Bushes and plants need rescuing

Sorry, I meant not to cut it back to the ground, just remove branches from the main stem or shorten them where necessary.

 

Copper mixture will be fine, use the instructions for peach leaf curl.
As for the Hebe, prune each branch back to approx 1 1/2 inch to a set of leaves. On evergreens if you remove all the leafs on a branch, that branch will probably die, so make sure you leave some leaves on. If you have long stems, and leaves on the outer reaches of the plant (usually lack of maintainance prunning), dont prune, apply a high nitrogen feed (vitax q4 or sulphate of amonia), then again in 2 weeks, you will see the plant begin to back bud (new shoots developing on the bear stems), once these have formed a proper small set of leaves, then you can prune, but make the plant as uniform as possible.

 

Just to double check we're saying prune the smaller crappy one? I assume the idea is it will promote regrowth?

I thought I would post a picture of the whole bed, incase anyone had some general tips and advice for maintenance. I can't remember what the middle plant is, we bought a cistus (IIRC) but can't remember if that is it. It has bright pink flowers and very yellow pollen. At the front just coming up are geraniums of some sort. These I cut at the ground every winter when dead, they always grow back.

 

Thanks for the advice Cuttings. I found vitax copper mixture on ebay so will get some.

Re the hebe yes it does have long stems with leaves at the end. Probably through incorrect pruning. I think I will try that strategy.

 

Another question for general advice. Over recent seasons I have found the plants in this bed grow into each other and become messy. I'm a bit OCD and like things tidy so cut them back to separate them. I also don't like them escaping the floor space of the bed. To this end I have clipped whole branches off from the bottom, so separate the plants and reduce their spread, see pic. Is this advisable/correct?

 

Yes the smaller one, but if you feel the others need it too it won't be a problem. Pruning will make the shrub fill out, so yes regrowth.

Yes, probably Cistus 'Sunset'....



Geraniums are tough plants and will provide flowers throughout summer. Bees like them too. This blue one has moved house with me a few times and has a spread of 3ft.

 

Be careful not to prune too much away from the base. Some shrubs like Hebe's have heavy branches and leaves, removing lower branches will make them top heavy and they will eventually collapse. In doing so the main stem will either break or pull the roots from the ground.

 

That's the cistus plant!

 

I bought the vitax q4 and the copper drench yesterday. I'll give them both a try and update with how I get on.

 

Hi, thought I'd post a quick update. I did the drench application for the fungus on the laurels. I did the feed a week later. I also cut them back hard. Very hard. They seem to be doing OK, loads of shoots coming through so not worried on that front. New leaves look good so far but may be too early to tell. One other thing my laurels suffer from is insect, namely ants. Chewing up all the leaves and making the Bush look unsightly. Will a standard insect spray from wilko do the job (assuming it hits all the leaves) or is there a better product or application?

And then my bed and the hebes. I have done the vitax q4 feed twice, 14 days apart. I pruned earlier then advised as the hebes were beginning to grow into my geraniums and the bed looked messy but I have since read lots on how and when to prune so I'm a bit more clued up. Also read about the hormone auxin so hoping the prune will help. The cistus sunrise is back budding nicely, the hebes are but not quite as well. The cistus is opening up now too which is nice. The hebes look better for a prune, including the one I'm worried about, I just hope they start to fill out a bit more. I'm assuming in terms of keeping the bed tidy pruning little and often is the way forward? Anyway, some progress pics. As always any further advice or constructive criticism is welcome.

 

The Hebes are slower growing, they will come good, just keep them from drying out too much, another feed at 50% strength can be done approx 14 days after the 1st.
The ants on the laurel will be there eating the insects chewing the leaves, so I would leave them alone, annoying as they are, ants, ladybirds and hoverflies, do eat other pests, including catapillars, but if you have to spray, may I suggest the following:

4 parts white mineral oil/neem oil/lavender oil
1 part BIOLOGICAL washing up liquid
4 parts water
Put the amount needed in a spray bottle, shake until mixed and milky in colour, spay as you would a pestercide, repeat in 2 week intervals, this mix works but coating the insect, and as insects breath through the skin, once coated the insect suffocates, this mix does not harm, children, pets, and no chemicals that harm bee's.

 

Hi, thanks for the reply. I did 50% for the second feed.

I only see ants on the laurel, but didn't know they were helping. I'll leave it for now then as the Bush is growing fast after the hard cut.

 

Update for you. Firstly the fungal infection came back on the laurels. Not surprising as I didn't follow the peach leaf instructions properly, removing all the diseased leaves was too daunting a task. Sadly it gave me the inclination to chop it down. Garden looks better for it to be honest.

Hebes are bouncing back nicely. I've been pruning bits off to tidy it up. I've also done some homework on pruning so know a bit more about it now. I'm now trying to shape them a bit more. It will probably be done next year now. I was advised previously in this thread to treat them with 0 10 10 NPK later in the year - when should I be thinking of this?

 

Have you pruned the Laurels to ground level Daniel? If you don't want them to re-shoot they will need to be dug out.

I'm glad to hear the Hebes are improving. Autumn is usually the time for this type of food. I would say from mid September to mid October is a good time.

 

I hacked the laurel down, treated with stump killer and removed all new shoots as they appeared. I read about a plant exhausting its energy. I had a go at removing the stump this week but it was too well rooted and my soil is very clay. So I chopped alot of the roots and was able to cut down below soil level. It's covered in weed liner and gravel so fingers crossed.

I have just bought the chempak 0 10 10 so will do that shortly. Will the hebes grow over winter? Can I continue to prune and shape them? I want to reducey bigger one to the same size as the smaller one. I've been doing it gradually just to be cautious.