How to renovate a Laurel Hedge
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- Опубліковано 16 лип 2024
- How to renovate a Laurel Hedge video - Pruning
Chapters for this video:
0:00 Laurel Hedge Renovation
0:55 Where to cut to allow for the new growth
1:40 Time estimate for the work
2:15 First part complete - IMPORTANT TIPS TO FOLLOW
3:24 REMEMBER - you can reshape/reprofile your hedge when you renovate
4:03 How to get a flat top and avoid dips and bumps
5:00 Always carry secateurs to tidy the bottom of the hedge
5:20 TIP - only renovate one side at a time (ideally) - both are possible
6:15 The end result
Sometimes hedges need to be cut back hard, which is a renovation or reduction, can feel like a scary thing to do. However, if it's done properly and at the right time, your laurel hedge will come back better than before.
This hedge is quite small and the 'overgrowth' is not too bad, and even though the cut looks drastic, this is quite light in terms of a hard cut back. For the most part, most of the internal structure is still in place which means that the recovery period should be quite short.
I would expect this hedge to be in full leaf again within 2 years. That is to say that the internal framework should not be visible at that point. After the first year, I would expect bussing across the whole of the hedge on both faces and leave development should be quite advanced by the end of the following year's growing season. There may be even new buds sprouting on the frame this year.
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Thank you. - Навчання та стиль
Hi Nick, having lived in England for some time I know that cherry laurels feel quite at home in the British Isles. They also tend to forgive maltreatment as the climate is very evenly balanced and enables plants to respond with healthy growth. Over here in Frankfurt, Germany we also have favourable conditions for cherry laurels, but for the past few years I have noticed how they dont respond too well to pruning. Most gardeners and ordinary folks tend to trim their hedges in the summer and this seems to trigger off problems. As the new growth tends to take their time to mature and ripen they are very susceptible to mildew on one side and hot winds on the other. on top of that insects joining in the fun of attacking the new foliage, leaving them distorted. it makes them very unsightly for months to come and when winter comes around you can only pray the frosts stay out of it as they finish off what is left of the leaves. treating it with insecticide and fungicide does help but once the damage is done you have to sit it out and wait for early next year with the hope of pruning them early enough to give the foliage a chance to harden off. all of this seems to be due to changes in the weather as I have never experienced such problems in the past having been in this profession for over 40 years. So, having said that, I recommend pruning hard in early spring and leaving it again till the following year comes around. Always bearing in mind what one intends to achieve with it. Phew....thats it. Hope this bit of information will come in handy to someone
Best and most comprehensive video on trimming a laurel hedge. Answered all my questions. Thx.
Hi Brian. Thank you. I’m editing a couple of videos right now on the same thing for a conifer hedge. Also think there’s another for privet but that might be a hedge repair. Thanks for posting. Nick.
Your very welcome Shaun. When I first started doing these videos, friends told me it would loose me business and devalue what I did. How wrong they were. It's such a good feeling when I receive a message saying I've helped someone else. If there is anything else I can help with, let me know and I'll see what I can do. Either post here or search for me on facebook
Cheers Chris. Always good to know that these are useful. There are another 20 videos still to upload right now but bit busy through the summer months. I'll get some more up soon. Thanks
that is really nice of you nick. I will get you some pics in the morning. thanks again.
Thanks for the great video, Nick.
Very interesting. I love my garden and never stop learning.
Hi Nick im a gardener myself and its always useful to share hints and tips with one another.
very useful thanks.
Keep uploading videos, they're great.
Hi Jim. Thanks for posting. Avoid pruning on hedges once autumn frosts have started. So for now, you have a month and a bit to get your pruning done. Cut branches can be more susceptible to disease.
Excellent video, Nick - have a Laurel to do for a friend (think it's next door's but overgrowing her garden by about 5ft.) I can show her this video so she knows what to expect after it's cut so no nasty surprises at the barber's. :)
best video ive seen so far, i have a 100ft laurel hedge, its been left to grow out and its now 8ft deep, but completely empty inside, im looking to cut that back as you have done to create nice thick hedge
Hi Rob. Thank you. Sometimes the 2 most difficult things to have with this kind of task, is bravery, and patience! It’ll take a few years to fill back in, but it’ll be worth the effort and the wait. Glad the video was helpful. Thanks for posting. Nick.
GJ, NB!!! Keep up the awesome vids!!!!1
Great tips.
+Patricia Baker glad you found them useful. Le me know if there's anything else I can help with
Morning estelle. Glad it was useful. No, my ones are tanaka which I've been using for 12 yrs. I find Stihl a bit too expensive for what I get. Also, the new models run a weird 2 stroke/4 stroke system that means a lot more maintenance as the valves have to be repaired/adjusted VERY often. The long pole smartfit
Hi Matthew. As long as you cut it back soon. Once the hard frosts hits you don't want to continue with any hard renovations. Don't know where u are geographically, but temps here are still only getting down to abou 8c overnight. That's ok. Any hard ground frosts and you want to stop as sometimes the bare cuts can cause some damage with the cold or introduce disease at the 'damaged' areas where u have made cuts. As long as it's not too cold where u are, u should be alright. Thanks for the post. Hope to hear from you again soon
I had a Prunus laurocerasus 'Rotundifolia' hedge aproximaly 18 feet high and 10 feet wide. Pruned it back last August with a chainsaw to 5 by 3 feet. Not a single leaf left. It got new leafs before winter, and has now a year later 20 inches of new growth. If its a big renovation its better to take it back harder (than the desired height (7 feet). Because most growth is on top, it will give room to branche more and the hedge will become more dense. To speed up the process take the secateurs and cut the top of new growth lightly to encourage the laurel to branch. As long as its not freezing, dont hesitate and just prune it.
Thanks for making and sharing vids, very useful :). Please tell me if I can prune back during winter months or not as advice seems to be spring and summer?
hello there nick just a quickie. i look after 5 acres of gardens and being quite new to the gardening world cauld you tell me if its ok to cut a laurel hard at this time of year. oh yea brillant work on that laurel.
Nick
Thanks so much for this it is extremely helpful.
We are just buying a house with a 12ft high and approx 8ft depth laurel hedge!!! Can i ask the strimmers that you used where they a Stihl?
Smart fit that I have comes a with a strummer attachment as standard - £425. The trimmer head is an additional £200. It would be worth your while buying a good quality 12" serrated hand saw for some of the bigger internal branches. If you need anything else, drop me a line here or on my Facebook page :). Do what you live and love what you do. Send me some pics before and after
nice job lad
+thanxx cheers. Watch out for a new one I've uploaded about reprofiling a laurel hedge
Yes, it has happened a couple of times. Fortunately I have a fair amount of immunity when cutting other peoples hedges. I just refer them to the owners and things get cleared up. I've never had it develop into a nasty situation fortunately. I was asked to leave someone property when they found me smoking in their garden! Go figure :)
Great question I need to ask, when you're trimming hedges have you ever had a dispute with a neighbour ..i.e someone who comes out and has a go at you for cutting a hedge down..happened to me, I had a guy come round to trim my laurel bush, the neighbour came out and had a go at the hedge trimmer.......I told the neighbour to go away in a pokite way and let the hedge trimmer do his job..
this is an old vid, hope you till monitor it. I stumbles upon this because I have a laurel to prune and its over 15 feet high, thick trunks and has been hacked back, it looks a mess, a lot of the trunk is exposed. I was thinking of chopping it right down, but maybe that's extreme, Most hedges are fine but I am not sure about laurel. I have 3 days before the job!
The smaller I think I want. Following you on you tube.
+Patricia Baker excellent. Hope you find some more useful content. Thanks for the follow :)
Hi Nick, Thanks for the video. I live in Portland Oregon (America), and Laurel grows really well here because we get a lot of rain and have nice summers. Anyways, I bought a home that was not lived in for many years and the Laurel hedge has been let go to become as high as 15+ ft in some places and it was planted close to a 4' ft cyclone fence that many of the branches are growing through. If I try trimming this hedge I will have to cut it way back past the leaves and into some rather large branches on both sides. I would expect it to look quite ugly, but might consider it if the hedge is savable and could be brought back to a usable looking hedge. My fear is trying to save it and having it never grow back or looking like a proper hedge again. I suppose I could just cut them all down, but that's a lot of work, and then I would have to deal with all the roots. Any suggestions would be really appreciated. Most of the garden centers around here just don't seem to have the knowledge for these types of jobs, as it's not planted much anymore, but rather something you find in older neighbor hoods. Anyways, thanks for any advice you can give me.
Laurel is tough. You can hack it back really hard and it will come back. Might take a few years to fill out again, but it will recover. Get yourself a really good handsaw. The type you get in a sheath. 10-12". Cut back 6" inside the line where you want the hedge to fill out to and cut the stems just above the node. Half inch or so - make sure none of the cuts ate horizontal as water can sit on the surface and rot the stem. It'll be a big job but well worth the effort. Post a picture up on google + so I can see before and after. Any questions, drop me a line. Ps your local garden centre should be able to recommend a good feed to match your soil for your hedge to help it leaf up again. With such a hard cut back, you will have very few leaves left so a feed will be invaluable this year as it starts to recover. Hope to hear from you soon
Shame you didn't show us as you were doing it good tips
Hi. I’m looking to do a similar video on another Laurel hedge that I planted up a couple of years ago. But this time showing the cut. Should be in the next month or so. Thanks for posting. Nick.
I am curious about the differences of English Laurel ant the Otto Lukens, size and zone preference and sun tolerance. May be called, also, cherry laurel?
+Patricia Baker 'Otto Luykens' is just another variety of Laurel. English and Cherry laurel are the same thing. 2 different common names for the same species of plant - Prunus laurocerasus. I think Otto has slightly more stunted and dense growth but how they behave and where they can go are pretty much the same.
Carl Linnaeus introduced the Latin naming system back in the mid 1700s to avoid common name confusion. Even just in the UK, the same plant could have 5 or 6 different common names across the country. Sometimes, different plants could have the same common name. Can get so confusing.
Last week I planted two different varieties of Cherry Laurel - 'Etna', very dense and slow growing and 'Novita', more standard density, faster growing and can attain much greater heights.
Most varieties available in the UK are fully hardy, pollution resistant and will grow in pretty much any soil. I'm lucky, I'm based in the SE, so for the most part, soil pH is just over 7(slightly alkaline) which is perfect for these guys. Hope this helps but if you need anything further....
hi nick, appreciate the video. we have recently moved into a house with a large mature laurel at the front. this has been absolutely butchered on the public side, exposing lots of thick 4" branches. it's very unsightly but I'd like to save it if possible, any ideas. thanks kindly Paul.
Hi Paul. Not to worry. Laurel is tough as old boots. It's one of those you can butcher and they will come back. It might take a year to two to fill back in properly but it will come back. Best thing you can do is to trim it back to the line you want when it starts growing back. And do it a few times through the year. The action of cutting off the tips removes about 90% of the growth hormone Auxin, from the plant. This tricks it into thickening up, rather than growing out. If you want, you can trim back the rest of it to leave 'green' on it, or you can cut it right back into the frame. If you want, friend me on Facebook and post pictures to my page - LawN & Border. Good luck and hope to hear from you soon. Nick
Nice job mate how long before they get to that height, im thinking of getting some Laurel myself.
alan roberts hi. Thanks for posting. Depends on how much you want to spend. You can buy new ones at that height - about £7-10 each. Or, buy them at 1.2-1.5m in height for £10-15 (gives a much thicker lower half to start with). Then, as you would do with any new hedge, cut off the tips to encourage them to thicken up. The main stem you would cut down to approx 2” below the final height you want, and prune the side shoots to the same height. Plant roughly 2 per metre and mix in shrub compost or equivalent to John Innes no3 compost. Water them each day after the sun is off them for at least 2 weeks (sprinkler for 15 mins) but with the current weather, I might wait a month or so. All my commercial planting is on hold right now. Btw, you can get a variety of laurel called “Etna” which doesn’t grow as fast as normal laurel but is much more dense. Might be what your after. Hope that helps. Let me know if you need anything further. Nick
hi, we have laurel, its about 50 ft long and about 6 foot tall. it looks good from a distance but you can see through it in places, its very bushy on top but empty inside, its about 3 foot wide, i have tidied it up today. if i want to thicken it up inside would you cut it back on one side and the top then do the same on the other side next year. would you water the plant and add some fertiliser to it , ours is about ten years old. i have cut all of the very new growth off the top to let some light inside the hedge
+bryan K hi. Everything you've said there sounds good. I would do it in stages too. There will be a couple of feeds available and your local nursery should have a choice to look at. Ask for advice from the staff. They're generally quite knowledgable. Post some pics if you can. Would love to see. All the best. Nick
Hi Nick, great video. I have an enormous laurel hedge at the front of my new house. We live in france (north) and the summer has been really good recently and the thing has gone crazy. I want to cut the height down to about 1/3rd. Can this be done at this time of year or should I wait until later in the year when the hedge is dormant? I obviously want to avoid killing the hedge, how much can I cut bacK? Cheers.
+Lee Riley if temperatures are likely to remain high (above 25C), I'd wait for a month. Generally, laurel is as tough as old boots. You can easily take 1/3rd out the top and it will come back fine next year. Just to be on the safe side, just lightly trim the sides to keep it tidy, then next year you can cut them back harder when the top has filled back. You can always post a pic or two on my Google+ page or on Facebook (search Nick Barban - LawN & Border). Hope this helps but your welcome to ask more if you want to. Thanks for the interest and the Like. Cheers. Nick
Hi Nick, thanks so much for the reply. I actually want to take 2/3 off the height so it will involve cutting some major internal (and thick) branches. The weekend forecasts cooler temperatures. So I will do it then I think. I will also try and use proper cutting methods so as to avoid damage and promote healing. Its gonna get cut back a lot though...
Just make sure to cut the larger internal framework at angles, not flat. That way water can't sit on the cuts and promote rot or disease.
@@leeriley9782 Hello, I am doing the same, I live in Oregon US, usually trim twice a year, but need to get it back to manageable height to avoid latter trimming. Did you figure out any easy tips, tools to cut faster. I have them going around entire property. Too flexible for chainsaw, to thick for hedge trimmer, hand cutting is only way I'm making progress, came on here for alternatives. Thank you for your time!
Hi Nick, I've got a laurel that's 15 feet high and 20 feet long. However it's very thin with practically no leaves on the inside. Have you any advice on making it thicker? Thanks
Hi. Leaves won’t grow on the inside frame. Only on the outside that’s trimmed. If there is any discolouration of the leaves, like yellow, it may be lacking heavy metals like iron or magnesium. Some for of liquid or granular hedge feed would help. If the colour is okay, more regular cutting will help fill in the holes in the next couple of years. Hope that helps. Thanks for posting. Nick
Hi Nick, an elderly neighbour has asked if I can cut her Laurel that is about 8 feet tall down to about 4 feet. There are a number of thick trunks to cut. I wondered what you'd recommend to do under these circumstances? I had thought to slowly trimming down in size with saws or large "snippers" initially. I am sure it'll green up quick enough... won't it?
Hi. That won’t be an issue. Cut to within an inch on the main frame trunks above the nodes. Cut them at an angle so water can run off them. If it’s possible to leave some leaf on the frame that would be helpful, but not essential. It will start leafing up next spring even if you leave it completely naked after the hard cutback. Hope that helps. Thanks for posting. Nick
Hi Nick, I was given a massive Laurel that was dug out of a border, I managed to cut into 3 bushes, for the minute in 10 Ltr. pots, but it’s really leggy, so I’ve chopped bit off, but i`d really like to get some bushy new growth, should I cut it hard back, I’m reluctant, because I wanted the height, Any suggestion please????? Thanks Jen
Hi there. You should be able to keep at least some of the height, if you manage the new growth. Initially, any new top growth needs to be nipped back - this should trick the Laurel into filling out lower down. Do this for a couple of seasons once the whole thing has started to leaf up again. A mature plant like you’ve described should grow back quite strongly in all directions. Ideally you want to remove a large proportion of the leaf on there right now to allow the transplant to take. Just leave a few leaves to help them recover. Use John ones no. 3 or a multipurpose compost and later in the spring a liquid feed to help it along. Some can be applied every 6 weeks or so. Just need to read the pack of whatever you buy. DO NOT GET ANY FEED WITH HIGH POTASSIUM. You’re looking for high Nitrogen with trace metals like magnesium and iron. Hope that helps. Let me know how you get on and thanks for posting. Nick
Hi Nick, right ok, I’ll give it a go, whatever I have chopped off so far, I’ve actually managed to root!! Thanks kindly jen
Hi Nick,
Can I do this job in October later on in the month?
Hi mark. Yes, but don’t leave it too long. You want it done before any hard frosts. If at all possible, hard cut back top and 1 side only for now. Hard cut back the other side next spring.
I’m expecting a early cold winter this year, starting in December and going through till January or even February.
As an extra help, leave any fallen leaves under the hedge to act as an insulation blanket for the roots. That’ll help it a bit too.
Hope that helps. Thank for posting. Nick
I have planted a lot of laurel the past few weeks and the frost got them then the cold wind I have had cut them right down to 10-20cm they should bounce back now the weather is a little bit warmer ? Also some of the leaves went yellow so I’ve had to cut them back also . Any tips greatly appreciated
Hi peter. Planting in March can be hit and miss but your laurels should be fine. You’ve already done the right things. I don’t think you’ll have any more problems with the. Old but if you wanted to add an extra layer of protection, you could put some fleece, newspaper or straw around the base of the main stem for a little bit of extra protection. Check on each one if the soil is falling away from the stem, so any water or colder night air drains away, rather than toward the stem. It’s a little overkill, but when you’ve just spent hundreds of £s on plants,always nice to protect them. Good luck with them and thanks for posting. Nick
Nick Barban thanks for the reply I am watering once a day when there’s no rain fall . Just put my finger in the ground next to one it’s not dry but not wet so I’ll just keep watering daily until they have established
What’s the best way to clean up the mess from these? I have a new home with hundreds of feet of massive overgrown common laurel in the front and back of the house. I have one hell of a job this fall when I plan on cutting them back. They’re probably 7+ ft tall and 10-12 ft deep. Massive hedges and I know they’ll look quite beautiful when renovated. A few had some dead spots, not sure what caused it. Anyway thanks for the video even if it’s 9 years old!
Hi Mike. If your talking about the leaf fall or cuttings, I use a plastic leaf rake and a plastic snow shovel and use them like “big hands” - those gigantic hands like pooper scoopers for clearing leaves. But it only works if your loading bulk bags. When I’m just clearing leaves (and really only wet leaves in the autumn), I use the black sacks from Costco. They’re really sturdy and open just wide enough to allow access to a snow shovel to drop the leaves in. Hope that’s the right answer to your question but if not message me again here. 👍. Thanks for posting and good luck with the renovation. If your looking to fully renovate and take them right back, I’d invest in a cheap ish electric chainsaw with a short bar. You won’t need more than that. Cheers. Nick.
@@NickBarban I have a battery powered saw on a pole. The bushes are so massive I could never get to the top and back without a ladder and pole. The bushes are the size of a school bus.
Sounds good. Take the front face back as far as you want first. Then deal with the top of what’s left. You’ll be able to see the shape of the frame that’s left better that way. It may not be possible, but if you can, left some leaf on the frame. If not, don’t sweat it. Good luck with it. Let me know how the cut goes. 👍
@@NickBarban Since they're so massive, about a foot or less into the face of the bushes, I come up against some pretty substantial branches that the battery powered trimmer can't quite handle. Should I cut with handheld power shears and just keep going? I know the bushes will look bad for months to come. Currently temps where I am are 100+. Should I wait until Sept/Oct when they'll drop to 70-80s? I tried to start on this last fall but pretty late and over the winter a few spots about the size of basketballs died. I am thinking frost or moisture got into the cuts. Thanks for all the replies btw, very helpful...
I’d wait. We’ve just had our hottest temps ever at 104 here in the UK, which is just mental, but I stopped all grass cutting (well I did about 2 weeks ago!) and no hedge cutting, including renovations. This kind of heat just puts too much stress on the vascular system of the plants.
The leaves regulate the moisture content of the plant, and without them, it would be defense less. Leave the big cut till autumn when it’s much cooler. You could also leave the top till next autumn and just do the face this year. The “canopy” can protect the rest of the plant and help with repopulating the face of the hedge.
As to what to cut with, if you can use a chainsaw type, or reciprocating saw, that would be best, rather than a lopper type tool that crushes the outer surface. Laurel is quite hard and needs a good toothed tool to cut through the bigger stuff - ie more than 2”. Hope that helps 👍
I've just planted a laurel so is very short at present. When do I start to shape it? I want to have it 2m tall max as is going to act as a screen
Thanks
Hi. Snip off the top inch of the tallest stems now. That’s where the majority of auxin (grow tall hormone) is. Water it and love it through the summer. Then mid autumn you can do the same again to any “leggy” stems. This promotes the plant to thicken up early on so you have a nice dense structure as it grows up to the height you want. This isn’t shaping as such, but when you get nearer the time of the plant filling the space, you’ll actually have a shape to trim. Make sure to give it a good drink every day for 2 weeks (after the sun is off it), unless it rains properly. Then shape back late each spring (unless birds nesting - then wait till July) and again in mid autumn if it’s looking untidy. Hope that helps and thanks for posting. Nick
How do I feed my Cherry Laural hedge? What fertilizer?
Paul Russell hi Paul. There are literally dozens of plant foods you can use. Both granular and liquid types. Your local nursery will have a selection but your best bet is probably to buy online (probably through Amazon). Cherry Laurel rapid fertiliser is a liquid feed, Westland Growmore garden fertiliser. Other products from Doff or Empathy have a liquid seaweed fertiliser which have a balanced NPK ratio like the other products. Your looking for NPK ratio like 7-7-7 or something close to this. Just make sure to read the instructions carefully and don’t assume! Two different products can look almost identical and application rates can vary widely. Hope that helps. Thanks for posting. Nick
Do yo fertilize after a hard cut back? If so, what strength fert
Hi. Generally, no. If I can avoid it, I only do a hard cut back in moderate weather - no extremes of cold or heat. After a spring cut, Once it’s started to leaf up in the following spring, I might spray a high nitrogen hedge feed. If the cut is later in the season, I might put down a high phosphorus liquid feed to help the roots over winter. Generally, a good watering after the cut is enough to help it along. Hope that helps. Thanks for posting. Nick
I’ve got shot hole on my Laurel hedge, any suggestions what to treat it with?
Hi there. If you want to use a spray treatment, something like rose leaf ultra should do the trick. It has insecticide and fungicide. However, I always try to find a natural way to deal with these things if at all possible. Maybe start out by just cutting out the affected leaves and at the appropriate time giving your hedge a liquid feed. Hope that helps. Thanks for posting. Nick
i have recently purchased a new house and the hedge is is terrible shape. Some of the plants in the hedge have grown alot better than others and now is terribly uneven. How should i repair it?
Evan Moore hi Evan. I need to see some pics from you before I can advise. Don't know what you have. Either you could post on my google+ (Nick Barban, Croydon, UK) page or my Facebook page (Nick Barban, LawN & Border). Nick
Thanks Nick, i will do today. I probably should mention that i live in Melbourne. We are in our spring at the moment. Weather is about 20-23°C.
Evan Moore hopefully I'll know what's in your hedge but most likely they'll be something I have to look up. Btw, you don't happen to know a couple - David and Fiona Millington. I'm so often staggered by how small the world can be sometimes :)
Sorry Nick, i dont know of anyone by those names. 6 degrees of seperation so im sure their not far away. haha. I think my hedge is a Viburnum odoratissimum i think. looks very similar to the Laurel that is is your video. You will see later. Talk then.
Ok
How fast Lauren grow I bought 1 m high
Hi Oleksandr. If it’s a normal Cherry Laurel, planted in good soil and maintained well, between 30-50cm per year. But you want it to grow thicker as well, so you need to cut off about 5cm of the tallest stems on the new plants you have. It will help growth lower down the plant, not just how tall it gets. 👍. Hope that helps. Thanks for posting. Nick.
Thank you 👍🤝
You're cute. Too bad you are married.
Eva Hutto thanks for the ego boost Eva. :)