We recently planted a BIG hedge of English Laurel -- 100 plants, 3
feet high. About a week later, the color of the hedge didn't seem
quite right. So we took a drive and plucked a few leaves from hedges
that seemed the right color to us and brought them home for
comparison. Sure enough, the leaves on our new hedge are darker and
more leathery than the samples we found. When I say "darker," I mean a
sort of dull olive color, rather than the brighter sort of grassy
green that we found on some of the prettier laurels we examined.

How did this happen, you may ask? Well, we visited a wholesale nursery
in Oregon, near Portland, where the proprietor made us a "deal" on an
order for 100 "English Laurels." We were very specific in our request.
"ENGLISH LAURELS, right? You're sure these are ENGLISH LAURELS, not
Portugeuse Laurels or something else?" We were repeatedly assured
that, yes, we were buying genuine English Laurels.

So, the delivery truck and planting crew arrived with the 100
burlap-balled plants. The plants looked healthy in the truck, but the
color did seem a bit off. However, the day was overcast and rainy, so
I guess we thought that accounted for the less-than-splendid color.

Anyway, I am not entertaining any ideas of getting our money back or
anything like that. Caveat Emptor and all that. However, I have two
questions that I am hoping someone can answer for me:

1. Why are some English Laurel leaves brighter (or darker) than
others?

2. Is there anything we can do to encourage brighter, greener growth
in our new hedge? (Also, it would be nice if the leaves were less
tough and leathery!) I'm not much of a gardener, but I've got a mad
hope that treating the soil with something or spraying the leaves with
something or selling my soul to something might help!

If you feed shrubs such as Laurel with a fertilizer that is high in nitrogen
to make the plant grow faster you will have much darker green leaves than a
plant in the ground for a few years with no feed.
I must say this is the first time I have heard of anyone complaining that
the leaves were to green

--
David Hill
Abacus Nurseries
www.abacus-nurseries.co.uk