I've taken notice in the past few years that NOTHING is growing where Prunus laurocerasus had taken hold. Is there a soil remediation process that anyone is aware of to make the soils less hostile following it's removal? Of course, the less labor-intensive the better, especially if it involves planting some PNW native plant species.
yup, dig out the mamma plant and pick out the babies. This plant is one of my pet peeves, so many yard owners don't recognize it as a nuisance.
All of the plants have been removed since last winter, so the soil has had a full year without the laurel growing in it, but all the perennials, grasses, and other plants that I've tried to establish in the areas where it had been just can't seem to get going enough to survive. They struggle for a bit, then croak. I'm wondering if there is a soil remedy or plant that can counteract the laurel's allelopathic enzymes.
"allelopathic enzymes"...I like it. I have yet another reason to dislike the gloomy, invasive P laurocerasus. I would suggest that a good thick layer of rotted manure or compost worked-in might do the trick. Lots of bacteria & microorganisms that probably won't be as affected by whatever remains in the soil. Also this will add nutrients to overcome any deficiency which may be affecting the area & also speed the decomposition of the remaining root structure in the soil. Note: My family claim that my response to any garden issue to say "Add some compost, rotted manure, mulch..." It's amazing how often it seems to work tho'.
Mulch yes, amending no. The laurel hedge here has ferns and ivy beneath. In places the ivy grows up into the hedge.
