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Bay tree pruning advice
Hi, I had a number of bay trees planted in 2011, in order to create a screen/hedge. They were all around 6ft tall but quite thin. They wereplanted about 50cm apart. They've taken a while to take but are definitely thicker now but nowhere near a hedge. Can anyone advise how I should prune in order to thicken foliage and whether any fertilisers should be used.?
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All hedging plants should be cut back at the time of planting, people feel sorry for them and dont like to do it, but it gives them a chance to thicken from the bottom, if they are 6ft tall, cut at least a foot off of them. hopefully they will thicken, but with hedging you have to be cruel to be kind. When you see new shoots at the bottom, cut the tops back again. to be honest, if they were mine, I would cut them down by half, but thats up to you.
I planted a laurel hedge in 2012, 2 to 3 ft bare roots, i have cut back each year and they are now solid at the bottom, really thick,
Fertilizer wont help, they just need cutting. All that will do is make them grow taller.
Taller plants always take longer to establish - smaller ones will develop much better as Lyn says. There's a house near me which was up for a sale a few years ago which borders quite a busy road. The owners planted a Laurel hedge to create more privacy and give it more kerb appeal, but made the classic mistake of thinking bigger's better. Several years on and it still looks dreadful- sick and yellow and no bushier. It needs cropped.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
This is the result of constant chopping. Planted in 2012
Lyn/fairygirl thanks very much for your response. So I should cut the height down at least a foot and then elsewhere cut any new shoots back as well? With the new shoots h ow much would I cut them back? Just a cm or so?
I might sound silly but what should I cut the height down with? I have an electric hedge trimmer or should I use something more precise?
Im a complete novice so please don't hold back or assume I know anything!!!
Thanks again!