Portuguese Laurel questions

homeless9

Question 1:

I put 10 Portuguese Laurels into 10 separate 60cm x 60cm fibreglass cubed pots as my garden used to flood, so I wanted the hedges to be raised up away from any potential flood water. Is it ok to keep Portuguese Laurels in these pots permanently? I aim to keep the hedges at around 6 foot tall. Also, is the fibreglass strong enough to stop roots breaking through it?


Question 2:

I have other Portuguese Laurels planted into the ground on the slope, but they are very sparse looking. I think it's likely due to the fact they do not get much sunlight due to being on a north facing slope as well as being located under a large oak tree. They also are growing slowly in height, but not too bad. They have bushier/denser leaves at the top. I am just wondering if there's anything I can do to help these laurels become more bushier? I tried trimming them back a year ago, but that didn't help them, if anything it hindered them and set them back 1 years worth of growth. I will not trim them again until they reach 6-7 feet - which may be a while....

They seem to be back to the same height they were before I trimmed them, at this height they seem to be able to get some extra light as they pop their 'heads' out from the ditch and get some of the morning sunshine (when we have it)...

Do laurel's leaves that receive light share the benefits of the light with the other leaves that don't get as much light? - I'd assume not, as the hedges are bushier at the top where they receive the most light.

I appreciate any help, thanks.

ArbitraryRandom

Re keeping bushes in pots and helping them grow - a regular feed with something like blood fish and bone would help. 

Sarahspangles

Large trees and shrubs can lift concrete and tarmac and crack terracotta so your pots won’t last forever.  They will need feed and water.

The natural shape of a Portuguese Laurel, unpruned, is a dense slightly tapering tree. However if you have trimmed the top growth then you’re actively encouraging it to branch and get wider where you’ve trimmed.

The only way to keep a hedge increasing in height, without bare patches developing lower down, is to retain a tapered shape to force it to shoot from lower down. Even though it feels wrong to leave the top gappy and thin after pruning. You just need to be patient until it reaches the height you want.