Laurel leaves turning yelloq

notVeryGreenFingered · October 2020

Attached some photos of a few Laurel plants I bought last year, they aren't very thick as they weren't pruned much but the leaves turn yellow every few months, not all just a handful.

What could this be a sign of? Is there a remedy?

Also I noticed the seller called them "cherry laurels" but if you notice my older cherry laurel on the left hand side of the first photo, it looks a different breed. Are there different types of cherry laurels?

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6030279/uploads/editor/c1/dhavvoav5mn0.jpg

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6030279/uploads/editor/es/2fq3uni826nb.jpg

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6030279/uploads/editor/88/7dct039at5u1.jpg

Dovefromabove · October 2020

Even evergreens lose their leaves and grow new ones ... they just do it a few at a time throughout the year rather than all at once in the autumn. That’s all that is happening ... perfectly normal.

Your mature laurel looks just that ... mature 😊 its roots are well established and have produced a fine crop of younger fresher greener leaves.

The younger plants are still concentrating on developing a good enough root system to sustain a large top growth. That’s why it’s looking so sparse. They appear to have only a tiny area of soil to grow in ... have they been regularly and generously watered this summer?

I know it is hard to do but you really will get a much thicker hedge quite quickly if you cut them hard back ... I would do it in Feb/March and at the same time feed with Fish, Blood & Bone ad water and mulch with compost. They will soon thicken and regain their height.

Fairygirl · October 2020

It must be the most common query on the forum

They might struggle in that tiny border, but if they've had enough water, they should be ok. It would have been better to cut them back if they were large specimens. Much harder to establish at that size.
I'd cut them back hard too. They'll never fill out well if you don't

amancalledgeorge · October 2020

Frankly I'm flabbergasted how they get enough water with such a miniscule amount of exposed earth at the base.

Fairygirl · October 2020

If you're in a wet area @amancalledgeorge, you'd be surprised how much gets through

amancalledgeorge · October 2020

Ah bonny Scotland provides a lot of rain @Fairygirl down here it would be impossible to keep alive.

Fairygirl · October 2020

Indeed we do have a fair bit of the damp stuff @amancalledgeorge. Cooler too- so it doesn't dry out so quickly either

Or maybe the OP has an irrigation hose set up

notVeryGreenFingered · October 2020

Thanks for all the replies, yes the ground is quite tight but under that cement and bricks there is a lot of soil. I have been keeping the soil well watered during spells of hear but not otherwise.

I have just found the yellow ones tend to appear every other month, some die, but most remain.

No one mentioned soil ph or anything, so hoping its not nutrient related. I have tried miraclegro on it and they shot right up.

I am tempted to cut them slowly but not all in one go due to loss of privacy

Biglad · October 2020

My laurel bush is in great shape with a steady dribble of leaves turning yellow and dropping off. They are well distributed and generally on older areas. Just efficiently regenerating. I'm jealous

Mike Allen · October 2020

It is something of a misconception, that evergreens, of which laurels are, that the leave remain green. Believe it or not. To many. Evergreens never shed their leaves.

All trees, plants basically shed their leaves. By whatever means or course, without doing so. The plant would die.

The past couple of years at least, have been strange. Climate change and all of that has bought about changes within the plant kingdom that we perhaps have never before seen. If I may. Basically plants are divided into many sections/divisions. The lower forms, that make up our general garden plants. These have this inbuilt, genetically plan. To grow, flower, set seed and die. In the case of trees and shrubs The same genetic patern exists but other gene factors also are present.

The leaves of plants and trees are like a barrier. Plant infections albiet viral, fungal or whatever. The leaves in a way correspond to our skin. They are the epidermis. So any attacking enemy hits the leaves first. The leaves fight against it, but usually fail. However such failure is not the end. The leaves will suffer, and drop. This actually save the plant. Because the virus or whatever has been captured by the leaves and has been contained. Has the leaves not fallen or shown signs of dying. Then the infection would have entered the mainstem of the plant and began a course of slow destruction. So stop worrying.

Fairygirl · October 2020

@notVeryGreenFingered- they don't really need much in the way of nutrients. A mulch every so often [which helps keep moisture retained too] is the best way. Bark is ideal, but anything will do - compost, leaf mould etc.

They aren't fussy as to pH either

You'd be surprised how much better they'll do if you cut them back a good bit. Those middle ones in the pic especially, where they're gappy. If you cut those back by half in spring, they'd fill out rapidly

Laurel leaves turning yelloq

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