Laurel Hedging Issues
Hi,
I am new to this Forum & am looking for some advice on some Laurel hedging plants that I have had planted recently.
I have had some landscaping work carried out at my address part of which included planting a number of Laurel hedging plants along two of my boundaries.
The areas to be planted were cleared with a machine, a trench was then dug and the hedging plants were planted in this trench inside a black soil type material.
The hedging plants have been in for 4 weeks, over that period the leaves have drooped, some have gone yellow & some look dry. I have been watering the plants regularly & am not sure what else I should be doing.
I have attached some photographs, any advice would be appreciated.
It is strange as not all of the plants are affected
Posts
It's been incredibly dry. You say you've been watering, but how thoroughly? The ground needs to be saturated every few days.
I have been watering every day getting the hose right down near to where the stem goes into the ground, I have been putting a lot of water in, the leaves have only recently started going yellow, I was worried incase I over watered them.
Mmmm I think that watering technique might be causing a problem by drowning the roots.
Roots need oxygen as well as water.
Try soaking the soil around the plants using a sprinkler nozzle rather than pouring a lot of water down the plantjng hole. And watering three times a week should be fine - about a bucket full per plant each time.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Thank You,
I will try that, do you think the yellow leaves will turn back to green.
It is hard to tell how much water you're giving with a hose, how many seconds would you spray them for roughly
You need to water as Dove describes. Don't spray it - let the hose soak into the soil around the plant. If you're unsure of the amount to use, fill a watering can with the hose and pour that round each one. If you push your finger into the soil next to the base, it should be damp, but not soaking wet. Check that the water is actually going somewhere and the plants aren't just sitting in it.
I think they've been overplanted too - that's very close together for laurel in a single row.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Thanks, will the over planting have any negative affects on the hedge
As hard as this may sound, I would cut them all by half, so as to get a good root system going, they can't produce good roots and grow green tops at the same time when they are young, I'm surprised you weren't advised to cut them back on planting.
As fairy says, far too close together, in three years time they will have trunks about 3 to 4" diameter, so imagine how close that will be.
I agree with Lyn .... reduce their height by half - you'll get a nice thick hedge from top to bottom that way, rather than thick at the top and bare stems at the bottom.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
What would you think about removing every other one?
I only say this because we planted a long laurel hedge a few years ago, so have some experience of them.
Thank You for all of your replies & advice
I have read that the plants should be cut back but wasn't sure when to do it, should I cut them all back so that they are all level or should I take a foot off each one. Should I wait until the leaves go back to green or cut them now. I'm assuming I can just cut them back with scissors.
I am looking for a dense hedge as the plan is to take the tree line down behind the hedge once the hedge is established & for the hedge to be the new boundary.
I would be quite reluctant to take every other one out right now as I wouldn't have anything to do with them and would be throwing them away. Other than having a dense hedge am I likely to experience any other problems & if so could I remove them later.