Im moving to a new house in the autumn winter, it is a new build therefore I will be building and growing my garden from scratch. My current garden is very mature and has taken me years to get it this way - which I love. I will want to create a lived in garden as soon as I can and am looking to use laurel to line the garden for privacy and an evergreen tall border. How tall can I buy laurel? and how far apart will I need to plant? thank you
Hi Sidney. Don't make the mistake of buying them too big as they're much harder to get established. I'd go for something around 3 feet ( 1 metre). You can plant them about 2 or 3 feet apart and they'll put on a good bit of growth and knit together quite well within a year or two, assuming you prepare the area well first. Put in some decent compost, well rotted manure if you can get it, and a bit of slow release fertiliser (Blood, fish and bone is ideal) and keep them watered and weed free to get them off to a good start. A mulch once you've got them in will help too.
I don't think Laurel's available as bare root hedging - which would have been much cheaper, and you could have got it as soon as you moved in, but it gives you a bit of time to prepare your ground. New builds don't usually have much goodness in the soil!
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I have a large laurel as part of my hedge and this summer every leaf has gone mottled yellow with holes and it looks like tiny scaley creatures on the back of each leaf, what could it be and will the laurel survive?
I have a Laurel hedge about 5ft gh which looks very healthy but is very thin of leaves at the bottom. What should I do to stimulate lower growth? Mike B
Laurel is a perfect screening hedge. Dense, dark evergreen leaves and fairly fast growing and is really hardy. It also let's you know when it isn't happy as the leaves start going yellow. Responds well to bonemeal. Looks great trimmed - I think it is the best. I also like hornbeam but although it keeps it's brown leaves it doesn't screen anything like laurel in the winter. It does however have beautiful coloured green leaves in spring.
Rob W, if you want to save it I am not an expert but I would probably trim it back and give it a good feed - bonemeal and ensure that it is well watered and wait. I had a standard laurel tree that I killed due to not watering enough. I thought the area was shaded and therefore always moist but it wasn't.
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That really is an impressive hedge - it's a shame they couldn't wait to prune it until after both the blooms and the nesting season were over.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
thank you I will try that
Im moving to a new house in the autumn winter, it is a new build therefore I will be building and growing my garden from scratch. My current garden is very mature and has taken me years to get it this way - which I love. I will want to create a lived in garden as soon as I can and am looking to use laurel to line the garden for privacy and an evergreen tall border. How tall can I buy laurel? and how far apart will I need to plant? thank you
Hi Sidney. Don't make the mistake of buying them too big as they're much harder to get established. I'd go for something around 3 feet ( 1 metre). You can plant them about 2 or 3 feet apart and they'll put on a good bit of growth and knit together quite well within a year or two, assuming you prepare the area well first. Put in some decent compost, well rotted manure if you can get it, and a bit of slow release fertiliser (Blood, fish and bone is ideal) and keep them watered and weed free to get them off to a good start. A mulch once you've got them in will help too.
I don't think Laurel's available as bare root hedging - which would have been much cheaper, and you could have got it as soon as you moved in, but it gives you a bit of time to prepare your ground. New builds don't usually have much goodness in the soil!
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I have a large laurel as part of my hedge and this summer every leaf has gone mottled yellow with holes and it looks like tiny scaley creatures on the back of each leaf, what could it be and will the laurel survive?
I have a Laurel hedge about 5ft gh which looks very healthy but is very thin of leaves at the bottom. What should I do to stimulate lower growth? Mike B
I have a laurel hedge which is now about 5 years old and 2 metres high
The leaves are very pale and quite sparse (almost yellow and are continually dropping)
The hedge looks very unhealthy - I have just pruned them back hoping they will become more dense and im prove in colour
Any advise
I have a laurel hedge which is now about 5 years old and 2 metres high
The leaves are very pale and quite sparse (almost yellow and are continually dropping)
The hedge looks very unhealthy - I have just pruned them back hoping they will become more dense and im prove in colour
Any advise or help would be aspirated
Laurel is a perfect screening hedge. Dense, dark evergreen leaves and fairly fast growing and is really hardy. It also let's you know when it isn't happy as the leaves start going yellow. Responds well to bonemeal. Looks great trimmed - I think it is the best. I also like hornbeam but although it keeps it's brown leaves it doesn't screen anything like laurel in the winter. It does however have beautiful coloured green leaves in spring.
Rob W, if you want to save it I am not an expert but I would probably trim it back and give it a good feed - bonemeal and ensure that it is well watered and wait. I had a standard laurel tree that I killed due to not watering enough. I thought the area was shaded and therefore always moist but it wasn't.
Thanks for advice -I will try the bone meal and extra water