Laurel Problems: Please Help

Daftanian

Hello, can anyone help me please? A couple of months ago I planted six laurels. One of the bushes has now developed very small brown spots on its leaves and on another, the leaves are brown around the edges and are curled. Does anyone know what might be wrong with them?

Kay_Peel

This has happened to a neighbour of mine last year. I noticed that when he planted the laurel 'hedge' he didn't do anything to prepare the ground. Her just dug a hole, added a handful of compost and put the laurel in the hole. They were doomed!

Laurel has deep, deep roots and it needs to planted in good water-retaining soil, so that the roots can grow downwards. If the soil is compacted, full of clay and very dry then the laurel will protest very loudly by turning yellow with brown spots. Even though he watered the hedge regularly, you could tell that the laurel had just given up.

I told him that the best thing was to dig the plants up and start again! In September he dug a big and deep hole and worked in some manure, compost and good soil. He watered them in with buckets and buckets of water. He put a mulch of compost around each plant to stop the water evaporating. And that cured the problem - they have really taken off this year.

I suspect you laurels are dry and that their roots aren't able to grow down through rock-hard soil.

Laurels do get fungal diseases but it's unusual for every plant to be infected - so that's why I've discounted diseases. But I may be wrong.

best of luck!

Daftanian

Thank you Kay Peel for your detailed answer. My neighbour has just said to me that the bush with the tiny brown spots on some of the leaves has a disease and said that I need to treat it but didn't tell me what with. The leaves are still green so I am hopeful it might be okay with help. Any ideas please on what I should use as I am not good with chemical sprays?

Kay_Peel

It may be worth having another word with your neighbour. He or she is on the spot, whereas we are unable to see the state of the laurel and can only guess what disease you will have to treat.

Hope you can save it - good luck!

gardenroute

Reliable shrubs like laurel have problems like this when they taken from a nursery, and then planted out in poor conditions. Give them a lot more water, a thick mulch maybe even a feed; and then see how they look in the autumn.