Re: Laurels Help please ..!!!

[David Hill]

On 21/02/2013 16:58, Plowy wrote:
> Mid November I planted some bare root laurels, 2ft high, in a manured
> trench and with bone meal fertiliser, they appear to be struggling, with
> many having wilted leaf, brown tips on many leafs, some have dropped
> leafs,,, regular water does nor appear to help or effect them,,,what am
> I doing wrong, gardening planting etc is pretty new to me any advice
> most welcome,,,, thank you..

1. What part of the UK/ World do you live?
2. Why are you watering them with all the rain we have been having?
3. What sort of soil do you have?
4. Were they fresh lifted when you had them?
5. If not where did you get them from?
6. What sort of manure did you put in the trench?
7. Did you plant directly onto the manure?

[Jeff Layman]

On 21/02/2013 16:58, Plowy wrote:
> Mid November I planted some bare root laurels, 2ft high, in a manured
> trench and with bone meal fertiliser, they appear to be struggling, with
> many having wilted leaf, brown tips on many leafs, some have dropped
> leafs,,, regular water does nor appear to help or effect them,,,what am
> I doing wrong, gardening planting etc is pretty new to me any advice
> most welcome,,,, thank you..

Must say that I've never associated bare root plants with evergreen
hedging, although many nurseries supply them. I'd always be concerned
about how long they'd been out of the ground, and how dormant they
really are when dug up. Unlike deciduous plants, which you can be
pretty sure aren't growing at all when leafless, what happens with
evergreens dug up during extended mild periods?

You also say that you planted them in a manured trench. Was the manure
well-rotted? If it was not rotted enough, it would smell.

I'd also be wondering about a sump effect if you are on clay soil.
Digging a trench on clay soil with all the rain we've had is asking for
trouble, as it will fill with water which can't drain away.

--

Jeff

[Sacha]

On 2013-02-21 16:58:50 +0000, Plowy said:

> Mid November I planted some bare root laurels, 2ft high, in a manured
> trench and with bone meal fertiliser, they appear to be struggling, with
> many having wilted leaf, brown tips on many leafs, some have dropped
> leafs,,, regular water does nor appear to help or effect them,,,what am
> I doing wrong, gardening planting etc is pretty new to me any advice
> most welcome,,,, thank you..

Stop watering them and leave them alone unless there's a prolonged dry
spell. They like free-draining soil. Above all, don't feed them
anything at all. There may well have been a slow-release fertiliser in
the compost they were in before you bought them, so they've had a
triple whammy, perhaps. It sounds as if they're over-fed,
over-watered and on being encouraged to make massive amounts of growth,
are collapsing under the strain. Unless there's a prolonged dry spell
of 10 days or they show signs of drooping through lack of water, don't
water! You're right to water a new hedge but I'd guess you've overdone
it. Too much fertiliser and too much water might produce weak growth
and exhausted plants. Personally, I haven't encountered bare-root
laurel hedging but I'm no expert and I know some hedging specialists
sell them that way. All ours are sold in pots, so I hope yours didn't
dry out at the root before you bought them. However, just leave them
alone for now and when the weather warms up they'll probably start into
growth and do as you expect.
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk

[Stewart Robert Hinsley]

What sort of laurels (bay laurel, cherry laurel, ...) are they?
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley

[Charlie Pridham]

"Plowy" <Plowy....@gardenbanter.co.uk> wrote in message
news:Plowy....@gardenbanter.co.uk...

>
> Mid November I planted some bare root laurels, 2ft high, in a manured
> trench and with bone meal fertiliser, they appear to be struggling, with
> many having wilted leaf, brown tips on many leafs, some have dropped
> leafs,,, regular water does nor appear to help or effect them,,,what am
> I doing wrong, gardening planting etc is pretty new to me any advice
> most welcome,,,, thank you..
>
>
>
>

> --
> Plowy

Not that it helps you at this stage, but I would advise against planting
evergreen plants at the start of winter, because the roots have yet to
regrow and connect the cold winds can desiccate the leaves even though its
been chucking it down. Always best to wait until spring and the soil warms
again. You may have got away with September,


--
Charlie, Gardening in Cornwall
Holders of National Collections of Clematis viticella
and Lapageria rosea cvs
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk

[kay]

Plowy;978609 Wrote:
> Thanks for all the replies, they are cherry laurels, the manure was not
> smelly but didn't appear overly rotten, I mixed this in with soil in the
> base of the trench, where they are planted is reasonably firm ground,
> I'm in North Yorks if that helps ...??,,,,,,a common theme of replies is
> to lay off the water but given the wilting leaf does this not indicate
> thirst ,,,??,,,,also if this plant drops all leaf and I'm left with just
> a stem will this come back or has it gone over the edge...??

If the roots have rotted (eg from too much water), then they won't be
able to take up the water, and the plant will die from thirst.




--
kay

[Janet]

In article <Plowy....@gardenbanter.co.uk>, Plowy.b9de176
@gardenbanter.co.uk says...

>
> kay;978625 Wrote:
> > If the roots have rotted (eg from too much water), then they won't be
> > able to take up the water, and the plant will die from thirst.
>

> How can I check this,,??....but I don't feel they are over watered...I
> thought under watering was the problem to be honest...

You can't check; just wait and see if they come back to life by June.

As a rule of thumb, don't apply manure in the planting hole of trees
and shrubs etc. It's the equivalent of feeding a hospital patient a huge
Christmas dinner straight after a major transplant.

It is likely to cause plants more harm than good, either by burning the
shocked and damaged roots (if its too fresh) or over=fertilising,
encouraging too rapid growth above ground before the plant has made
enough root structure to support it.

Janet.

[Sacha]

On 2013-02-22 23:24:11 +0000, Plowy said:

> kay;978625 Wrote:
>> If the roots have rotted (eg from too much water), then they won't be
>> able to take up the water, and the plant will die from thirst.
>
> How can I check this,,??....but I don't feel they are over watered...I
> thought under watering was the problem to be honest...

It's very unlikely to be under-watering considering the weather we've
had, all the snow that's melted into the ground and so forth. When
leaves go limp it can be overwatering or underwatering and given the
circumstances, I think most of us would put money on the former,
especially as you've been watering, too. Add to that the attempt of
new young plants to take up fertiliser and they're struggling. Just
leave them alone to recover. If they're dead, they're dead and to be
honest, no amount of tinkering will change that. But if you leave them
be and let the ground drain and dry out a bit, there's every hope
they'll survive. We haven't had rain here for a week but our lawn is
still almost too wet to walk on and water is still running off fields
around us. Imagine how much there is now under your laurels. In
addition, as Charlie said, the time of planting wasn't ideal and we've
had a lot of cold weather, which will have given them a knockback.

[David Hill]

As others have said, just leave them alone, even if a lot of roots have
died they may well put out new roots, just like large cuttings.
You may not see any signs of growth till as late as June, if you think
they are dead then scrape the bark a bit, it it shows green then there
is still live wood, if brown then they are dead.
Watch for signs of buds swelling where they have shed their leaves.