Yellow Laurel Hedges in concrete driveway cutout bed

branagjo48098 · 17 February

I was hoping for some advise here please.
I have laurel hedges in my garden. Planted from bareroots probably 2 years ago now. All others are growing fine -green bushy...
However one section of my garden i cutout part of the concreted driveway to plant some laurel there too. Cutout approx 1ft wide, 1.5 ft deep. Over the 2 years they never really grew too well. They were planted green but then became yellow. I checked moisture in soil and seemed wet. Tried drilling holes into the bottom of the bed to help draining as there was still some hardcore there from concrete base i think. Soil was a mixture of top soil and compost. Then last year, late summer, I decided to pull some up (i.e. to make wider spacings and planted some fresh green ones i had potted elsewhere. At that time i also re dug the soil, added some perlite at the base and also mixed in the soil. I also forgot to mention over the 2 years, I also used chicken pellet on all my laurel hedging. Anyway, now not only are the laurel back yellow, they now also have these brown spots on them. Thats a first as i dont think i have seen these before. Now perhaps, once growing season starts, they may get better. However would like any advice you might have on how best to address this. Maybe digging the bed deeper might be the option here or something . or perhaps use certain soil mix. Anyway i would appreciate any advise you may have. I also have a couple of spare laurel still in pots that i could also use to replant this bed if the current ones are not worth/possible to save..
Also the laurels in the rest of the garden are fine, so its definitely something to do with the size/depth of the bed or the soil mixture, moisture, etc...
Any advice would be very much appreciated please.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6030279/uploads/editor/8w/bball542vcrj.jpg

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6030279/uploads/editor/nu/488cz94ykvji.jpg

GardenerSuze · 18 February

@branagjo48098 I think you have worked out what is happening. That is too small a space for laurels, I can see exactly why you have tried to get them to grow in there they would have perfectly filled the area if they had taken, now the roots have no where to go.
The brown spots although common on older leaves especially in the winter months are an extra sigh of stress.

You could continue with them but utimately they won't cope and the weeds will also be competing for nutrients.
What is the hedge to the right of the photo? Is it Euonymous? You could consider extending that if the growing conditions and depths are the same.

A planting depth of 1.5 ft is too shallow to suport Laurels. Grasses could be considered such as Calamagrostis Overdam they have shallow roots and will give height but not in the same kind of growth as evergreens. Grasses are perhaps the best plants for height in a shallow bed.

Fairygirl · 18 February

I agree - the ground clearly isn't suitable. Laurel is easy once established, as long as it has decent enough soil to start with and enough moisture.
That certainly looks like it's largely the former @branagjo48098 . Fine for all the weeds in there [

] but not for woody shrubs/hedging. Portuguese laurel manages in tighter spaces better than cherry laurel, buti t still needs adequate soil to thrive.
That's laurel as far as I can see @GardenerSuze.
Euonymus might manage in the space if you want/need a hedge of some kind, but you'd still need to improve the conditions a fair old bit. If not, you'll have to opt for a fence if you need screening. It would depend entirely on your needs.

bcpathome · 18 February

You’ve answered your own question yourself . Not enough room or good enough soil . Some plants just won’t grow where you want them to .Choose something else with smaller roots for that tiny little space .

Obelixx · 18 February

Too small a bed and not deep enough and lots of lime in all that concrete and hard core so your laurels are starving and chlorotic. I'd dig them up and re-plant or compost them, erect a strong trellis panel in their place and fill the hole with gravel or chipped bark.

branagjo48098 · 18 February

Hi All, Thanks for you feedback and suggestions. @Fairygirl and @GardenerSuze, yes that's Laurels too at the side. I have laurels planted around the boundary of my front driveway. Adding a fence or different hedging is an option but would prefer to keep all laurel around the boundary if at all possible. If I was to dig the trench deeper lets say and add specific type of soil mix, add some soil treatments, etc, Would that help? Any suggestions on any of these possible options?. Also if the lime from the concrete is a problem, also, perhaps i can add some damp coarse lining to the trench also...
if its a lost cause then feel free to tell me, but i would like to try some options if i can to improve the laurel growth in that area if possible. So any suggestions on trench depth, soil mix and/or additives would be helpful that i could try?

GardenerSuze · 18 February

I admire your determination but you cannot cheat nature in my opinion.

Fairygirl · 18 February

Do you desperately need it to be a 'living barrier' @branagjo48098?
I think it could be a long drawn out, and quite expensive process.

I think @Obelixx is probably right about that concrete/lime possibility too. Not something I've ever experienced, and I can certainly plant all sorts of shrubs and hedging next to pavements, where there are footings, but I always spend a fair bit of time prepping the ground, and the watering is easy here.

Plantminded · 18 February

As well as being too small to support laurels, it sounds as if there’s inadequate drainage in that bed, resulting in the symptoms you are seeing. If you can improve the drainage, Euonymus may be an option, as recommended above. Portuguese laurel will also struggle.

Loxley · 18 February

I think if you made the bed a lot wider (say 1m), fill with topsoil and connected it to the bed on the right, you might have a chance. I think it's more the width of the bed rather than the depth. Well, it's both really 😂

JennyJ · 19 February

I agree, the bed is too narrow to support anything very substantial. Depth, drainage and lime leaching might be playing a part too, but if you can't make it a good bit wider (perhaps to match the bed with the healthier hedging at the right side of your picture) then a fence panel is the best solution to fill that gap.

Yellow Laurel Hedges in concrete driveway cutout bed

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