I should also mention I only need this “to work” for 3 years as we will be moving in 2023 (long story). So the idea was to buy some quite mature hedging around 4ft high, plant it and maintain it with tlc, enjoy the privacy, and then move on.
Hi. What a great thread - I've picked a load of information up but I'm hoping for a bit of advice on my specific bedding.
I have a some bare root laurels coming in a week (60 - 90cm tall). I've been preparing the planting site but am a bit confused what to do with the soil. I have around 150mm of top soil and then I hit hard redish clay, I hear laurels can grow in clay soil but what about hard clay?
Is it likely the laurels would establish well in the top soil and then poke their way into the clay or do I need to either a) dig it out or, b) raise the bed?
I was thinking of going with the trench planting method to ensure I get plenty of compost and bone feed around the roots but not trenching into the hard clay (so I don't drown the laurels).
Hi.. this is one of my recently planted (Oct) Portuguese Laurels. As you can see the leaves are curling in and yellowing. Should I do anything? I'm a Laurel newbee so would be grateful for an opinion! It's a windy corner but sunny and the soil is fairly good. I was advised in the plants forum to leave taking off the tips for another couple of weeks until the frost is over so I'll do it then. I'm in SE Ireland.
Olli3012, clay that has not been worked on will not be the best start to any newly planted shrub, even Cherry Laurels. Use this time before the shrubs arrive to break the clay up. Best done when it's not too wet and soil is warming up.
I recommend option A. May have to use a pick axe to begin with. Then mix that up with top soil you have. You should work down to at least another 20cm if you can.
MM1952, I can't really see any yellowing. Portuguese Laurels have this type of habit, so I would not worry to much about the appearance. At this time of year, you need to keep an eye on the watering. As the weather starts to warm up, you should water them moe, especially in dry spells. They are still settling in. They look like they have been cut recently so I would not worry about pruning back too much. You can wait until they put on a bit more growth.
We are removing a 4ft fence to plant the laurels. Would it be beneficial to leave it up to protect the new laurels from wind until they get established or would sunlight be better? It's pretty windy where we are but the fence will block sun for most of the day so its a case of which is the worst of two evils. I would of course take the laurels but they'll still get blow around a lot.
Posts
I have a some bare root laurels coming in a week (60 - 90cm tall). I've been preparing the planting site but am a bit confused what to do with the soil. I have around 150mm of top soil and then I hit hard redish clay, I hear laurels can grow in clay soil but what about hard clay?
Is it likely the laurels would establish well in the top soil and then poke their way into the clay or do I need to either a) dig it out or, b) raise the bed?
I was thinking of going with the trench planting method to ensure I get plenty of compost and bone feed around the roots but not trenching into the hard clay (so I don't drown the laurels).
Thanks in advance!
O.
I recommend option A. May have to use a pick axe to begin with. Then mix that up with top soil you have. You should work down to at least another 20cm if you can.
MM1952, I can't really see any yellowing. Portuguese Laurels have this type of habit, so I would not worry to much about the appearance. At this time of year, you need to keep an eye on the watering. As the weather starts to warm up, you should water them moe, especially in dry spells. They are still settling in. They look like they have been cut recently so I would not worry about pruning back too much. You can wait until they put on a bit more growth.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
We are removing a 4ft fence to plant the laurels. Would it be beneficial to leave it up to protect the new laurels from wind until they get established or would sunlight be better? It's pretty windy where we are but the fence will block sun for most of the day so its a case of which is the worst of two evils. I would of course take the laurels but they'll still get blow around a lot.
Thanks!
O.