The pots look too small and the leaves have poor color - notice that they have been recently fertilized = somebody else thinks they aren't green enough also.

In addition Prunus laurocerasus is prone to prunus shot hole and other leaf issues to the extent that I see damage pretty much all the time now on nursery stock of this species. Even when appearing to have been recently received from production operations - as though it is so chronic and pervasive that some growers aren't attempting to control it/them.

And of course this species is weedy in our region, apt to pop up from seed both in cultivated settings and on local wooded sites. So in addition to passing on this particular batch of 'Schipkaensis' it would probably be best to plant 50 of some other species of shrub entirely. Something like Pacific wax myrtle for instance.

i will yell ... NEVER .. and repeat .... NEVER .... PLANT A MONOCULTURE ....

if some problem comes along.. you can lose them all ...

next ... it doesnt have to all be planted at once.. this gives you time to plant in alternatives ... perhaps come this fall ...

a pic of your project will probably get some ideas and alternatives ...

if it were my project.. i would get some surveying flags .. and mark your 50 spots ... and them come up with a plan for filling them .. you can find them at bigbox hardware store .. or tractor supply type stores ..

https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffnt&q=survey+flags&iax=images&ia=images

besides.. 50 of anything will just end up being borrrring ... just a long green drape .. all the same.. if you can vary color.. texture ... size .. growth rate.. it will be much more visually stimulating over the years ...

also ...... .. if they are off color ... they should be priced at a bargain ... and if you can negotiate a bargain ... get 25 of them ... and then we will work on the others ... the only question is.. does the seller want to sell them.. or hold on to them for another season while he ferts them up .. cash in hand is probably the deciding factor .,..

finally .. do you know how to plant such... we can help there ...hole bigger than pot... no amendments or fert in the hole.. and then proper watering for the rest of the year .. insert finger and find out .. no guessing ... we could be much more specific than that general statement ...

ken

ps: one last thing.. are you working out at the property line.. a couple alternatives halfway between the house and the line.. can .. based on perspective.. sight block a larger fraction.. faster ... perhaps this would be where you can break up the plain old boring green drape.. way the heck out there ... or.. in case some die way out there.. be a future sight block ...

Ken, that’s all well and good but your cast iron commandment completely ignores the traditional, reliable and long serving-formal hedge of which there are thousands of healthy miles in appropriate places. By all means recommend research and thought, but please, never say never. If the OP wants a formal hedge, rather than a shrubbery or mixed border, it will, almost by definition, be all the same species and all planted at once. The aesthetic may not be to your taste but it’s a perfectly valid gardening concept which has stood the test of time.

Thanks everyone for all the feedback. Have to admit that at the moment I'm feeling a bit confused on how to proceed.

A little more info on the plants in the photos: IRL the leaves are all dark green and the lighter ones were new growth. In the pics the sun angle made them look even lighter. Embothrium, you're correct that the Portugal Laurels are in poor shape, as are a lot of potted plants on their property, but the Skip Laurels are recently dug. I have no idea why they are keeping such root bound and sad looking plants in inventory but I'm also not sure how long the current owner has been there.

Our county has a large nursery/grower industry and the seller of the SL's buys their plants from a wholesale grower in Canby. It's not unusual for freshly dug B&B to be available, but they're usually only available to landscapers and lawn maintenance services. Every now and then one may find a wholesaler that will sell to the public.

I have played with the idea of a mixed screen planting but the problem has been finding plants similar in height. We'd like at least 4' high to start with but all I've been finding is young, pathetic plants in 5-10 gallon pots.

We ended up choosing SL because it tends to stay relatively narrow, is deer resistant and has fewer problems with insects. It will never be sheared but will be trimmed as needed. The area is ready for a drip line and the seller would plant them. Soil is Jory loam, there are pocket gophers and we have deer that visit seasonally.

The reason for the screen is to block our neighbors driveway and hopefully a portion of a neighbor across the street. One photo shows our driveway on the right and to the left you can see the neighbor's (pardon the sad trees from the ice storm....tree service scheduled).

The other photo shows the view from our front door/walkway. We don't mind the chickens that visit from across the fence. :)

The property line runs between the 2 driveways, 15' from our driveway and tapers down to 12' by the time you reach the cherry trees. If you look beyond the cherry trees you can see a white stake that marks the property line, then it turns left. The red flags mark a buried telephone line, something we may have to work around.

I'm still open to ideas of other shrubs and haven't closed the door to a mixed planting. Unfortunately, several of the shrubs I would like to plant are deciduous and hubby wants no see-thru areas once it's planted.

We've been in this house for only a year... the reason this work wasn't done earlier.

In that situation I’d go for a mixed planting. The site is very informal and rural. A shrubbery would be fine. You could get far more interesting plants than the laurels.

There are small differences in age between plants of the same item in say a one gallon pot and a five (or a five and a foot or so taller one from a field) but big differences in price. Schipka laurel is not narrow growing. Mule deer browse Prunus laurocerasus. The Pacific wax myrtle I mentioned upthread also comes up here:

Herbs to the rescue: fend off deer with aromatic plants | OSU Extension Service (oregonstate.edu)