Bay Laurel form a stunning evergreen hedging . It ’s brilliantly colored waxy leafage are attractive and aromatic . Birds will love the Chuck Berry , and you could dry the leaves for the kitchen . acquire Laurel as a hedging in USDA hardiness zones 8 - 11 for in force results . Because of its irksome growth rate and propagation difficultness , it ’s best to purchase established hedge accolade from a nursery .
Where and How to Plant Laurel for Hedging?
Bay Laurel will thrive in full sun or fond refinement . If you trust laurel as a hedgerow but live on in a colder clime , Portuguese Laurel is very similar to Bay but moth-eaten brave . Plant Bay Laurel anytime of the twelvemonth . Typically planting with 2 - foot spacing is the rule for a dense hedge , but with a small more patience you’re able to accomplish this at 3 - foot spacing .
It is not recommended to establish bare etymon bay laurels . They incline to have a abject winner charge per unit compare to other nursery options . Root - ball plants are far higher-ranking . These are compass up , grease and all , and enfold in textile to protect them during the dormant time of year . Get them in the ground before they leaf out and they will do fine .
Pruning and Care
Laurel is an first-class topiary George H.W. Bush , through pruning you may achieve any shape you like . It will detain dense all the way to the ground , or you could shape it like a tree diagram with a trunk at the base . Pruning and caution apply to both laurel hedges planted in the ground and in pot . Laurel plant in pots can easily be cultivated into a privacy hedge .
The good season to prune Bay Laurel hedges is spring . When pruned early in the yr , the flora has ample time to make full in any empty patches left from pruning . All laurels can take a gruelling prune and grow back , but remember the growth charge per unit is slow so it will take some time . Hedges can be pruned to as narrow as 18 inch .
In the bounce when you prune , mulch the plant with 1 - 2 inch of finished compost . you could also enforce liquid constitutional fertiliser at this decimal point in time if your flora show signs of nutritive deficiency .
Troubleshooting
For the most part , laurels are n’t too finicky . Some problems that gardeners experience with Bay Laurel admit :
Bay Laurel can be sensitive to under or over watering . Underwatering will cause leaves to yellow , crisp up and fall off . Over - lachrymation leads to rootle putrefaction which is easy to reek if you delve into the soil . If some plants survive but not others , it may be your roots struggling to establish .
Laurel is well know for its low propagation rates , purchase healthy industrial plant and taking extra care when planting will prevent this . Powdery mildew presents itself as a dusty white-hot powder that withers and wilts the leaves of a plant . It is common in wet seasons and climate and typically conclude itself when condition improve .
