I am losing leaves on my improved English laurel. They turn bright yellow and fall off. I have heard that some loss is normal, but I have one bush losing at least 15 leaves. They have been in the ground now for 4 weeks.

Second question if I could? When a plant turns yellow from the bottom but the top looks normal and wants to bloom what is the problem. Too much water, etc. It just a small flowering plant and the bottom is getting yellow like it is not happy but the top wants to grow fine.

I will take your second question first: When the oldest leaves turn yellow, but the top of the plant still looks fine, that is usually a sympton of nitrogen deficiency. When nitrogen is deficient in the soil, plants will move nitrogen from the oldest leaves to new leaves, resulting in yellowing, or chlorosis, of the oldest leaves. The Sunset Western Garden Problem Solver recommends using a fertilizer containing nitrogen according to directions on the label for the kind of plant you have. You did not mention what kind of plant it is. The fertilizer will give the plant a quick boost. For longer term health, blood meal or fish meal scratched lightly into soil surface around the plant (follow package directions for amount), topped with a one-inch layer of compost will improve the nitrogen content and overall quality of the soil.

(Adding an inch of compost to planting beds in early spring is a good annual practice for replenishing soil nutrients and keeping plants happy.)

You wondered if too much water could be the problem. Overwatering can produce nitrogen deficiencies in the soil by leaching nitrogen down through the soil and away from plant roots. Different plants have different water requirements. Do you know what kind of plant it is? Without knowing what kind of plant it is, and without seeing it, we can only give possible explanations.

Now back to your first question. There are lots of different patterns of yellowing of leaves and each has a different cause. Is it just the bottom, oldest leaves, or newest leaves, or all leaves, or just the edges of leaves, or just between the veins. I would need to know more before even hazarding a guess. But to get an accurate diagnosis for the problems both of your plants are suffering, we recommend you take samples of each, of good leaves and bad and a little bit of soil from around the root zone of each plant to your local Master Gardener Clinic. You can find a Master Gardener Clinic near you on this website: http://king.wsu.edu/gardening/PlantClinics.html.