Are my common Laurels dead?
Hi im new to this forum and to gardening for that matter and need some advice. In December I planted ten 4ft rootball laurel plants after doing some research on them. I have been watering them every day except when it rains heavily. After a couple of months the leaves started turning brown on a couple of plants. Now after the warmer weather most of the plants are bare and only one remains healthy and fully leaved. The stalks still look ok and i dont know if they may still recover. When I planted them i dug a deep wide trench and mixed in plenty of compost. I added Rootgrow to the bottom of the trench, left the hessian sacking on, watered them well and staked them. I then added bark chipping to protect from any frost.
I dont know what has gone wrong but i cant afford to replace them only for it to happen again. Any advice would be appreciated.
Posts
I think you've drowned them
They would only have needed watering when you initially planted them.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I would write or phone the company and tell them how many have died.
They should replace or refund.
Laurels dont need stakes, or watering once they are planted and have their first soak. Dont feed them. Chop the thin spindly weak growth off the tops of the remaining ones, they may be saved, and get the others replaced.
Did they not tell you to remove the sacking and soak the roots before planting?
Just a thought but being along a roadside, has the local doggy or two used them for a loo?
Hi thanks for the replies. To be honest the place i bought them from offered no advice at all, an online retailler. The actions i have taken are all based on information posted in other forums/websites. Specifically to leave the hessian sacking on to help stabalise in wind, to stake against wind until the roots have established and to water every day for the first year. It is also possilbe that dogs might have watered them.
So the conclusion is that they are definately dead then. An expensive £280 mistake
Will have to concider my next move carefully, might have to avoid plants if i cant even get hardy laurels to grow.
They're not all dead and they're too close together. Take out the dead ones and see what you've got left. They won't look so depressing with the dead ones gone. Laurels are big plants
In the sticks near Peterborough
Nut's bang on, laurels get enormous even when clipped, which takes effort because hedge trimmers tear up the leaves and leave brown bits so many prefer to do it by hand
Good luck
Hi Tetley
I tried what you suggested by scratching the stem of the worst looking plant(second from left in above photo) and it is a healthy green. What action if any would you suggest based on this? Thank you.
They're still green for some time after there's no hope of life. A long miserable struggle for a few signs of life won't make a hedge. If that one has only dead leaves it's had it.
In the sticks near Peterborough
At that price you wuz definitely robbed, added to the daft instructions later, you've been very badly treated all round. Don't despair though, this forum does know what it's talking about so hang on in there and cross your fingers.
ps Laurel grows like a weed round here, originally planted as part of a large estate it now forms huge trees in places along with Juniper
try to get the money back if you can, or at least replacements, I cant believe they cost 28.00 each!
You would do best to chuck out the dead ones then buy these as a replacement ( if the company wont reimburse that is)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Prunus-Rotundifolia-Hedging-Plants-Supplied/dp/B00U19DPQ6/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1432412730&sr=8-10&keywords=laurel+hedge
On planting, cut a good 6 inches off the tops, and cut all those whippy bits off the original trees, that will kick start the rots into strong growth.
As Tetley says, get the sacking off so the roots can spread
Told you many times, do not mention my name on here, you are not and never will be, in tune with me!