Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 May 03, 2009 10:46 pm Please Fu, could you advise me on how to improve a Murraya hedge that seems to be stunted in size. Your wisdom and advice is much appreciated. The hedge has been in place for 5 years and consists of about 18 plants. The plants don’t appear unhappy or unwell in any way they are just remaining about 60 cm tall. The Murrayas are in an open area of a Brisbane front yard where they receive all day sun but it is a poor shale soil which we have ritually tried to improve using regular lashings of seasol, well composted manures, organic soils, thick tree lopper and suggar cane mulch and even quarterly hits of molasses. Still this hedge never seems to grow upwards. They were one of the first plantings when we moved into the finished build and a desperate attempt at a living fence between us and the never to be completed house next door. Other Murrayas in the yard are only 2 years old but quickly reached 7 foot tall and growing. Is it possible that the shale in this situation could be acting as a bucket/ pot and restricting the plants ? Would the unimproved soil on the uphill side of the hedge be adding to their limited growth? Is there anything that we can do to help them other than taking them back up and digging a much lager trench before replanting? Is this a bad time of year to be bothering them at all? Thanks in advance, looking forward to your thoughts and advice. Re: help for a stunted Murraya hedge 2May 03, 2009 11:16 pm I might be looking at choosing something different for along there but I guess in view of your background info, you'd be looking at the same thing no matter what else goes in. You'd be doing fine to choose this time of year to get things done because you live in Brissie!!! (I reckon if you could smash Perth and Brissie together, you'd have the most perfect city in Australia and we've had the same weather for the last few months just about!) Lets look at taking them out. But before that happens, clip them smaller you say? Well it reduces the amount of foliage the poor root system has to look after. wait a week or two have you soil (certified organic preferred) at the ready, a mattock and shovel ready for digging it in and improving the soil to a good 500mm deep. Keep the poor Murrayas under the patio out of the wind and sun under some black plastic and keep them moist under there, but careful not to wash the soil away from the roots too much. Also check out what the roots are like. Nearly every plant problem starts with the soil. even insect problems This would be one hell of a good soil in Brissie to get. Get some of this vermicast in there. This stuff with be barroca for the soil http://www.wormsdownunder.com.au/wormfa ... .html#supp and for soils call Wicko’s Organic Gardening 0417377181 Once this new soil is dug through with what you have to a good depth using the matock and shovel get the Murrayas back in the ground and soak the soil with seasol, then repeat the seasol every weekend for a month or two. They will go pretty crap for a while but should bounce back ok after 4-6 weeks. Re: help for a stunted Murraya hedge 3May 04, 2009 10:52 am Thank you so much Fu Manchu. Great advice and just what I was afraid you would say Sounds like I have some serious digging to do. Luckily or unluckily the mattock is my most frequently used garden tool but we are a lot wiser now than when that poor hedge went in. I suspect each plant is sitting in their own individual hand carved bucket of shale. It’s one of those neighbourhoods where the sound of a jackhammer reverberating through the hills is also the sound of a tree being planted. I’m already on to Wickos and they are not too far away. Thank you so much again for all the great advice. Re: help for a stunted Murraya hedge 4May 04, 2009 5:51 pm Hey, remember that all that hard work will pay off. Why not hire a hammer and really get that soil broken up. They are heaps of fun to use I never mind helping anyone and especially when you have a really cool user name like misskittyfantastico Re: help for a stunted Murraya hedge 5May 06, 2009 3:57 pm Hahaha. Why thank you Fu man. I had a good laugh at the bond girl comment in the other thread. How very appropriate I have to admit the username admiration is entirely mutual. I think Fu Manchu is quite possibly the very best forum username I have ever heard. It certainly conjures an interesting composite image ……Are you the most dastardly villain who ever walked the earth combined with just a touch of the happy horticulturalist Josh Byrn?? (or if you prefer Jamie Durie)??? Certainly “one giant intellect, with all the resources of science past and present." ... and an excellent sense of humour” seems to fit appropriatley. Boiling vats of Molasses have been known as a fiendish form of torture. I'll be quiet now. I'm off to do some mattock wielding Hi there, long-time lurker but first time posting. I've bought a house 2 and a bit years ago and last year we had some major water damage on a converted pergola area… 0 7930 Yes, unless you are in a low intensity rainfall area or the area is protected from rain. Do you have access to NCC Part 2 or can you download it? I can email you a copy… 10 12509 Thankyou so much 😀 I've decided on White on white for doors and trims, White on white 50% on ceiling and Mt buller for walls. Fingers crossed it will look OK 😀 2 7158 |