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!
How much should I trim down by? My plants seem to be bushier than many on here started out, but I don't doubt that they would benefit from cutting back to some degree to bush them up. Hopefully doing it now will see them take off come spring, although I'm not sure that will be the case for the newly planted ones?
You may be a beginner, but you obviously have an eye. You need to cultivate your knowledge. There is us, but also books, newspapers, internet, and gardens to visit and real people to speak with.
Of course we have our jargon. You will acquire this with time. But to start: grafted plants have a rootstock and a grafted bit. The rootstock can be called stock, and the grafted bit either graft or scion.
Grafting is a way to reproduce plants when that is not easily done by seed or cuttings. It is also the way that fruit trees are made to keep to a reasonable size and fruit earlier in their life.
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."
Ok, I'm still a bit lost by your comment then? What has happened with the pine? And should I be doing anything with it? (Cutting/pruning etc?)
We were told it was a grafted dwarf pine and it was a lot smaller when it went in, but it seems to have been about the fastest growing thing in the garden, despite being right next to that brick outbuilding... So it seems to like where it is and the soil that it's in...
There are 2 parts to a grafted plant: the bottom with roots (stock) and the top (graft/scion). If the graft fails the scion will die and the stock maycarry on growing.
Of course, what you were told may not have been correct. Yours doesn't look like a dwarf pine. But I see no reason not to keep it.
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."
I didn't see your pic of the back garden @russell_jefferiesSoh53k_P - sorry. Posting at the same time. The problem with the laurels there is that you'd need to have them at a colossal height to screen those neighbouring windows, and that's a whole new ball game. You'd be left with a very shady garden. You'd also need to keep pruning/trimming them to stop them growing 'out' into your garden. That's perfectly possible, but it's the height that's the main factor. I'm not sure you can block those windows successfully by using hedging, because it's too near them. The easiest way to do it is to plant a screen of some kind nearer your property, as the perspective means you need a smaller plant to do the screening. I don't know if that's possible for you. It depends on how much room you have between your house and the windows. Sometimes, just a strategically placed single columnar tree will do the job.
Your other laurels are fine. It's just patience now that's required. The bigger ones will benefit from a bit of a trim, as that will encourage side shoots, and that thickening up and 'gap filling' that you want Even something fairly quick growing like laurel takes a few years to establish and start growing and that's why smaller plants do better than big ones. This one that's shooting out can be cut back where I've put the red line. It doesn't have to be exact, just cut above an obvious leaf joint, so that it roughly matches the rest of the plant. You'll get bits growing more quickly than others, but it's nothing to worry about.
The only other thing I'd suggest is neatening the border edge. Keep up with your mulching too. It pays dividends for the general health of your hedging, as well as keeping it looking good and weed free
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Another thought about your pine. If you look, you may see some dwarf leaves growing within a foot of the base. If you have these, and if you think the risk worthwhile, just cut out any large growth.
But for me, I would leave well alone.
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."
Regarding the edging - yes it's a mess at the moment, but also the grass is long and folded over. It's neater when the grass is cut short, but still could do with a bit of a tidy up.
Where should I cut the plants at the rear? Sadly there's not really anywhere else I can plant them - they're already quite close to the house. I'm not bothered about them creating shade in the garden. It's a south facing garden and there's basically no shade in summer. Plus that building next to use creates shade in the morning anyway, then by the time the sun hits the Laurels they will only create shade for the fence.
I'm not expecting them to give us privacy from the top windows, I just want a bit of physical separation between our garden and their postage stamp of a garden, plus obstructing the view from the downstairs windows. The building is actually two flats, and I'm not worried about the upstairs flat, the lady is lovely, but the downstairs flat had awful awful tenants and they were the ones that made the awful mess in the garden. Thankfully they've now gone, but I've still like to get the Laurels up to give us privacy from those windows and also create a more substantial barrier between our garden and that one.
The awful tenants were "travellers" and kept all manner of noisy dogs, cockerels etc locked up in that tiny garden and it was just 24/7 noise and aggravation.
We hope not to have another neighbour as awful, but the Laurels would at least give us some privacy from those windows and maybe a little noise deadening.
Only if needed. Unless they're putting on lots of growth, I'd just let them get on with it. Laurels grow fast - but they need several years to establish, especially if they don't have perfect conditions. Just some patience is needed. They look perfectly healthy and that's what matters. I'd still take a spade to that border and get it in a straight line if you have time. It'll set off your hedge. Just my preference though - I hate messy edges on lawns Easier to do when the ground's damp too.
I sympathise re the [former] neighbours. It can be very difficult, and we get loads of queries on the forum about unpleasant or unreasonable neighbours. It's never an easy thing to resolve. Sadly, you can't reason with unreasonable people. You can let the laurel grow to a height that suits you, but it's worth keeping the front of it trimmed right from the start. If you leave it, the branches will become thick, and if you then want to cut it back, it'll be quite bare for a long time. There's a forum member who has done that with a length of laurel - @Uff. Hopefully she'll see my tag on her name, and she might be able to put a photo on to let you see.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Posts
Of course we have our jargon. You will acquire this with time. But to start: grafted plants have a rootstock and a grafted bit. The rootstock can be called stock, and the grafted bit either graft or scion.
Grafting is a way to reproduce plants when that is not easily done by seed or cuttings. It is also the way that fruit trees are made to keep to a reasonable size and fruit earlier in their life.
"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
We were told it was a grafted dwarf pine and it was a lot smaller when it went in, but it seems to have been about the fastest growing thing in the garden, despite being right next to that brick outbuilding... So it seems to like where it is and the soil that it's in...
Of course, what you were told may not have been correct. Yours doesn't look like a dwarf pine. But I see no reason not to keep it.
"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
The problem with the laurels there is that you'd need to have them at a colossal height to screen those neighbouring windows, and that's a whole new ball game. You'd be left with a very shady garden. You'd also need to keep pruning/trimming them to stop them growing 'out' into your garden. That's perfectly possible, but it's the height that's the main factor. I'm not sure you can block those windows successfully by using hedging, because it's too near them. The easiest way to do it is to plant a screen of some kind nearer your property, as the perspective means you need a smaller plant to do the screening. I don't know if that's possible for you. It depends on how much room you have between your house and the windows. Sometimes, just a strategically placed single columnar tree will do the job.
Your other laurels are fine. It's just patience now that's required. The bigger ones will benefit from a bit of a trim, as that will encourage side shoots, and that thickening up and 'gap filling' that you want
Even something fairly quick growing like laurel takes a few years to establish and start growing and that's why smaller plants do better than big ones.
This one that's shooting out can be cut back where I've put the red line. It doesn't have to be exact, just cut above an obvious leaf joint, so that it roughly matches the rest of the plant. You'll get bits growing more quickly than others, but it's nothing to worry about.
The only other thing I'd suggest is neatening the border edge. Keep up with your mulching too. It pays dividends for the general health of your hedging, as well as keeping it looking good and weed free
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
But for me, I would leave well alone.
"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
Regarding the edging - yes it's a mess at the moment, but also the grass is long and folded over. It's neater when the grass is cut short, but still could do with a bit of a tidy up.
Where should I cut the plants at the rear? Sadly there's not really anywhere else I can plant them - they're already quite close to the house. I'm not bothered about them creating shade in the garden. It's a south facing garden and there's basically no shade in summer. Plus that building next to use creates shade in the morning anyway, then by the time the sun hits the Laurels they will only create shade for the fence.
I'm not expecting them to give us privacy from the top windows, I just want a bit of physical separation between our garden and their postage stamp of a garden, plus obstructing the view from the downstairs windows. The building is actually two flats, and I'm not worried about the upstairs flat, the lady is lovely, but the downstairs flat had awful awful tenants and they were the ones that made the awful mess in the garden. Thankfully they've now gone, but I've still like to get the Laurels up to give us privacy from those windows and also create a more substantial barrier between our garden and that one.
The awful tenants were "travellers" and kept all manner of noisy dogs, cockerels etc locked up in that tiny garden and it was just 24/7 noise and aggravation.
We hope not to have another neighbour as awful, but the Laurels would at least give us some privacy from those windows and maybe a little noise deadening.
"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
Laurels grow fast - but they need several years to establish, especially if they don't have perfect conditions.
Just some patience is needed. They look perfectly healthy and that's what matters.
I'd still take a spade to that border and get it in a straight line if you have time. It'll set off your hedge. Just my preference though - I hate messy edges on lawns
Easier to do when the ground's damp too.
I sympathise re the [former] neighbours. It can be very difficult, and we get loads of queries on the forum about unpleasant or unreasonable neighbours. It's never an easy thing to resolve. Sadly, you can't reason with unreasonable people.
You can let the laurel grow to a height that suits you, but it's worth keeping the front of it trimmed right from the start. If you leave it, the branches will become thick, and if you then want to cut it back, it'll be quite bare for a long time.
There's a forum member who has done that with a length of laurel - @Uff. Hopefully she'll see my tag on her name, and she might be able to put a photo on to let you see.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...