they failed due to over watering. I planted a couple of 1.5m crab apples a couple of years ago and watered more than you. I'm on clay soil with good water retention. The tress were mulched and kept weed free. I found this guide useful: https://www.barcham.co.uk/guides-advice/planting-guide/how-much-to-water-newly-planted-trees/

  • Papi JoPapi Jo Posts: 4,254
    edited April 2020
    I sympathize with your predicament. You gave us lots of details, pics, etc. about your situation but we are missing some information.
    How tall and (if possible) how old were those 2 laurels which you planted last June? Were they bare-root (unlikely) or in pots? How big were those pots? Pity your photos only show the top of the trees, a full picture showing the ground would have been useful. It would help us assess if they had enough "good soil" around their roots. At what distance from the fence were they planted? I expect, in order to avoid problems with the neighbours, they were at least 2 metres from the fence?
    You say you bought the trees yourself and had your landscaper plant them. From my experience, landscapers don't like to do that, they prefer to buy the trees that they plant. And this process ensures the guarantee that they ought to assume with regard to the end customer (you). Of course, this usually entails more expense.
    Also, you made the (common) mistake of going for full-grown specimens, which are both more expensive and, as you learnt to your disappointment, not guaranteed to establish. Way to go is to plant younger specimens and ... wait... wait... wait for them to grow. Patience is the cardinal virtue of gardeners.
    One more mistake (sorry!): you say those trees were planted at the end of June 2019, which was followed by a hot, dry summer. Summer is not the right season for planting trees. Of course, both your GC and landscaper should have been honest and told you that your enterprise was doomed from the beginning. But honest people are hard to come by. Anyway, you should really get at least some, if not all, of your money back.

    You ask "We would still like something easier to maintain and grow that has a good coverage for privacy, would you have any recommendations."

    There are hundreds of such requests on this forum. People want "something" that is green all year round, grows fast but stops growing after reaching a certain height, is easy to maintain, ensures good privacy, is not too expensive, etc. That "something" simply does not exist. Which does not mean it's impossible, but you have to be reasonable and patient, and maybe give up on one or two of the above-mentioned demands. Look again on this forum similar posts as yours, and I'm sure you'll find a solution this time.
    Good luck!
    PS.- As always, advice provided by @Fairygirl is sound advice. ;)
  • jamesbloxhamjamesbloxham Posts: 7
    Hello @Papi Jo

    Thank you for your response and help, 
    please below answers to your questions, also just pointing out that I have no gardening knowledge and that all actions taken were based on recommendation from the landscaper and GC. I was none the wiser of anything they told me. 



    The trees were approx 2.5 metres high and came from pots the had a diameter of around 20 inches, I am unsure of the age of the trees.

    The landscaper told me that he mixed ‘good’ topsoil in with this soil. They are planted approximately 27 inches from the fence - there is nothing behind the fence apart from a driveway.

    The landscaper that I used has his offices based in the GC that I brought the trees from and it was the landscapers recommendation that I go down there and speak to them, pay the GC directly and he would collect the trees and plant them, he then just charged me a small additional fee the plant them. They also suggested to me to buy these full grown trees, I was not offered or shown anything smaller. I would in actual fact preferred smaller ones as I have now essentially wasted £500 on these 2 ‘dead’ trees. 

    Again, I now understand your comment regarding the time of year the trees were planted, but at the time, did not know any better and guess I had just put my trust in the hands of the ‘professionals’ 

    Thanks

    James 
  • Papi JoPapi Jo Posts: 4,254
    Thanks for your reply and the extra info, @jamesbloxham
    The soil where your trees were planted looks very clayish and compact. The support installed at an angle and fairly low on the tree-trunk looks OK and "professional. What seems to be lacking at the foot of the tree is a) a shallow depression (to retain water) plus b) lots of mulch.
    Again I am sympathetic with your misfortune, it seems you have not been given the right advice from your landscaper / GC combined. Have you approached them regarding their insurance/guarantee? Most serious gardening professionals would either reimburse you or offer a voucher for further purchase.
    Keep us posted!
  • yorkshireroseyorkshirerose Posts: 574
    I wonder if the GC you bought them from originally purchased the plants from abroad?
    Large specimen trees are grown in the field in various locations throughout Europe and are uprooted with a mechanical digger. The roots are severely damaged before they potted up in containers which don't really allow any room for growth.
    They are kept in these pots until required to fulfil an order and then loaded on to large trailers with hundreds of specimens all bound for wholesalers/nurseries and Garden Centres. Very stressed when they reach their final destination.

    I would return to the Garden Centre, and ask if they have a plant guarantee. Most reputable Centres offer at least 2 years, and if a tree or shrub fails within that time, providing it has been cared for according to the plant label, they offer a full refund.


    A gardener's work is never at an end  - (John Evelyn 1620-1706)
  • jamesbloxhamjamesbloxham Posts: 7
    Thank you guys, I have emailed the GC now and will update all with the outcome.

    thanks again and stay safe out there

    James 
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