Forum home› Plants
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

How to promote new leaves from the stem part of cherry Laurel

Deveshmittal.deveshDeveshmittal.devesh Posts: 59
in Plants
Hello all. Hope everyone is keeping safe. 

I have a bunch of cherry laurels which are roughly 5-6 feet now - growing too high in my opinion now. Some of these now have new leaves coming up from almost grass level. What I want to do is promote this behaviour more I.e leaves coming out from the low branches so that I can trim the top to maintain the height. 

Is there any way I can encourage the plant to throw in new leaves and branches from the currently dry woody areas?

thanks for your advise
«1

Posts

  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    The only way you’ll get them to thicken from the bottom is to cut the back, 6’, cut them back to 3’, they’ll shoot out everywhere and be up to 5’ or so by the end of this year but nice and thick.  Sides and top need pruning. 
    Sounds ruthless but it works.
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited May 2020
    There’s a gardening saying “Growth follows the knife” ... so yes, do as @Lyn says and cut them back hard, that will stimulate new growth. You won’t be without leaf coverage for very long 😊 

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





  • Deveshmittal.deveshDeveshmittal.devesh Posts: 59
    So till 4 feet there is only a single piece of wood trunk. Then 4-6 feet is the current bush. Are you saying that this winter cut at 3 ft Mark?
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Can you show us a photo please?

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





  • Deveshmittal.deveshDeveshmittal.devesh Posts: 59
    Here are two of them
  • Mrs-B3-Southampton,-HantsMrs-B3-Southampton,-Hants Posts: 732
    I was thinking of getting rid of mine - just 2 - so I cut every piece I could get my secateurs round. Next came a period of neglect due to lack of time and unsuitable weather to dig them out. They bounced back and now I have to start again.
    Southampton 
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    We had some like that when I was a girl. Pa cut them right down to about a foot tall. Ma was furious ... but he gave them some fertiliser and plenty of water through the summer and they grew lots of new shoots from the base and within a couple of years we had a thick hedge ... just a couple more years and it was like a green wall six feet tall 

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





  • Deveshmittal.deveshDeveshmittal.devesh Posts: 59
    Thank you all for the inputs. Have done a decent amount of pruning but not too ruthless. Will do one more layer of pruning in July / August. Do you recommend also doing one over winter or is that a no go zone?
  • Deveshmittal.deveshDeveshmittal.devesh Posts: 59
    One other thing I was hoping your opinion on was a couple of dried laurels. So I have a total of 15 out of which 3 have completely dried up. They did not get any leaves last summer or this summer. Do you think it is still possible to revive?

    also out of the remaining 12 there are 3 which have two separate branches. One has leaves and the other is dried up. Do you think the dried branch can be revived?

    photis below
  • steephillsteephill Posts: 2,841
    The dried up ones are dead so cut off those branches right back to the main trunk. I see new growth at the bottom of at least one of them so they will grow again. Be brave and chop them all down to about a foot tall. You will get bushier stronger plants but don't neglect watering or they will die out again.
Sign In or Register to comment.