Hi everyone, so about a month after my original post I think I can safely say my hedges are officially crushing it.
I actually measured the new shoots today and they’ve grown about 12 inches already. Considering that everything you read online says cherry laurels grow about 24 inches per year at most, I’d say I’m on the right track!!
Here’s a breakdown of what I did to give them this growth spurt:
Nitrogen-rich fertilizer: used a specific granular fertilizer for green foliage with high nitrogen percentage
Daily watering: I gave them about 3 gallons of water every single day, unless rain was in the forecast. They seem to absolutely love the extra hydration
Light pruning: I tipped the top of each plant (taking off about 6 inches) to stimulate lateral growth. The goal is to get them bushy and thick rather than just tall.
Tilling the soil: I hoed the soil around the base every week to keep it loose. My soil is very clay-heavy and tends to compact quickly
Staking: I tied the floppier younger branches to stakes to keep them upright. It made a huge difference in making the hedge look taller and more cohesive.
I know it might not look like a massive leap to everyone, but seeing how much fuller they are compared to just a month ago is honestly impressive to me. I wanted to share my progress because before my first post I was desperately looking for a thread showing short-term cherry laurel growth and couldn’t find anything.
Hopefully this gives some confidence to anyone else out there trying to grow a bushy tall cherry laurel hedge.
If you have any other tips, I’m all ears!!