Portugese Laurel ball root.

bbsrs

Hi All,

I planted some ball root portugese laurel about 3 weeks ago and they don't look all that happy in their new home as in they don't look as good as when I planted them, anything I can do to bring them on a bit or what signs should I look for to know if they're in trouble . I just dug a hole the size of the ball root put them in and back filled the hole , it's been quiet wet so I haven't watered them and the garden center where I bought them said there no point fertilizing until the weather dries up a bit . They said put some chicken fertilizer on em some time in April and prune them back hard in April too.
Any other advice greatly appreciated.
Cheers.

Sonnenblumen

bbsrs wrote: »

Hi All,

I planted some ball root portugese laurel about 3 weeks ago and they don't look all that happy in their new home as in they don't look as good as when I planted them, anything I can do to bring them on a bit or what signs should I look for to know if they're in trouble . I just dug a hole the size of the ball root put them in and back filled the hole , it's been quiet wet so I haven't watered them and the garden center where I bought them said there no point fertilizing until the weather dries up a bit . They said put some chicken fertilizer on em some time in April and prune them back hard in April too.
Any other advice greatly appreciated.
Cheers.

Like any freshly planted shrubs, it is important that the plants are watered well in order for the plant to become establish. Rootballed plants are prone to drying out, especially larger size specimens and simply relying on the rain isn't sufficient. It is very important that water actually gets down into the root system. On larger plants, little water will get to this area. Feeding now will do no harm, but better or more effective when temps improve and active growth starts. It will take at least 1 year for these plants to settle down and good growth will be visible. Pruning hard back after planting seems drastic, a light pruning to encourage specific growth would be good and repeated annually at start of season Mar/April.

PL is a beautiful and usually troublefree plant to grow, but watering is essential during first 12 months.

bbsrs

Sonnenblumen wrote: »

Like any freshly planted shrubs, it is important that the plants are watered well in order for the plant to become establish. Rootballed plants are prone to drying out, especially larger size specimens and simply relying on the rain isn't sufficient. It is very important that water actually gets down into the root system. On larger plants, little water will get to this area. Feeding now will do no harm, but better or more effective when temps improve and active growth starts. It will take at least 1 year for these plants to settle down and good growth will be visible. Pruning hard back after planting seems drastic, a light pruning to encourage specific growth would be good and repeated annually at start of season Mar/April.

PL is a beautiful and usually troublefree plant to grow, but watering is essential during first 12 months.

Thank You for the reply. I'll invest in a soaker hose in that case , what fertilizer would you recommend and how often should I use it?

Sonnenblumen

bbsrs wrote: »

Thank You for the reply. I'll invest in a soaker hose in that case , what fertilizer would you recommend and how often should I use it?

I feed mine forthnightly with Chicken pellet manure, but monthly would be the minimum during the growing season.

But any general plant fertiliser would be fine.

bbsrs

Sonnenblumen wrote: »

I feed mine forthnightly with Chicken pellet manure, but monthly would be the minimum during the growing season.

But any general plant fertiliser would be fine.

Thanks I'll try the chicken pellet manure too.