We put We planted a Portuguese Laurel hedge about 3 years ago. Gardener has never experienced this problem before. It is an eyesore.The back of the house is thriving except for a stretch at side of house which could be more shaded. BUT the real problem area is the front hedge. Growing well at top of garden but where the ground was soggy we put in additional drains before planting. A year later we replaced plants and dug up neighbours garden to add yet another drain and put stones in for more drainage. After that we added mycorrhizal fungi powder to the plants lagging behind.
Still not winning!!!! Any suggestions as to what I can do now or is this a lost cause? Some of the lagging plants seem to have had small flowers which have now died off.
We would appreciate any guidance or advice. Many thanks.
Think my pics are upside down, sorry but I can't seem to delete and redo.
I can see from the picture, the ground slants down into the area where the plants are 'lagging'. There is not much you can do until you decide whether it is worth levelling the ground or finding a way to make running ground water not to fall into that valley-like border. Also, the ground in that space is also starting to drop, so not surprised it's a damp soil area. I'm not a fan of fighting against the elements. It's not worth the trouble.
Is there another species of hedging that might suit these conditions better? Or would it be best to just take it all out? At the lower end of the slope there are possibly 2 plants doing ok. Or probably nit when I look at them! The second photo is or neighbours and it's doing a lot better. It took about 8 years to get established.
Our back garden is doing much better except for the side of the house, wondered if it was the restricted sun here.
I must admit, I'm a bit middled with your photos. I'm assuming the last picutre of the road with the hedge by the row of houses, you are referring as your neighbours? Or is it the one with the brugundy car? Either way, I can't actually see any issues other than they look shorter than your other plants planted.
This can happen and for whatever reason, it's hard to say if they're thriving or not as planting shrubs one after another can sometimes highlight growth differences. I personally feel, it's fine to keep them there as they are not showing signs of sickness, just a bit slower, and that happens a lot for all shrubs.
I don't think you should re-think and take them out. Maybe they will eventually even out provided you prune the taller areas, they will eventually catch up. These plants can deal with shade and even a bit of dampness. I think, be a bit more patient for the time being.
Sorry for confusion. The burgundy car shows our lagging behind hedge at the lowest point. The road image shows our neighbours hedge, which is about 20m from ours and seems to be doing better despite it also sloping.
Perhaps I do need to be more patient. Is there any product which can be given as a feed or growth enhancer which might help give it a loving nudge?
I now understand. So photo with the burgundy car which has 4 shrubs, the 2 on the left are Laurel too? I can't see properly as it's too far and looked originally like some kind of Spirea. If yes, you need to check the soil as it might be incorect watering (over-watering or not enough watering) or poorly planted originally.
I don't think you need to feed the shrubs, they really should take care of themselves. If the plants get a bit spindly, give them a small prune to help them bush out a bit. Since they are still quite low, it's a good time to do this before more thicker branches form. This pruning will eventually help your shrubs to bulk up and get more stronger. Do this in spring time or late spring. I think they will catch up in time.
Thank you ever so much. I think there is run off from the garden next door. When we dug down on their side of the fence you could see the water trickling from soil at around the mid point of the hedge. We added another drain, not quite as damp there but still more moist that higher levels. We haven't been watering just let them grow. Will be patient for another while.
Had to take a foot off mine yesterday as there were some straggly shoots well over 9ft. Almost impossible to cut down now so reckon I'll just leave them like this.
Bear in mind the wooden panelling that's been added comes a foot higher than the wall used to - ie they're pretty large now.
Posts
No Worries, only cut them when you have all the ground prepared and manure in, be all good then.
Enjoy
Still not winning!!!! Any suggestions as to what I can do now or is this a lost cause? Some of the lagging plants seem to have had small flowers which have now died off.
We would appreciate any guidance or advice. Many thanks.
Think my pics are upside down, sorry but I can't seem to delete and redo.
I can see from the picture, the ground slants down into the area where the plants are 'lagging'. There is not much you can do until you decide whether it is worth levelling the ground or finding a way to make running ground water not to fall into that valley-like border. Also, the ground in that space is also starting to drop, so not surprised it's a damp soil area. I'm not a fan of fighting against the elements. It's not worth the trouble.
Last edited: 08 July 2017 18:31:23
Thank you for taking the trouble to respond.
Is there another species of hedging that might suit these conditions better? Or would it be best to just take it all out? At the lower end of the slope there are possibly 2 plants doing ok. Or probably nit when I look at them! The second photo is or neighbours and it's doing a lot better. It took about 8 years to get established.
Our back garden is doing much better except for the side of the house, wondered if it was the restricted sun here.
I must admit, I'm a bit middled with your photos. I'm assuming the last picutre of the road with the hedge by the row of houses, you are referring as your neighbours? Or is it the one with the brugundy car? Either way, I can't actually see any issues other than they look shorter than your other plants planted.
This can happen and for whatever reason, it's hard to say if they're thriving or not as planting shrubs one after another can sometimes highlight growth differences. I personally feel, it's fine to keep them there as they are not showing signs of sickness, just a bit slower, and that happens a lot for all shrubs.
I don't think you should re-think and take them out. Maybe they will eventually even out provided you prune the taller areas, they will eventually catch up. These plants can deal with shade and even a bit of dampness. I think, be a bit more patient for the time being.
Sorry for confusion. The burgundy car shows our lagging behind hedge at the lowest point. The road image shows our neighbours hedge, which is about 20m from ours and seems to be doing better despite it also sloping.
Perhaps I do need to be more patient. Is there any product which can be given as a feed or growth enhancer which might help give it a loving nudge?
I now understand. So photo with the burgundy car which has 4 shrubs, the 2 on the left are Laurel too? I can't see properly as it's too far and looked originally like some kind of Spirea. If yes, you need to check the soil as it might be incorect watering (over-watering or not enough watering) or poorly planted originally.
I don't think you need to feed the shrubs, they really should take care of themselves. If the plants get a bit spindly, give them a small prune to help them bush out a bit. Since they are still quite low, it's a good time to do this before more thicker branches form. This pruning will eventually help your shrubs to bulk up and get more stronger. Do this in spring time or late spring. I think they will catch up in time.
Last edited: 10 July 2017 20:45:35
Thank you ever so much. I think there is run off from the garden next door. When we dug down on their side of the fence you could see the water trickling from soil at around the mid point of the hedge. We added another drain, not quite as damp there but still more moist that higher levels. We haven't been watering just let them grow. Will be patient for another while.
Had to take a foot off mine yesterday as there were some straggly shoots well over 9ft. Almost impossible to cut down now so reckon I'll just leave them like this.
Bear in mind the wooden panelling that's been added comes a foot higher than the wall used to - ie they're pretty large now.
Last edited: 17 July 2017 08:26:27
They're doing very well BeF. Can't make out what the fence is though, did you take the photos from next doors garden?
Bet you're glad you chopped them down as a few members advised, they look great now.