Anti theft protection for some laurels???

I have a weird situation where the back of my garden ends at a river that has a public footpath on the far side. There are general wild plants growing up the bank and where it flattens off at the top to a fence. I have permission to do what I want with the far bank and my forst thing is to plant some laurels for a privacy screen ( I dont like people looking at me (personality dissorder maybe ))

My neighbour reckons they will get stolen....... is there anything I can do to protect them untill they get properly established?

 

Hi Nelly,

you could always tie a half starved rottweiler to each one LOL, I don`t know your area, what type of people pass there? It`s not the sort of thing to ordinarily happen, although it is a serious concern, someone further down the village here had their entire garden,plants, trellises, pots, etc stolen and the police told him that the theives aren`t even trying to fence stuff now, they are just flogging it on ebay! Even plants and stuff.

 

Aye the country has gone to pott indeed!

I dont want to spend around £250 just to have some one nick it all.

 

Is the land actually owned by the council? Could they assist financially. Another thought that springs to mind is, laurels are pretty beefy and sturdy plants, Maybe a smaller size and a larger stock of patience is called for-they are less desirable to theives ( mad logic), and by the time they are of a size to notice they will have established a beast of a root system.

 

Godd ideas there! thanks

 

Can you not get spikey plants instead? Berberris, pyracantha, blackthorn, hawthorn, buckthorn? That'll teach the robbing gits? Or concrete in a nice fence and grow some climbers up it? Laurels can go absolutely nuts really quickly if let unchecked.

 

Are they ever green?

I want nuts too and quickly

People stop and just stare at me......and get this - I am holding a fishing rod obviously fishing and people shout 'hey ... are you fishing in there?'

And then theres the teen agers
one actually decided to have a **** in the river the other day!!!

 

Hi Nelly,

If you are going to go with the interplanting I`ll give you a good tip-because I have at least 7 deep scratches off mine the other week and they hurt like hell-mahonias! And they flower in winter too so good looking.

I have a nasty habit of falling into the bushes whilst out pruning and stuff and the holly was like a velvet glove by comparison.

Mahonias are evergreen too

 

thanks for that

Im just off to google them

 

Yes, of course, mahonias! Get a few of them in for good measure too. I'd like to see the robbing chavs making off with those... Arf arf! :D

 

I`m too scared to prune them in Spring, I shall require some falconry gloves.

 

I remember a farmer once who got sick of trespassers putting a radio active sign up saying--Do Not Enter--Radio Active Material On Site. Reckons he never got many trespassers after that. Perhaps it might work with Laurels?

 

just plant them, if you are really woried then put a pig wire fence in front, when established the mesh will pull away easily as the holes are large.

 

They grow pretty quick once established, if it were me I would plant 'small' from a cost / 'steal me' point of view. Buy the time they are of a size to appeal to the would be laurel thief the roots will be too much to come free without serious effort. If they do steal the small plants you haven't lost too much and you have the answer to the question, would they get nicked.:(