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Portuguese Laurel Problems
bft1967JSajB11X
Posts: 1
A gardening beginner here that could do with some good advice. We planted a row of 1.5m high Portuguese Laurel in our rear garden last October and they all seemed to survive the Scottish winter. Since February four of the trees have suffered browning leaves and leaf fall and despite feeding and watering through an April dry spell and then cutting off the dead leaves and branches, all 4 now look really unhealthy / dying / dead. Can someone advise what the problem may have been, whether they can be saved and what I should do to be bring them back to life.
Sincere thanks in advance. Brian
Sincere thanks in advance. Brian
0
Posts
But I'm guessing that your plants have been exposed to some very cold and drying winds which has caused the problem.
I've had a Myrtle in my garden for about 15 years and though this winter wasn't that cold here, much of it is dead.
But all may not be lost - try the fingernail test.
Starting toward the top of one of the plants just scrape the skin from the bark with a fingernail and see if you can see any hint of green.
If there's no green, that bit is dead.
Work down the plant until you find some green just under the bark - that part and lower parts are still alive.
If there's no hint of green anywhere, I'm afraid it's a gonner.
If there is green, just make sure they don't dry out and hopefully you'll see some shoots over the coming weeks.
My Myrtle still shows signs of green, so I'll wait until some new leaves appear then cut off the dead bits in a month or two when I can see what is growing and what is dead.
Billericay - Essex
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