Pruning (or not) of newly planted Portugese Laurel
Hi all,
I have recently planted a few Portuguese Laurel (in Mid July) to make a hedge they were 1.5m tall. They cost a fortune and I really want them to do well. They have started to grow upwards (which is what I want eventually) with new growth at the top but I want them to 'join together' as a hedge first.. I read that I should leave them to establish first, but not sure for how long.
They are 2 foot apart and I obviously want them to grow outwards to form a dense hedge eventually but I know that if I let them only grow upwards they wont go dense at the base.. They have put on about 4" of growth since I planted them. I want a dense tall hedge to block out a neighboring building
When do I make the first prune if I only planted them 8 weeks ago?
How do i know if the roots have 'taken'?
I have been watering regularly and they are in ground in purchased top soil mixed with some manure..
Posts
Sorry (newbie).. I posted this is the wrong forum... re-posted in Plants forum.
For a start, you may have been better buying them at only 2ft tall, but never mind, when you first plant them you need to cut them down by half, they will then start to shoot out from the bottom.
they stand a better chance of rooting if they havent got all that top growth to feed as well.
Chop them back now, if you are not ruthless now, you will just get a row of soldiers and they will be spindly, they are very tough, and will hopefully get an established root system by winter.
You will know if they have 'taken', because they would look dead by now.
Wow Lyn, thanks for your advice.. That sounds drastic! Why would they sell them tall (and taller) if you need to just cut them down.. Well it does sound like you at least agree they they need a good hard cut, so I give em a chop, but I don't think I can bring myself to taking half off!
Thanks again...
Buying them at that height would be fine if you wanted a tree pete
In the sticks near Peterborough
what can I say, I'm new to this gardening lark.. I've been 'sold to' by the sounds of it.. ok, live and learn I guess.
If you asked for hedging you should get on to the seller
In the sticks near Peterborough
I feel your pain for wanting your privacy back again!! I'm using cherry laurel (Rotundifolia rather than Portuguese laurel) to block out annoying overlooking neighbours windows and it can't grow fast enough for me!! However I did buy mine at about 3ft so we're talking 4 yrs for them to now be at 15ft high..
I didn't prune much off at all until a year ago and then cut back the taller branches which has really helped them bush out this year and create a dense hedge. I think you'd be ok nipping out the taller stems and leaving them for a year or two to get some height and then pruning/shaping to create the density and structure you want - my unprofessional opinion of course but has worked for my mum too who now has a lovely Portuguese laurel as a hedge in her front garden.
Hi Pete, so how is your Portuguese Laurel doing, 18 months on? I've just planted a new hedge of the same laurel, about 60cm tall, spaced about 3 per metre, and they're starting to bush out, but its taking longer than I'd hoped. To be fair they were planted in mid Jan this year, and its only beginning of April as I write. Love to know how your trees are growing, as I'm hoping mine will block a noisy road the other side of the hedge.