Quote from bob on 24th April 2022, 7:30 pm

Hi Franco, 

Would you supply a little more information please, name of the species, were they very small when purchased, is your soil clay based, and are they in a sunny or shady spot?

All the Best.... Bob

Quote from Franco on 24th April 2022, 9:57 pm

Hi Bob,

They are cherry laurel (prunus lauroceracus?). They were around 2ft tall when planted. I planted with compost, bonemeal, and mycorrhizal root grow. I added some composted fine bark around 2 weeks ago as a mulch.

The soil is clay and I measured pH as 7. They get the sun until around 2-3pm and then begin to be mostly in shade. I did notice some new growth today but they look like buds/leaves rather than flowers. 

There seems to be a lot of conflicting info online so I'm a bit confused. I thought they were easy to grow and fast growers too, but so far they are taking their time!

Thanks. 

Quote from bob on 25th April 2022, 11:20 am

Hello Franco,

I know exactly what you mean regarding mixed information on line. The Cherry Laurel is slower growing than some other species, they grow in either sun or shade and can tolerate most soils even clay, as long as it is “not water” logged!!!

On paper it looks as though you have done everything correctly, even a PH test, I’m just wondering on the planting side? I have had a couple of tricky areas in my garden therefore when planting I dig a hole that is bigger than required, removing all the soil, then depending what I’m planting, into the hole I add compost, or compost mixed with a john Innes (no3), and maybe compost and Horticultural Grit, then I put back into the hole all the soil I removed and completely mix the two together, so the plant roots will grow into the compost and the same soil in the surrounding area.

I’m wondering if you have used too much fertilizer and burnt the roots a little? I use Fish Blood and Bone, but I use this fertilizer on top of the soil once the plant is in situ, I don’t use a lot, sprinkle around the plant fork it in well and that’s it, apart from the watering.

You have composted bark around the plant, you could try bagging this up, don’t throw it away, then digging in a fair amount of John Innes No 3 into the soil all around your plants, even though they grow in clay it is possible that your clay is just holding too much water, or try digging in a proprietary Clay conditioner / breaker. You said that there is a sign of growth, so something is slowly happening, they show flowers between April and May, so fingers crossed.

Hopefully Lee will pick up on your question, and bring his extensive knowledge to the fore, please keep the forum informed of how you are getting on, as it may help another forum member.

 

Bob

 

Quote from Lee Garden Ninja on 29th April 2022, 11:46 am

Hi Franco,

To answer your question, yes a Cherry laurel will flower and even fruit if pruned at the right time and allowed to grow informally.

However, most gardeners tend to prune Cherry laurel into a neater clipped form which then removes the potential flowering buds meaning no flower or fruit. Pruning laurel in April and then in August will pretty much remove any flowering buds for fruit or flowers. The flowers emerge April to June and then fruits if left unclipped come around September time. Whereas clipping in June and then October is preferable if you want a hedge that flowers with a looser shape.

However, these shrubs grow really quickly so you'll need to balance off flowers with excessive growth. Just a consideration.

So if you want a formal fast-growing Cherry laurel hedge you will achieve this but receive no flowers, especially if pruning early spring and then later summer. As you cut the buds off.

How to get a Cherry laurel hedge to flower

To get a Cherry laurel to flower you need to keep it in a much more relaxed and natural form. ie no straight boxes close-clipped hedges. 

To do this in the first year or so I would only remove the growing lead tip by maybe 1/6 of the overall length and only cut back any laterals that are in the way of say paths but then leave the plants to do their thing. This will enable you to grow a very loose hedge more in keeping with the laurels natural growth form. Remember that Prunus laurocerasus (Cherry Laurel) would be a multi stems woody shrub in the wild, not an evergreen boxy hedge!

To keep the flowers clip laurel in October only with a very slight cut nothing too hard. Then after it has flowered in June you can give it a tidy up again. If you want fruits you'll need to only clip once after fruiting each year in late October. However, this may lead to a very shaggy hedge!

If I were you I'd go light touch for the first few years until you work out the flowering and fruiting time in your area and then base your cutting on that. Below is a handy guide for clipping especially if using a wanting a more informal review, then use hand sheers!

https://youtu.be/_Dc3B2I7bu4

Happy gardening!

Lee

Quote from Franco on 30th April 2022, 12:05 pm

Thanks for all the detailed answers! I doubt I would have figured all that out on my own.

At least I have a plan now for what I would like to achieve. It appears the growth I saw were new shoots/leaves rather than flowers. The reason I was confused is that I saw many local laurel (newly planted) that were flowering after a short time in the ground. 

I've uploaded some photos which may be helpful to other posters here. I see quite a bit of back budding which hopefully means the hedge will fill out and become bushy toward the bottom.

Many thanks

Franco