Laurel hedge and Block Paving?

hay707

A question about Laurel plants.

I am about to have my front drive block paved and a new wall at the front. There will be a 3 foot deep earth gap between the wall and the block paving. I already have a large Laurel hedge on the side of the front garden and the drive is shielded from its root by a man hole cover/assembly).

I want to continue the laurel hedge to form an 'L' shape to grow in the 3 foot strip along the front (About 8 ft long)

I think about 3 - 4 plants should be enough to grow into a hedge that will merge with the existing one. 

My question is, will the roots of the new Laurel destroy the block paving over time?

Thank you for any help.

Perki

I cut a laurel hedge with a block paving drive next to it , no movement in the block paving so far but a Indian stone flag has pop up on the other side which may be due to the laurel or poorly laid. They is always a chance it will eventually damage the paving, I should think you be ok with laurel how high is the existing hedge ?

Personally I'd whip the existing laurel out and replace with Griselinia or privet lots of others to pick from , better looking and easier to cut . 

hay707

Perki said:

I cut a laurel hedge with a block paving drive next to it , no movement in the block paving so far but a Indian stone flag has pop up on the other side which may be due to the laurel or poorly laid. They is always a chance it will eventually damage the paving, I should think you be ok with laurel how high is the existing hedge ?

Personally I'd whip the existing laurel out and replace with Griselinia or privet lots of others to pick from , better looking and easier to cut . 

Thank you for info. The existing Laurel is 6 - 7ft high and is all from one plant. I would prefer to keep it to laurel as it has excellent weather barrier density, It covers the front from westerly wind gusts. 

Another thought I had as to put some kind of barrier to stop roots growing towards the blocks (I see you can get root preventing fabric), or build a raised planter with sleepers. I wonder if I kept it well cut and to a certain size, the roots wouldn't stretch out too  much.

Plantminded

If replacing the laurel isn't an option, I'd put a deep root barrier alongside the existing plants as well as the new ones.  Block paving looks good and drains well but it is prone to movement because of the nature of its construction.  There's a mature laurel hedge in my neighbour's garden which has sent roots under the fence to produce a new plant in my garden.  They can be quite thuggish underground as well as above.  Excellent windbreak though and birds like them for shelter and nesting!

hay707

Plantminded said:

If replacing the laurel isn't an option, I'd put a deep root barrier alongside the existing plants as well as the new ones.  Block paving looks good and drains well but it is prone to movement because of the nature of its construction.  There's a mature laurel hedge in my neighbour's garden which has sent roots under the fence to produce a new plant in my garden.  They can be quite thuggish underground as well as above.  Excellent windbreak though and birds like them for shelter and nesting!

Thank you. I have just read about Griselinia. Apparently it has very well behaved roots and has a similar look to laurel (as opposed to Privet that looks very different). I will look into that one too.

Thank you for all info.

Plantminded

Griselinia, would be an excellent alternative for you.  I grow it as hedges and as individual specimen plants, much admired by visitors!  It is easy to maintain and not thuggish at all. The bright green, glossy leaves make a welcome sight in winter when there's not much cheer in the garden!