Bushes and plants need rescuing

Hi all, new to the forum and looking for advice. One of my hebes is not looking great. How can I rescue it? I found they grew outward and not upward, which left them looking gappy. I tied them up but it looks worse over winter. Currently trying plant feed once a week.

Also have some laurels that look a bit diseased. Any products or strategies I could try to improve how they look. Would post pics but too big to upload. Thanks in advance.

 

Hi,

Yes a photo would help, have you tried changing the Size setting on your Camera /Phone so it uses less space /pixels.
Another way is to Resize your existing photo in some of the common photo programs like Windows Photos, just select the imagege and Right Click on it to get this -

The pic shown is already at S .

 

If you have pictures on your computer you can go to 'Edit' to resize them by right clicking on the picture in question.

Stop feeding the Hebes Daniel that will make them worse. Are they young plants? It will help to know and give you advice.

 

Hebes are approx 2 years old, 3 perhaps. One has grown really well, the other not so well. I have resized the images, let's try.

 

Other info - soil is very clay like but I prepped it as per the instuctions at the garden shop. I didn't realise when I bought the hebes that the bed is in the shade.

 

Thanks for the images. Do you know what type of Hebe's they are? It looks to me as if they are low growers which is possibly why they've spread and not grown upwards. Shade isn't usually too much of a problem for this plant.

 

Ooh, can't remember. Leaves are thin and purple if it helps. Any strategies for improving how it looks?

 

Hebe's are pretty tough so there's no reason why you couldn't prune some of the stems out to tidy it up and may be shorten others.

Sorry, I can't help you with the Laurel I have no experience of them.

 

So you think stop feeding the hebes and prune it a bit? Is there a correct way to prune, or is it as straight forward as I think? I don't have a good track record with gardening, things tend to die after I cut them back, lol.

I have another hebe next to it (not pictured) that is doing really well. Very wide so it is odd this one is struggling?

Is there a more relevant part of the forum I can post about the laurel?

Thanks

 

Welcome to the forum, as what sheal says about the Hebe, but what you can do later on this year is apply a 0-10-10 NPK feed, this no nitrogen feed is used by bonsai growers, and indeed horticultural growers, it strengthens up the roots and the stems of the plant, and stops the plant from becoming weak, and falling over. If you cannot find it locally, most bonsai stockist supply it, the most popular being Chempak 0-10-10, that comes in a red bottle.
The Laurel is a fungal spot infection, which should clear up now the dryer weather is here, but if it gets worse or you are worried about it, apply a copper mixture drench, then a week later apply a feed or epsom salts.

 

OK, thanks. I'm a bit reluctant to prune the hebe to be honest, as it is much smaller than the other already. Perhaps just cut the crappy bits out? Out of curiosity why later in the year for the NPK feed? I'm keen to help it out!

With the laurel it has been like this 2-3 years. I did have a spray which was supposed to treat fungus but it never worked. On the under side of the leaves is a white powdery substance.

Thanks.

 

If you want to get rid of a fungal infection, use a drench application, so the chemical travels throughout the plant via the root system, spraying applications, unless you have a proper atomiser, you will miss parts of the plant that are infected.
The no nitrogen feed later in the year hardens the stems, which stops them from becoming weak and falling over, its used in Bonsai to harden trees up for winter.
Dont worry about prunning the Hebe, it will rebound.

 

Hebe's are tough so you can prune it how you like, don't hack it off at the base though.

 

As in the very bottom of the plant? Or do you mean the bottom of a branch? I do find my big one grows into my other plants so I've been pruning at the base of the branch to avoid stumpybits.

 

What do you recommend for copper drench? I had a quick look on ebay but found all sorts that wasn't correct!