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Laurel hedge

cathryngoulbournewQiPEolRcathryngoulbournewQiPEolR Posts: 1
in Problem solving
Hi, I have a 150 ft long laurel hedge it was planted around 10 years ago, in clay soil by builders not gardeners... Anyway some of it is fine but some of it hasn't grown aswell making it uneven in places. I have used fertilizer to help with limited results. My question is how do I prune it to promote more growth is the areas needed? And how do I prune the rest of of it so it doesn't grow as fast so that I can eventually get an even height throughout the hedge.
Any help would be greatly appreciated
Thank you so much
Cath 

Posts

  • woodiesatcroftvuiJfASiwoodiesatcroftvuiJfASi Posts: 1
    We also have a lot of Laurel hedging in the garden. It,s useful for privacy, noise ,shelter, and is very fast growing.
    There are different varieties , which can grow at different rates . We have Cherry Laurel . But a word of warning . If you dont prune it every couple of years  each bush decides it wants to be a tree. It is now 15ft high. We made this mistake and at this moment we,re fighting our way into it to identify the main trunk and sawing them down with power saw. 
    Also if you have gaps its very easy to root cuttings--just stick the offcuts into the ground and within 2 yrs you,ll have a 3 -5ft plant.
    Another point--the leaves do not compost so have to be disposed of in other ways. Hope this is useful info. Any questions just ask
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Have you got a photo @cathryngoulbournewQiPEolR? That will help. You can cut the healthier parts back hard, and they'll grow away. You can also do that with the poorer parts to encourage new growth, but it would be useful to get an idea of the site, and how the hedge is generally looking. The icon that looks like a hill is the one for loading photos.  :)
    After that length of time though, it should all be growing at around the same rate, and be pretty happy. Clay is ideal for laurel, but not if it hasn't been well prepped. Laurel is easy once established, but if the ground was compacted, for example, and was just directly planted into, that could have caused problems.  Builders aren't renowned for being terribly careful about prep of any ground for planting. 
    They shouldn't need food either, and that can be counterproductive if the plants are struggling. Regular mulching is far more beneficial.
    If they were larger specimens on planting, they would have been best cut back by at least a third. Smaller plants are much easier to get established. Large ones take longer and if not cut back, they tend to stay narrower and not bush out as well as they should.

    In the  meantime - everything you'll ever need to know about growing laurel is in this thread  ;)
    https://forum.gardenersworld.com/discussion/656523/help-needed-please-with-laurel-hedge-issues/p1
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
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