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

Portuguese Laurel not growing

robgradwellEX3cXDFOrobgradwellEX3cXDFO Posts: 2
in Problem solving
Hi all,

I'm fairly new to gardening so would hugely appreciate any advice I can get as to how to help my Portuguese laurel.

I have ten Portuguese laurel making up my hedge. 9 of them are doing great but 1 (nearest the fence) doesn't seem to be growing. It doesn't have yellowing leaves but the leaves aren't as deep green as the others and over the last year it hasn't had any new buds / leaves (unlike the others). The last photo shows all the new growth on the other plants.

The neighbours hedge probably isn't helping as is it pretty huge!

I've put plenty of mulch down around the Portuguese laurel and do give it some seaweed feed every month or two.  Any further suggestions that might help?

Thanks!
:smiley:

Posts

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    I think it's thirsty ... I would give it three buckets of water twice a week from now until the end of September ... pour the water slowly around the roots so that it soaks in and doesn't run off the surface.  It may well need more water in warm dry spells during the summer.  I would also give the rest of your hedge plenty of water too.  It won't do any harm and a lot of hedges and trees have suffered in the dry springs we've had over the past few years.  If a plant is stressed by drought it becomes susceptible to problems such as powdery mildew, so the simple act of giving your hedge regular water every summer will help it to be healthy and grow well.  

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





  • robgradwellEX3cXDFOrobgradwellEX3cXDFO Posts: 2
    Thank you!

    I'll give that a try! :)
  • K67K67 Posts: 2,506
    The other reason is it might be the dwarf version - Otto luyken - which doesn't get much above 4ft but hard to tell how tall yours is.
  • Desi_in_LondonDesi_in_London Posts: 731
    @K67 I thought Otto Luyken was a cherry laurel ( prunus laurocerasus -- spelling may be off there ) not a portuguese laurel variety ( prunus lusitanica ) but I'm no expert and may be mistaken ( or  there may be other dwarf varieties of portuguese laurel even if i am correct re the otto luyken)
    Kindness is always the right choice.
  • K67K67 Posts: 2,506
    You are right 👍
    No help there then!
  • BorderlineBorderline Posts: 4,700
    It's definitely Portuguese Laurel, so not likely to be Otto Luyken.

    I agree with the comment about watering. They are quite big shrubs, so if they have been planted in the last few years, they will still be needing a lot of watering, especially during the summer and autumn months. 

    Being near the boundary of neighbouring shrubs that are quite big. This will affect watering because roots in the area will have a lot of competition, especially if the roots from the neighbouring shrubs have taken up all the soil space near the end shrubs.
Sign In or Register to comment.