OK, after a bit of resizing, here are the rest. This one is where I stuck 3 Laurels at the end of the driveway to give us more privacy in the front garden. The ground falls away to the left into the ditch, so it was a bit tricky plonking them there, but I'm hoping they will take OK. They looked neater initially, but again the wind has been blowing them about so the middle one looks to have gone over to the left a bit.
This one is from the opposite end of the row of Laurels at the front, that are sat under the Oak tree. At the very end you can just about make out the three taller Laurels behind the short fence. These all seem to be doing fine, but not much growth yet. Perhaps because of the hot, dry summer or perhaps because they've only been in a year. Is it worth trimming them, and if so, when?
This shows the row of Laurels under the Oak tree. I'm not really too worried about these as they seem happy and bushy and green, but would welcome any advice on if/when to trim them so that they go even bushier, close up the gaps and grow a bit taller. As you can see already, the hedge line has become very thin and you can see right through it. In summer you can't really see through at all. Hopefully once the Laurels have grown we can have year-round privacy. Just the other side of the hedge is a dog walking path, so people frequently walk past.
The middle one here is an example of one of the Laurels that has shot out a leggy branch taller than everything else. I guess I want to cut this back to encourage it to bush out a bit more?
This photo shows the row from the other end. You can see one nearly bare Laurel, which is one that was saved from the back. I think it's the one I previously shared a photo of when it looked rather yellow. It now has new growth and has greened up again, so I think it's happy now. However, I guess it also needs a good trim to encourage more bushy growth. The Laurel closest to the camera is the one from the back garden that did really well. As you can see its taller than all the ones out the front. It's also a lighter shade of green, by comparison.
Here's a closer shot of one plant, so hopefully from this you can advise me where to cut. I think this was the one that had shot out the long bit on the top.
Another pic to hopefully show a bit more detail and the spacing etc. I'm hoping that with a bit of trimming this lot will form a nice dense hedge. The question is whether it's a good idea to do that now, or after winter?
Laurels have very heavy leaves. That is good for deadening sound, as weight is what is needed. They will hide your fence (though that is really not necessary) but they would need a LOT more height to be an effective privacy aid.
It is widely recommended that laurels are hand-pruned yearly, rather that clipped. (If clipped, the cut ends tend to brown and show). That is going to be a lot of work, especially if they are going to need to be above 6 foot (say).
It is often said that a hedge needs to be no higher than 5 ft to give eye-to-eye privacy, but that is not enough to screen off you back door from the neighbours' first floor windows (and 2nd and 3rd).
PS. If the pine is a graft, then the stock has taken over the plant.
location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand. "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
My previous commentas were before I saw your latest pics.
Cut then down now to all the same height. For appearance only, plus perhaps anti-wind-rock. Cut just above a healthy bud pointing in the right direction.
You will find that your plants will grow more slowly in the shade. You will have to compensate for this when pruning,
Well done. Some of your neighbours will be envious!
location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand. "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
PS. If the pine is a graft, then the stock has taken over the plant.
Sorry, what do you mean by this please? (I'm not well versed in gardening speak!)
The pine has gone very large though. About this time of year it drops some needles and then at some point starts growing little green fingers. It does seem to be stretching out quite a bit though and has crept a branch over onto the neighbouring Lavender.
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Laurels have very heavy leaves. That is good for deadening sound, as weight is what is needed. They will hide your fence (though that is really not necessary) but they would need a LOT more height to be an effective privacy aid.
It is widely recommended that laurels are hand-pruned yearly, rather that clipped. (If clipped, the cut ends tend to brown and show). That is going to be a lot of work, especially if they are going to need to be above 6 foot (say).
It is often said that a hedge needs to be no higher than 5 ft to give eye-to-eye privacy, but that is not enough to screen off you back door from the neighbours' first floor windows (and 2nd and 3rd).
PS. If the pine is a graft, then the stock has taken over the plant.
"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
Cut then down now to all the same height. For appearance only, plus perhaps anti-wind-rock. Cut just above a healthy bud pointing in the right direction.
You will find that your plants will grow more slowly in the shade. You will have to compensate for this when pruning,
Well done. Some of your neighbours will be envious!
"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
The pine has gone very large though. About this time of year it drops some needles and then at some point starts growing little green fingers. It does seem to be stretching out quite a bit though and has crept a branch over onto the neighbouring Lavender.