If the leaves of the laurel cherry become brown and dry, this can have various reasons. We would like to help you to find out the reason and give you appropriate treatment measures.
Damage from frost or drought during the winter months
Not all cultivars of the evergreen laurel cherry are fully hardy. Frost damage often only shows up in the following spring, when the foliage of the tree turns brown and dries up. Since the cherry laurel evaporates a lot of moisture through the leaves on sunny winter days, damage caused by drought is not uncommon. The frozen soil makes it impossible for the plant to compensate for the loss of liquid.
Cut back frozen or dead shoots deep into the healthy wood. As a preventive measure, you should provide the laurel cherry with adequate winter protection in very harsh areas. Water the shrub on frost-free days.
Cutting error
If you use motorized shears when cutting the laurel cherry hedge, you will injure many leaves unnecessarily. The edge of the leaf turns brown, the foliage dries up and is then shed by the plant. Therefore, only use mechanical cutting tools when pruning the cherry laurel.
diseases and pests
If the leaves of the cherry laurel show small reddish-brown spots, which are shed by the plant after a while, it could be shotgun disease. It is triggered by a fungus that multiplies explosively, especially in humid summers, and can lead to the complete death of the plant.
In the case of a light infestation, it may be sufficient to cut off the affected leaves and collect fallen leaves from the ground. Destroy the parts of the plant in the household waste, as the fungus survives in the compost and spreads again in the garden when the fertilizer is applied. If the infestation is severe, the buckshot is treated with sprays of fungicides, which are repeated once or twice at fourteen-day intervals.