|
| I just got 2 20-gallon bay laurel shrubs at a good price because they'd suffered a hailstorm and had a number of damaged leaves. They were planted today using a mix of the location soil & good organic compost. They were pretty root bound, and leaves are lighter green, suggesting iron deficiency. They're being used in a bright filtered shade location next to a fence to hide it and eventually the neighbors' view into my yard.
I'd like to encourage growth to fill out the areas where I removed hail-damaged leaves, and overall general growth. Is there something I can feed them to help heal from the stress and encourage growth? If so, should I wait some time to apply it? [I'm not going to get a soil test, and would just like to know 'a best bet' general fertilizer-organic or otherwise-to help them adjust to their new location.] Thanks,
|
Follow-Up Postings:
|
- Posted by gardengal48 PNW zone 8 (My Page) on Sun, Mar 13, 11 at 12:54
| The issue of being rootbound will likely be the overriding factor of how well they establish and begin to put out new growth. Ideally, removing as much of the soil as possible from the container planting and gently teasing out the roots should have been done before planting. It might even have been necessary to remove some larger circling roots to encourage outward growth. If this wasn't done, the establishment of the shrubs could be compromised and they could possibly decline and eventually die. Since they were so newly planted, this is something that can still be corrected. And its been well-established that trees and shrubs establish faster and fare better if planted in unamended soil. Laurus nobilis is not very fussy about soil conditions other than needing good drainage. It would have been preferable to have amended the entire planting area (ideally, the expected mature root spread) rather than individual planting holes. If you do dig them up to attend to the roots, make sure the amended planting holes are expanded as well to distribute the amendments over the largest possible area. Other than attending to any root issues, I wouldn't do anything else at this time. Stressed plants (being rootbound, the hail damage) do not benefit from being fertilized, so just keep them properly watered. If the chlorosis continues, you could apply some chelated iron according to product directions. When the plants start pushing some healthy new growth, you can prune them to shape and to encourage new growth - bay laurels are often grown as container plants and topiaries and respond well to pruning by generating a dense form and lots of foliage. If you mulch with compost (preferable to incorporating into the planting hole), these plants may require no further fertilizing. Or apply an appropriate amount of an organic all-purpose fertilizer in late summer or early fall - I recommend organic because it is less likely to be over-applied, won't leach into groundwater and will encourage a healthy soil. |
|
- Posted by kmickleson z9 CA (My Page) on Sun, Mar 13, 11 at 14:59
| Oy. Color me depressed. And embarrassed that I was foolish enough to not ask first. Redoing it now won't work, as my labor can't return till next Saturday. And rain is due between now and then. What's that about penny wise and pound foolish and haste makes waste? Oy. That said, thank you for your typically thorough answer. If GardenWeb gave out those lifetime achievement awards like they do at the Academy Awards for tireless, gracious generosity of spirit, you'd get one ;~) |
|
- Posted by gardengal48 PNW zone 8 (My Page) on Mon, Mar 14, 11 at 12:01
| Waiting until Saturday to re-do the planting is perfectly acceptable :-) That's still well within any time frame for the plants to start settling in and I'd easily risk any chance of transplant shock against the benefits of making sure both the root ball and the planting holes were properly addressed. And thank YOU for your very nice thoughts! They are appreciated :-) |
|
| Just a small point. Apart from aesthetics it wasn't really necessary to remove hail damaged leaves. Even bashed up leaves can photosynthesis a bit as long as they are still green. The plant would discard the leaves by itself if they were no longer useful to it, meanwhile they could be helping it get established in its new home. Bay is very tough and will take a lot of abuse so I wouldn't worry about its long term survival. |
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Shrubs Forum
Instructions
- You must be a registered member and logged in to post messages on our forums.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review the contents and make changes.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- It is illegal to post copyrighted material without the owner's consent.
- HTML codes are allowed in the message field only.
- No advertising is allowed in any of the forums.
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.