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How to feed a cherry laurel hedge

Updated: October 2026

You are holding a tub in March, or you are tempted to scatter it in October because the hedge looks tired. How to feed a cherry laurel hedge is mostly the month, the soil moisture, and keeping granules off the bark. Which of the four listings to buy stays on [Cherry laurel fertiliser](/hub/fertiliser-soil-and-bark-mulch/cherry-laurel-fertiliser). This page is the method. The Products Compared editorial team read the listings on 19 October 2026. A qualifying amazon.co.uk purchase through our links can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You are holding a tub in March, or you are tempted to scatter it in October because the hedge looks tired. How to feed a cherry laurel hedge is mostly the month, the soil moisture, and keeping granules off the bark.

Our top picks

Substral Substral Thuja-Vital 500 ml

Best overall

Substral Substral Thuja-Vital 500 ml
5.0/10about £22.80
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Empathy Empathy After Plant evergreen granules 1 kg

Preis-Tipp

Empathy Empathy After Plant evergreen granules 1 kg
8.2/10about £7.99
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Empathy Empathy After Plant evergreen liquid 1 litre

Rank 3

Empathy Empathy After Plant evergreen liquid 1 litre
8.5/10about £9.46
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.When a UK hedge gets a feed
  2. 2.Granules on the soil, not on the bark
  3. 3.Liquids only at a printed dilution
  4. 4.Mulch, and when to stop

When a UK hedge gets a feed

Feed in late winter or early spring, on moist soil, and stop after September. The Royal Horticultural Society is explicit about that stop. An autumn catch-up fights it. Some shop pages tell you to feed again in autumn. Do not copy that second dose onto a cherry laurel hedge. Established shrubs often need nothing. The optional feed is for plants that are young, weak, damaged or heavily pruned. March is the RHS month for a balanced fertiliser over the root area of those weaker plants, hoed in. You do not repeat it every fortnight unless the pack is a liquid whose own directions say weekly, and even then you still stop after September. Drought, waterlogging and damaged roots are reasons to wait, not reasons to add more.

Granules on the soil, not on the bark

Weed first. Spread granules across the root area, not against the stems, and water them in. The RHS warns that granules left on leaves can scorch. Goulding's rose, tree and shrub granules have no gram rate on the listing, and you cannot invent grams from a 1:0:0 mixing string. The unit count is 720 g and the listed weight is 750 g. The Empathy 1 kg pouch says one capful in 4.5 litres on a granule product. According to the manufacturer, and Buckingham Nurseries, the rate is about 25–50 g around a plant in the ground, watered in, or about 50 g per square metre under a larger canopy. If the pouch says sprinkle, follow the pouch. A handful in a planting hole is not the instruction for a new trench.
Substral Substral Thuja-Vital 500 ml

Testsieger

Substral Substral Thuja-Vital 500 ml
5.0/10about £22.80
View offer

Liquids only at a printed dilution

Do not invent a third rate when two sources disagree. The Empathy 1 litre listing says 1:4.5. According to the manufacturer, that bottle is 20 ml in 4.5 litres for new or container plants, and 40 ml in 4.5 litres for established plants, weekly in the growing season. A 1:4.5 mix is a much stronger brew than 40 ml in 4.5 litres. Use the label on the bottle if it differs. Substral watering is 1:80 and spray is 1:67. The bullets name cherry laurel. The target field says Thuja. The same bullets say browning and dead shoots can be disease. Do not promise the spray will green dead wood. A Germany-marked note about a 23 ml cap is not a rate to copy.

Mulch, and when to stop

After a spring feed on damp soil, a mulch of at least 5 cm, kept off the stems, is the RHS shrub habit that holds moisture. Mulch is not a second fertiliser, and it should not bury the crown. Let watered-in granules soak before you cover the soil. A pale hedge in July is more often thirst, or a leaf disease, than a missed summer feed. Stop after September even if the leaves still look tired. Soft growth pushed late in the year is the risk that stop is there to avoid. Dead wood does not regreen because a bottle said anti-brown. If holes and mildew are the real picture, feeding will not close them. Too much fertiliser can also harm the mycorrhizal fungi the RHS mentions around roots.

Common questions

What month should I feed a cherry laurel hedge in the UK?
Late winter or early spring, and March if the plants are young, weak, damaged or heavily pruned. The soil should be moist. You weed, spread or dilute at a rate you can read, and water granules in. A healthy established hedge can skip the month entirely.
Can I feed in October to catch up?
No. The Royal Horticultural Society says do not fertilise after September. An October dose is not a harmless top-up. Leave the hedge, mulch if the soil is damp, and wait until late winter if growth is still weak then.
Do I water granules in?
Yes. Spread them on the root area of moist soil and water them in. Do not leave them on leaves, and do not pile them against the bark. Goulding gives no gram rate, so you cannot improve on the pack by guessing a handful per metre.
Which dilution do I trust when Amazon and the maker disagree?
Trust the label on the pack in your hand if it differs from the web. For the Empathy 1 litre, amazon.co.uk says 1:4.5 and the maker says 20 ml or 40 ml in 4.5 litres. Those are not the same mix. Do not average them into a third recipe.
Can I spray Substral on the leaves?
The listing allows a spray at 1:67 and watering at 1:80. It also says browning and dead shoots can be disease. Spray is not a cure for dead wood, shot hole or mildew. If the bottle you bought prints a different dilution, use that print.
Should I put feed against the stems?
No. Keep granules and mulch off the stems. A pile at the trunk is the mistake hedging guidance warns against, including on a new hedge. Spread the root area, then water in.
How does mulch fit with a spring feed?
Mulch after the soil is damp, at least 5 cm, and keep it off the stems. It holds moisture. It does not replace a printed dose, and it is not a reason to feed again in autumn. If the hedge is waterlogged, fix the drainage before you add either mulch or fertiliser.

Related pages

Best cherry laurel fertiliser

Fertiliser for a new laurel hedge

Cherry laurel fertiliser buying guide

Cherry laurel fertiliser

Cherry laurel yellow leaves: check before you feed

Sources

Public UK and maker sources from the research digest, used for this page in October 2026. Prices, stars and review counts are from the four amazon.co.uk listings captured on 19 October 2026. The RHS did not rank these listings. A Germany-marked review is not UK opinion. Empathy's gram rates are the maker's statement, not a line on the amazon granule listing.

  1. RHS, How to grow shrubs (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  2. RHS, How to feed plants (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  3. RHS, Laurel leaf diseases (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  4. RHS, Nutrient deficiencies (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  5. Hedging Plants Direct, laurel hedge feed (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  6. GOV.UK, Manufacturing and marketing fertilisers (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  7. Veterinary Poisons Information Service, cherry laurel (retrieved 19 October 2026)
  8. Empathy After Plant Evergreen 1 kg (retrieved 19 October 2026)