British Columbia: Growing a laurel hedge in containers

Is it possible to grow a laurel shrub in a container?. I would like them to grow about 7' tall. I need them for privacy and the area I want to grow them in has my water pipes underneath and I am not sure how far down they are, so are concerned about the roots . Therefore I thought containners might work.
Can anyone help.?

 

Are you talking about water supply pipes or perforated draintile? When people talk about tree roots getting into pipes they usually mean perforated drain pipe which is designed with holes or gaps which permit water from the surrounding soil to drain INTO the pipe. These pipes are normally laid all around the outside walls of a building below the level of the lowest concrete floor slab. The gaps or holes in the pipe permit trees to sense the water there and direct their roots towards it. They can then fill the pipe with roots or push the sections apart so it gets blocked with roots or dirt. Tree roots cannot "sense" the water inside a sealed pressurized (or gravity) water pipe. If water can't leak out then the tree roots can't get in either. Huge trees with very large "muscular" roots can break pipes or crack concrete slabs but shrub roots won't do that.
I have never heard of laurel roots being a particular problem, and your water supply pipes are likely several feet down so I doubt that you need to worry. But the tall (English and Portugese) hedging laurels are substantial shrubs and a 7' laurel would have a significant root system. I doubt that they would thrive in above ground pots and unless the pots were heavy ceramic they would likely be constantly blowing over in windstorms. Sinking pots in the ground is never a longterm option. The plants will be either too wet or too dry and the roots will quickly escape the pot.

 

That makes sense. How big a hole should I dig for each plant. The area is sandy and rocky.So I would place soil into the hole.

 

Maybe you could think about Box (Buxus sempervirens). The plant & it's roots are less agressive overall than Laurel, in my experience. Also Laurel (Prunus laurocerasus) is a nasty invasive in SW BC.

 

Thanks for the suggestion. I am not familar with Box,but will look it up. Laurel as far as I am aware is not invasive here on the Sunshine Coast . Our climate is wet in the Winter and can be very dry in the Summer and Laurel does well and is a fast grower which I need.

 

If enough people plant it on the Sunshine Coast, it will become invasive I am sure. It is becoming more of a pest every year across Metro Vancouver & Fraser Valley.

Bear in mind too, that English Laurel will get 20+ feet tall, equally wide & it roots where it's branches touch the ground forming an impenetrable thicket....as you may have guessed...I don't approve :) Last year I volunteered on a weed pull in the Fraser Valley & saw how hard it is to control from a hands-on perspective.

There are alternatives.

 

A fence with a trellis on top never has to be pruned or watered.

 

As far as I know a "cherry" laurel hedge kept pruned at 7' will never be able to flower and set fruit so it won't contribute to any invasion problem. Except for those which spread rapidly underground most evergreen shrubs are not invasive unless their seeds or fruit are eaten by birds or animals which spread the seeds around.
I've never seen a buxus hedge more than 4' high but the following website suggests some other alternatives including Choisya ternata which might work well in your situation.
http://www.evergreen.ca/docs/res/invasives/Invasive-Plant-Profile-Cherry-Laurel.pdf

When planting shrubs and trees it seems that the current advice, especially on this website, is not to prep. the planting holes with better soil than the surrounding mix. It seems that doing so actually discourages the plant from developing good roots rather than helping it as was traditionally believed. You can remove the larger rocks of course, and then topdress with an organic mulch.

 

A laurel hedge will need to be pruned heavily to keep it down to 7 ft; a box hedge will easily make it to 7 ft (in the Sunshine Coast area) but will not need to be pruned as frequently.

 

Thank you for your suggestions. I have been given California Liliac as a good alternative for this area also. So will look that up.

 

...this may help.....see this thread about a little project I struggled to find information on, planting on concrete.