laurel

hi everyone, can anyone help, i have just bought 2 laurel bushes, to put in a space at the back of my garden, im hoping they will grow bushy and eventually the birds will use it, what i need to know is how far apart do i plant them, and how far in front of the fence do they need to be, many thanks

grow bushy? lol, my advice would be not to plant laurel EVER, they are thugs that will grow fast and monstrous, they have to be pruned regularly or they go out of control very quickly! If you want them to grow 'bushy', take out the top third every year, autumn or spring. Spacing and how far from the fence, I wouldn't worry too much as they will quickly grow to fill whatever gap you plant them at. Regards to the birds using, better off with hawthorn/ blackthorn or privet. Good luck!

oh learning slowly, you have put me off lol, i want them for the back of my garden behind some burberry, so i dont really mind how they look, they are just to fill a space, thanks for your reply

Laurel are stately plants, that do make fine bushes. They are evergreen too, so provide much better screening than hawthorn or privet.

How far apart to plant them, and how close to the fence, depends how wide the gap is, how deep the border is, and how big you'd like the plants to grow.

You could place them equally spaced in the gap. I would think that you need to leave at least 30cm between them and the fence. But it depends on how big (or small) you want to keep them.

The shade cast by laurel is quite dense. So other plants may struggle to grow beneath them. One benefit of that is that they also supress the growth of any weeds.

thanks lyon greene, i like the stately plants bit of your reply lol