Hello. I recently planted 3 otto luyken laurels and within a week or so I noticed a number of leaves (randomly scattered about) had turned or were starting to turn yellow. Since it happened so quickly after planting, could it be over/underwatering or simply stress from having recently been planted? If it were a deficiency of some sort, wouldn't it take a bit longer to affect the plant. Overall, the plants are pretty green but every day I'm picking off several yellow leaves and it has me concerned that before long, I may wind up with a bare otto luyken! Thanks for any suggestions.

Just in case someone else is searching for the answer to this question: I planted the beans four feet from the leeks and the rest of the onions, with basil and amaranth in between. The beans are currently trying to take over the world. They are huge and have tons of blossoms. The basil and onions/leeks also look great, so at the very least, four feet seems to be fine. Bellatrix

I wrote out a whole long response and then lost it when my browser crashed . . . here's the main essence of my suggestions, although I still would vote for no foundation plantings. I would suggest that you map out any paths with flour, not just as a single line, but the actual width and location of the path and try walking it to see if it is comfortable, even if they are paths you won't use much. You don't want to leave so little width that anyone walking the path has to brush up against your plants. You will want your plantings to stay low as well as narrow. If you grow them up to the bottom of your window, they will be against the shingles and you will have discoloration and rot issues. I'm making some general suggestions of shrubs that stay low, but I don't know how much sun this area gets, which will influence what does well. For instance, the red color on the Midnight Wine weigela will be better in more sun, while the variegated leaves on My Monet weigela will do better with some shade. Also, there may be some lime leaching from the foundation, so you may want to do a soil test in that area to see how acidic or alkaline your soil is. I'll let you look up requirements of plants that appeal to you. Here are some low bushes to look into: -Small weigelas include 'My Monet' and 'Midnight Wine', both of which will stay under 2' height and width. -Rhododendron 'Checkmate' is a PJM type of rhodie, but unlike regular PJMs my Checkmate, which is probably 6 years old and went in as a 2' high plant is now only 3' tall. It might be a bit wider than you want, but should be easy to keep in check with light pruning. Some other rhodies with shorter stature can be found on the site linked below, which allows you to search by height, and then the database entries will include width. Not all of these will be easily found, however. -There are some small boxwood varieties, like 'Morris Midget' and 'Morris Dwarf'. -There are several varieties of short, golden leaved spireas, though I am not sure how wide they get. -Some of the new varieties of Hydrangea macrophylla are quite short, such as the Cityline series (Berlin, Venice, Rio, Paris, etc.) though they aren't hardy enough for me to have any experience with them. Another option would be to have plants that stay skinny enough so that they won't be against the foundation. A trellis with one of the smaller clematis might work for you. 'Piilu' is one that is fairly restrained (usually 4-5 feet) but still flowers well. 'Bijou' stays under 2 feet. You could ask on the clematis forum for other suggestions. If you put the trellis between the windows, it would have the decorative metal work for winter interest, and the flowers in the summer without blocking the window. Here is a link that might be useful: American Rhododendron Society database search

I use the back of my hand to judge light intensity. Also you can download an app for some phones that will measure light in lumens. You should be able to feel the light, without it getting too warm after 30 seconds or so on the back of your hand.