What is wrong with these bay laurel bushes and how can I help them?
kery12000
2 months ago
Spring has just begun after a cold winter. We have noticed that many of the leaves on the laurel bushes are half brown. We are watering them now. We have had a rain in the last week, too.
What do you think is wrong? Is there anything special we should do?
Please look at the two photographs.
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What to do with acres of bay laurel trees? SELL?
Comments (3)There is a free section in craigslist where you can advertise for someone to get them for free if they dig them up. I've had good luck with unloading free stuff this way. People want the strangest things. But sometimes I can't get rid of something no matter what. So first thing I'd do is call some local tree farms since they have the equipment to dig them and customer base to sell them. They will probably tell you're they're not interested because this is not the right time of year to dig. That's when you go to craigslist. You'll get a truck load of day labores with shovels attempting to take them. They'll work on them for a while until their shot caller gets tired of standing there. If it makes you feel any better, they're all going to die if dug now anyway....See MoreHow far back can I cut these bushes without killing them?
Comments (7)You have essentially two ways to maintain this plant arrangement: as a single hedge, where all the shrubs grow together into a single mass ... or as single shrubs, where each is separate from the other. Regardless of which design you choose, the consistent aspect of shrub trimming is that the base is trimmed wider than the top, so that sunlight reaches the lower foliage and it continues to live. (Where the back faces the house, it will be cut straight and not matter as it will not be seen.) If the top is wider than the base -- as is seen in the shrub at the left side of your house -- then lower foliage will eventually begin to die off and the shrub will assume the form of a tree, as if it were on little stilts. (See this beginning in the shrub, second from right, in your original picture.) In an individual shrub, trimming in a ball shape would be incorrect because it undercuts the base, shading it by the top. A dome shape would be correct because the base is wider (or no less wide) than any portion above it. That said, most landscape designers do not use a series of dome shapes in a line anywhere near as much as they would use a hedge, which is simpler to look at and simpler to maintain. The series of balls is usually the result of a homeowner thinking it is cute and maintaining what would have otherwise been a hedge, in that arrangement. After deciding between a single hedge or 4 individual shrubs, one would next decide on how this is best maintained: through regular, tight clippings designating the outer limits of the foliage ... or through annual coppicing, where all trunks of the shrub are cut to the ground. They quickly regrow with the final result looking simultaneously thick and bushy, and loose and natural. The problem for you using coppicing here is that all stems (trunks) grow out in a relatively uniform length. If they ended up nearly reaching the window bottom, they would also be nearly reaching the door....See MoreI think my new azalea bushes died!? What did I do wrong
Comments (7)The cardboard didn't help with maintaining a moist root area, but isn't totally responsible gor what happened, either. It's very tempting to put down something like cardboard, newspapers or landscape fabric to suppress weeds, but they really do more harm then good. Weeds grow through them and root into them and become harder to deal with in the long run. It would be best to remove the cardboard, bite the proverbial bullet and pull the weeds by hand. Once the area is reasonably weed free, it's not that big a chore to keep it that way. Declined really is a better description than died. The branches showing the most extreme drooping will not revive, but the stems themselves should be fine. Cut them back to an area showing green cambium and they should put forth new growth. There is still ample time for lots of regrowth before fall. There are some root diseases which can cause this kind of rapid collapse, but I am reasonably confident that you will find very dry root balls. Should they prove to be nicely moist, you are then dealing with a more serious condition for which there is really no cure. Fingers crossed....See MoreI need help with my bay laurel
Comments (6)No clue unless its just in a bad spot..like too much sand or draining too much..not enough organic matter. They are prone to scale which can make them weak but I'm sure you already looked for that. Do they get nematodes? Have you looked at the rootball lately? I might dig it up and look if I couldnt find anything else wrong w it. I have mine in a pot still. I'm a mean plant mommy lol. I just looked up Bay Laurel problems and it mostly talks about fungus phytophthora or Anthracnose. With the Phytopththora, it does list stem die back but also canker like problems. You may have to lift the rootball and see what the roots look like. IME a lot of problems start with the roots and you only see what going on, on top....See More
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
2 months agolast modified: 2 months agokery12000 thanked tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
kery12000
last monthkery12000
last monthlast modified: last month
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