What plant is this please, how to look after it

mooreso88

Hello, we have had this plant put in our front garden as the laurel we had put in just died within 2 weeks. Does anyone know what it is please? (Our gardener got it front a new build but didn’t know what type of plant it was either; has what looks like little red berries on it too) It’s to create a bit of privacy for our front garden so it all still needs to grow more and merge together but we don’t want to just die as well. We also wanted to know how Often we should be watering thEm? We have been doing it in the morning around 8am and then in the evening around 7pm. Any tips please. We have also put mulch down now as well so hopefully that will help. Thank you for any help  

Fairygirl

I can't see it well enough, but it might be an Eleagnus of some kind.
Slightly worrying that a gardener doesn't know what it is, but planted it in your garden!

Have you a wider photo of the whole area?
If they're mature plants, they'll need a a bucket of water every day or so until established. It's also better to prune large specimens back, as they're hard to establish at the bst of times. 

Pete.8

I also think eleagnus.
Does it have some very sharp thorns here and there on older branches?
I had a big one in my garden for many years, but it was so boring I took it out. Invariably my dog's ball would disappear under it and I'd loose too much blood trying to find it.

Hostafan1

Elaeagnus Ebingeii perhaps?

mooreso88

Is this a better picture ? He said it was some form of laurel but he wasn’t exactly sure. It’s already established at 3ft 

Obelixx

Eleagnus ebbingeii for me too.   Not fussy about soil or aspect and is hardy.   Makes a good hedge plant or a specimen.  Perfumed flowers in autumn followed by berries.

mooreso88

Thank you everyone. We had them planted using compost as soil is quite clay heavy. Some leaves are looking shrivelled but these were only planted a few days ago. How much watering do we need to do? If they are hardy are they best just left too it? Thank you

Obelixx

Hardy refers to ability to withstand cold, not thirst.   They need to be watered in well and then given a bucket each of water once a week until autumn as they have been planted so late in the season.  Clearly, if you get serious downpours of Noah proportions you can omit the bucket that week.   Give more in periods of heatwave and drought.  

mooreso88

Thank you for the information- it’s around 17 degrees each day at the moment. We had been watering every day in the morning and evening so presuming this is far too much! We placed mulch in the bed in which they are planted. Is it best to only water if this top layer feels dry? 

Bijdezee

Yep, Elaeagnus. The flowers are really small and hidden but give off a lovely scent. They are easy to grow, just keep it watered well whilst it established and especially if there's a prolonged dry period, after that it should look after itself. 🙂

BobTheGardener

A deep watering once a week is better than a little every day.  Doing the latter will make it grow roots near the surface so it will be more prone to drought in the future.  When watered deeply (using bucketfuls), the roots will follow the water down, which is where you want them to grow.