Laurel Hedge

farringtondarren · May 2023

Hi guys I hope you're well. I wanted to get your advice on my laurel hedge. As you can see in the middle it's not as green or as lush as the outer parts. The soil is very hard and is prone to cracking. When planted it was very difficult to dig out and wasn't necessarily deep. I was thinking about taking them out, digging more out, putting in fresh soil and replanting them. Any advice is welcome.

Ceres · May 2023

Hi and welcome to the forum.

Would I be correct in assuming that is a new build? I've had to deal with a few gardens on new estates and the soil can be very variable. With a brand new garden you never know what has been spilled on the soil by the builders or previous owners of the land and that can have a detrimental effect on plants. If you are willing to accept the fact that the laurel plants might suffer a setback when being dug up and replanted, then by all means try and improve the soil in that area. You may end up digging out a load of bricks and breeze blocks, large lumps of concrete, and sheets of glass but your plants will definitely thank you if you can provide a decent amount of soil for them to put down roots.

Fairygirl · May 2023

How long have they been in there?
They don't look that bad. Laurel does need reasonable conditions to get established, and beside pavement footings can be difficult, but the photo's too far away for reasonable attempts at advice.
You can add plenty of organic matter regularly - rotted manure/leaf mould [if you have it] good compost etc, which will help prevent the soil drying out, but apply after it's really well moistened. It helps the structure of the soil.
That's what really should have been done before planting though. Then plenty of water

farringtondarren · May 2023

Hi guys I've taken a few more photos of my hedge and the difference between the good section and not so good section. Any advice is welcome.

Laurel Hedge

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