Watering and Feeding

Zahid_63c · May 2022

I'm a newbie to gardening and would like some advice and tips

I planted two Bay trees(either side),buxus cones and some grasses last year

1.one Bay tree seems to be growing and other really struggling,why is that?

What can I do to help it or what else could be the issue?

2.hen is the ideal time to prune and shape bay tree and buxus cones?

3.how often and how much should I water the plants and grasses?during which months?

4.How often,how much and what I should feed the plants?

Zahid_63c · May 2022

punkdoc · May 2022

Between June and July is a good time to prune your box.
Bay can be pruned any time during Summer.

An occasional liquid feed will be fine.
The grasses don't need feeding.

Fairygirl · May 2022

Hi @Zahid_63c. Can't really help with the bay tree, but what is it that you think is wrong with it? Are the photos of the same one? I can't see any problem there.
As far as pruning's concerned, I don't know about the bay, but box is usually trimmed around mid to late June. It was traditionally always done on Derby Day, which is around that time.

I've never fed - or watered- Carexes, but that's because mine get enough help from the sky. They'd only need watering if the ground was drying out, but as you have slate on top, that will help retain moisture. All the plants look fine in terms of growth, so it's unlikely they need extra water. If you get long dry spells, or they look a bit wilted, that would indicate they need some water. That's the only problem with a solid barrier on tope of the soil, it makes it hard to tell how wet or dry it is. If you water, use a good half can full for the smaller plants, and a full one for the bay. A thorough watering a few times a week is far better than a little amount every day.
As far as feeding's concerned, they wouldn't really need anything if the soil's in good condition, but you can use a liquid seaweed now and again, as you won't be able to add any organic matter to the bed because of the slate.

Zahid_63c · May 2022

Thank You
There seems to be some dead grass,do I just comb it out?
Can grass also be cut and shaped?

Fairygirl · May 2022

The carexes do get some dead foliage and you would just pull that out with your hands. You wouldn't cut those back, only deciduous grasses get cut back each year, around the time the new foliage is coming through. I've just divided a carex I have [similar to yours] and that can be a good time to remove dead foliage if there's a lot. It's a bit late to do it now, but you could always do that next spring and it would give you more plants, or at least, allow you to remove the dead stuff more easily

If you don't get any help with your bay tree re pruning, you could take a look by using the search option at the top of the page. I think there's been a couple of queries about bay recently. If that's no help you could start a new thread entitled pruning bay tree or something similar. People with experience of that will see it and be able to help

Zahid_63c · May 2022

Thanks,what do I do if I feel the grasses are growing too much and want to make them a little smaller?

Zahid_63c · May 2022

The photo are of two Bay trees,one on either side they are growing at different rate,one very slow and one normal

JennyJ · May 2022

Perhaps the bay tree that's growing better is in a slightly more favourable position. More sun, more moisture in the soil, something like that.

The carex will look horrible if you clip them. If they're bigger than you want, it might be better to replace them with something that has a more suitable mature height and spread.

Fairygirl · May 2022

I agree with @JennyJ - it's quite likely that there's just slightly better conditions for one bay tree over the other. Plants don't always grow at exactly the same rate either

Re the Carexes - they won't really get much bigger than they are already.

Zahid_63c · May 2022

I'm happy with the carexes,there just seems to be a lot of dead strands!
Taking them out will take forever

Watering and Feeding

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