I'm in the Netherlands, I have two Otto Luyken Cherry Laurels planted in large pots with drainage holes. I've had them about one month. This is my first ever gardening attempt, I planted them just with basic soil and topped with mulch. I have given liquid plant food once per week. The plants were doing well and flowering beautifully until about one week ago, when the flowers started to turn brown and fall off when lightly touched. This week we experienced a significant temperature drop along with several days of heavy rain and wind, so the plants are pretty much flowerless right now.

The plant itself still looks strong, I examined the leaves and 95% look nice and green. I found a few yellow leaves down at the base of the plant.

From what I've found online, the problems could be due to chlorosis or overwatering? If overwatered, then would a few days of dryness help balance things out, or do I need to intervene some other way? I suppose I also need to get a kit to check the pH?

For the areas that have lost all of the flowers, is there any hope to get more flowering this spring? Is there any sort of pruning I should do to encourage new growth?

Thanks for any input or advice!

I am not an expert in cherry laurels, so this is a "bump". Hopefully a better expert can weigh in with specific information on cherry laurels.

I can give some general advice on potted bushes though....

First, stop fertilizing. If your soil is a commercial potting soil, most of it comes with a fertilizer built in (check the package) that will take care of the plant for six months or longer. Even if it does not have a built in fertilizer, don't fertilize quite yet. Plants that are stressed or are just planted don't react well to fertilizer. Fertilizer once a week also sounds like way too much.

No, unless it blooms year round, I would not expect those sections to bloom again this year. Do you know how long your bushes are supposed to bloom? One month is a long time for many plants.

How much water do cherry laurels need? If they are like most bushes, put your finger into the soil under the mulch to test how dry the soil is. If it is soggy, wait to water. If it is dry to the depth of your finger, water until it runs out the bottom. If it is too soggy for too long, you may need to remove the mulch.

Brush the mulch off from around the trunk so that it doesn't touch. A lot of trees and bushes will develop rot with mulch touching the trunk.

If you are using regular tap water and commercial potting soil you do not usually need a pH meter.