Worried about Laurel location

notVeryGreenFingered

Hi, I am a very new and young gardener, so excuse my lack of knowledge. I have planted a set of Laurels about 5 foot tall, near the front of my drive, they are right next to the council pavement concrete and on the otherside is the tarmac for my drive which goes about 1 foot deep. I read you should dig a trench 2 foot deep and 2 foot wide, however due to the concrete restrictions my trench is about 1.5 foot deep and only 1 foot wide.

Is this sufficient for the Laurel to grow to say 6-7feet? Will it hinder its growth or not grow at all if it has concrete too near it or will it grown downwards and be ok?

Also if I prune by just removing leaves, will this be enough to thicken it or should I be remove whole parts of branches?

Borderline

It sounds too narrow for a Laurel (Prunus Laurocerasus) to be growing there. The other option is to look into growing a climber through a fence or lattice fence. Using tension wire, you can also look into trying to train a Pyracantha shrub in that space. They are a bit slower growing but will eventually create a dense evergreen barrier that also has flowers and berries in autumn/winter time.

notVeryGreenFingered

Borderline said:

It sounds too narrow for a Laurel (Prunus Laurocerasus) to be growing there. The other option is to look into growing a climber through a fence or lattice fence. Using tension wire, you can also look into trying to train a Pyracantha shrub in that space. They are a bit slower growing but will eventually create a dense evergreen barrier that also has flowers and berries in autumn/winter time.

Thanks, I can understand they might not grow very well but at five foot, do you think there is a chance they will grow a little thicker if I prune them? Even if they don't grow tall?

Borderline

They will always thicken up when you keep pruning them at least once or twice a year. It's if you don't prune them, they will grow sparse and weak. At 5 feet tall, it can be maintained, but eventually, you will be trying to keep it from spilling outwards in that space, which is why I suggested alternatives. But since you have planted them, you need to keep an eye on them the first few years with watering more than anything. During the summer months when it is quite dry and hot, make sure the shrubs are well watered.

Planting any quite tall/mature shrubs will always be a risk because they have to adapt to the soil whilst also supporting the enormous top growth.

With Tarmac on one side and a rain shadow due to being evergreen, they will take some time to establish. The roots may suffer a bit, and you may find the plant looking pale colour. If that happens, you need to give them a general feed later in the year.

notVeryGreenFingered

Borderline said:

They will always thicken up when you keep pruning them at least once or twice a year. It's if you don't prune them, they will grow sparse and weak. At 5 feet tall, it can be maintained, but eventually, you will be trying to keep it from spilling outwards in that space, which is why I suggested alternatives. But since you have planted them, you need to keep an eye on them the first few years with watering more than anything. During the summer months when it is quite dry and hot, make sure the shrubs are well watered.

Planting any quite tall/mature shrubs will always be a risk because they have to adapt to the soil whilst also supporting the enormous top growth.

With Tarmac on one side and a rain shadow due to being evergreen, they will take some time to establish. The roots may suffer a bit, and you may find the plant looking pale colour. If that happens, you need to give them a general feed later in the year.

Thanks I didn't think of that, if the roots don't establish and the branches get heavier it might flop.

I will keep them waterer and use fertiliser