I live in a wooded area of southeastern PA and it is well known to all landscapers. Garden nurseries such as Snipes in PA, or in NJ Vincentown Nursery that sell the varieties of laurel (though most prefer the easier Schipkaensis laurels, that annual fertilizing of the shrubs is recommended in Spring to maintain as well as to promote good foliage and growth. Winters here are not exactly a predictable trend, and even this past season, the leaves in some of the middle sections have turned brownish or yellow. The plants are not completely deer-proof even after they get dense and quite tall. So my posting is based on my own experience as well as those professionals whom I have been in contact with. The soil can be whatever it is but laurels are an acidic fertilizer loving plant like a blueberry, azalea, or rhododendron, and most evergreens as the Holly. So I hold to my comment about fertilizers and schedule. Not many ever commented on their care in the past on the web. Others had similar problems with the laurels dating back to 2006, and not one comment appeared until 2012. So thanks for the reply and concerns. If yours are doing good then good for you. Mine are quite dense, lush and full bearing with flowers, berries, and new leaf growth. Of course every Spring, there is always a very small amount of spent leaves.

As an experienced nursery person, horticulturist and garden designer, I have trouble imagining a more low maintenance, trouble-free shrub than laurels!! Any kind of English or cherry laurel, Prunus laurocerasus. Skip laurel is a just a laurel cultivar with slightly increased cold tolerance but otherwise no different than any other cultivar wrt growing conditions. In areas where they are fully hardy, they will grow in both full sun and heavy shade, will tolerate extended dry periods when established but will thrive with periodic deep soakings during those dry periods. In fact, they grow so well here, they are on the monitor list as a invasive species as birds eat the seeds and spread them throughout green belts and native forested areas. Very little bothers these shrubs - they can be subject to some deer browse and shothole disease but virtually never to the point that the plant fails or dies. They can even be grown successfully in heavy clay as long as they are planted correctly for the conditions. The only observation I can make about the previous posters' issues is that the plants' root system was compromised at time of planting, the rootball was not properly hydrated before planting or they were planted incorrectly. With properly draining soil conditions, it is pretty darn hard to overwater these!! These are such easy care, low maintenance shrubs, they are used extensively in institutional or commercial plantings that receive virtually NO aftercare.

"We are watering the (entire) landscape ... twice a day for about 20 minutes per watering. Any advice?" Check soil moisture per the instructions in section 12 of this link: Planting a Tree or Shrub. It sounds like you may be overwatering.

I'm not sure it's exactly the same, it looks a little different. Spontaneous seedlings of this and other horticultural selections of English laurel can generally resemble these named forms. I have seen multiple different instances of this occurrence in my area.