Excellent, thank you VERY much for your reply. I'm buying a soaker hose right now.... :-)

Cheers gardengal48!

Where are you located? Does laurel even need irrigating where you are?

it grew back a bit slower than anticipated.

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it sounds like the base issue.. is that you were expecting instant gratification .. and that doesnt always work.. in the garden ...

its genetics dictate how fast it will grow back ...

you will not change said genetics with fertilizer .. and IMO ... shrubs and trees NEVER need fert ... it has been there a very long time .. and done .. apparently.. very well ... without such.. so what could it be lacking ... these are not production crops that might 'use up' the soil ..

the same could be said .. with water ... again.. its was doing so good.. you had to whack it down... what makes you think it now needs water ...

on some level ... you might be trying to love them to death .... trying to get them to grow faster ...

imo ... the best thing you can do.. is just be patient .. and let them do their thing ...

it might be interesting to do a soil test.. and see if anything is lacking in the soil.. and react accordingly ..

and you might do a perk test.. and find out what your soil is.. and how it drains and if there are any water issues ..

but again.. all that said.. they were vigorous and over grown ... so i suspct.. nothing is lacking in regard to those plants ...

be patient.. ken

ps: if you gave if fert a few months ago .. i do not recommend double dosing them ... by giving them more ... if you take vitamins.. would taking twice as many.. be of any value???

I'm not sure that laurel requires any irrigation in areas that receive a "normal" amount of rainfall, certainly not after establishment. However, it has been my experience that if one does provide plentiful irrigation, growth will be very lush and rapid. That is one of the explanations for the lushness of PNW landscapes and the significant size most plants grow to compared to elsewhere :-)

Of course, good drainage is a requirement if you are applying more water than is typical or necessary.

THANK YOU ken_adrian...

We aren't expecting instant gratification, just robust growth to start filling in now that it's VERY see-through. One entire side has zero leaves while the other was chopped to zero only 2-ish years ago so is still working on filling-in. I was concerned about putting too much fert on and you've corroborated. Here in the Willamette Valley of Oregon, we usually get enough water but need to irrigate during the hot months. Summers are getting much, much drier though. In fact we're headed into a record breaking heat wave the next few days, it's 10-25 degrees above normal for about 2 weeks here. Even though it's Oregon, we experience heat and drought. I think we'll set up some drip irrigation, but hold off on the fert....if I can convince the hubs. The soil test idea is great, I'll look into that as well...esp since we're a university town so we have resources. Again, many thanks!!!

I'll add that forcing a plant into an accelerated growth pattern is never a good idea. Excess fertilization can create a flush of growth that is susceptible to insect pests, diseases, heat/sun stress, and cold damage.

Best to allow a woody plant to grow at its own rate, dictated by the existing environmental conditions, both above and below ground. Now, if a soil is deficient in moisture and dissolved nutrients, both should be added as needed.