Late spring or early summer is the best time to trim most hedges including laurel and leylandii hedges. You can prune a laurel hedge with secateurs – which is not as labour-intensive as it sounds – or with a hedgetrimmer.
How do I encourage laurel growth?
To prune laurel to encourage growth, we’d recommend trimming the branches and cutting them back several times a year (depending on how fast it grows) by up to a quarter. This makes the bush come back bushier and thicker than before more rapidly.
Why is my laurel hedge turning brown?
Frost damage
Young Cherry Laurel plants are most commonly affected. Frost damage during the winter months can cause brown patches on established Laurels of all types and is usually at its worst when there is a very cold wind with no protective cover of snow to protect the winter foliage.
How do you take care of laurel?
Water deeply every week once top growth is evident to encourage healthy roots. Allow the soil to dry out in between waterings. Apply a general-purpose fertilizer in spring and summer. Harvest Bay Laurel leaves any time of the year during active growth.
When should you cut back laurel? – Related Questions
How do you keep a laurel hedge healthy?
Once you’ve planted your laurel hedging plants, you need to make sure they get enough water to keep them alive and growing well. Usually plants only need watering from March to October. During the winter months, they use less water and normally get enough from the rain.
Can you overwater laurel?
Soil conditions
Bay laurel trees demand well-draining soil. If their roots get waterlogged, they will easily develop root rot, which can turn the leaves yellow and cause the plant to become droopy. If you think your bay laurel has been overwatered, you may be able to save it.
Are laurels easy to maintain?
They are quite easy to maintain you should trim your laurel hedge in late spring or early summer as the hedge will produce new shoots very quickly at this time of year which is great as it will cover up any leaves that are left looking “tatty” after using a hedge trimmer.
Why are the leaves on my laurel turning yellow and dropping off?
Leaves will turn yellow and fall off relatively quickly if newly planted laurel are not watered enough during the growing season (normally March to October). Check how wet the soil is by pushing your hand into the soil or rootball of the plant every few days. It should be moist at all times but not soggy.
Do laurels lose their leaves in winter?
Laurel plants are broad-leafed evergreens, meaning they have wide, leathery leaves that stay on the plant all year long. This makes them ideal for privacy hedges, along with the fact that they are very fast growers.
What kills laurel bushes?
Use a concentrated herbicide containing glyphosate or metsulfuron as the active ingredient if applying in late summer and early fall well before the threat of frost.
How do you rejuvenate a laurel hedge?
Once the hedge has been cut back it’s a good idea to give it a good feed with a general fertiliser such as Growmore, if possible forking it into the top 5cm of the soil around the hedge followed up with a good thick mulch of wood chips or garden compost after watering the fertiliser in well.
When should you not cut a laurel hedge?
Laurel hedges may be trimmed at any time during the season but its best to avoid the coldest months of the year as the cut edges may be susceptible to frost damage. Many text books advise trimming Laurel hedging plants with secateurs to avoid cut edges to the large leaves, it really isn’t necessary.
When should I fertilize my laurel hedge?
Once your Laurel hedge is established we would recommend an annual feed early in the spring with a balanced fertiliser such as ‘Growmore’, this is very beneficial to a Laurel hedge if applied at the same time as a mulch (a layer moisture retaining material like bark chippings, lawn mowings or garden compost).
How long does it take for a laurel hedge to establish?
If left untrimmed, the hedging will reach this height in around 20-50 years. The shrubs can spread up to around 8m, so you need to take this into account when planting. Place Laurel plants in the ground with spacing of around half a metre between them.
When should I mulch my laurel hedge?
WHEN TO APPLY. Mulches work best when the soil is warm and moist – and that means applying them from mid to late spring and in autumn. Mulching at other times is not necessarily a waste of time as it will improve under-hedge habitats for wildlife and offer useful added protection for newly plantings.
Can laurels take full sun?
Mountain laurel will grow in USDA Zones 5 to 9 in deep shade to full sun, but it does best in moderate to partial shade. In deep shade it won’t produce as many flowers and can become spindly. Too-bright sun can cause scorching of the leaves.
Why do laurels turn yellow?
If the nutrient supply is not correct, the green colouration of the leaves also decreases. In the event of a nitrogen deficiency, the entire leaf – including the leaf vein – turns yellow. In the case of iron deficiency, on the other hand, the leaf turns yellow except for the leaf veins.
How much water does a laurel bush need?
Watering once every 10-14 days will keep mature Mountain Laurel hydrated well. Over-watering is more often an issue when the plants are young. Watering little and often will encourage Mountain Laurel to form roots that are too shallow, and dry out easily in the summer.
What time of year can you plant laurels?
When should you plant a laurel hedge? If you’re transferring your laurel hedge from a pot or container into a flower bed, it can be planted at any time of year. However, for the best and fastest results, you should try to plant the hedge around mid-autumn.
Can you plant laurels in the fall?
Plant your green screen this fall for faster take off in spring growth. Proper planting will have these beautiful evergreen shrubs reaching up to 2 feet growth a year until they reach their mature height or you keep them pruned. Space your Skip Laurel Shrubs 5 feet apart for a solid evergreen hedge.