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Cherry Laurel - Prunus laurocerasus Rotundifolia

Key Data

Best Plants for Hedges Laurel Hedging Evergreen Hedging Screening Hedging

Evergreen Cream White Poorly Fertile Soil Coastal Areas

Exposed Windy Areas Full Shade Partial Shade Shrub

Wildlife Value

 

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Bareroot                        
Potted                        

Bareroot and potted - what' s the difference?

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DescriptionPlanting InstructionsAfter CareDelivery & Guarantee

Cherry Laurel Hedge Plants - Delivered by Mail Order from the Nursery with a 1 Year Guarantee

The Common or Cherry Laurel, Prunus laurocerasus, is an outstanding broadleaf evergreen hedging plant for problem areas. It has bright, glossy leaves and it is fast growing, very shade tolerant, thrives on poor soils and it is resistant to roadside pollution. Good drainage is its only requirement.
Cherry Laurel can be clipped as a specimen shrub and if it is left to grow freely, it will become a multi-stemmed, fairly upright tree 6-8 metres tall.
If you have chalky soil, or if you are planting in an exposed coastal location, use Portugal Laurel instead. Spotted Laurel is similar to common laurel.

Cherry Laurel hedge plants are delivered bareroot during winter (Nov-March) and pot-grown year round. Bareroot Cherry Laurel bushes are cheaper than pot grown plants. Pot grown Cherry Laurel is available in the largest sizes.

Choosing a size: When you are ordering Cherry Laurel plants for a hedge, we generally recommend that you use plants that are graded at 30/50cms or 40/60cms. They are cheaper than large plants, easier to handle and they will establish well in poor conditions. Use larger plants when you need a tall hedge quickly, or for instant impact as a shrub. All our hedge plants are measured by their height in centimetres above the ground (the roots aren't measured).

Spacing a Cherry Laurel hedge:
Plant bareroot Cherry Laurel hedging at 2-3 plants per metre, 33-50cms apart.
Plant the pot-grown Cherry Laurel at 2 plants per metre, 50cms apart.

General description of Common Laurel plants:
Cherry laurel is a tough, vigorous evergreen with large, thick, glossy leaves that are effective at blocking light, muffling sound and slowing down wind that passes through it. This plant is excellent for dry, shady places with poor soil. It casts full shade and even chemically inhibits the growth of seeds in the soil underneath it, so weeds are unable to grow. Don't plant any precious bulbs or other small plants next to a cherry laurel hedge, they will be affected too.
Its flowers are attractive, rising little spires of white, scented blossom that attract bees and butterflies. The flowers mature into bitter, cherry like fruit, which are eaten by birds.
Every part of the plant is poisonous, apart from the flesh of the fruit. None of tastes nice, so children shouldn't want to eat any of it, but we don't recommend planting a cherry laurel hedge next to livestock.
Cherry laurel is commonly planted as cover for game and wildlife.

History & uses of Prunus laurocerasus
Prunus laurocerasus is sometimes called English Laurel because it has been popular in British gardens since it was introduced from Turkey in the 1500's, but it is not native in most of Europe. The name laurocerasus means "laurel (lauro) cherry (cerasus)". It is related to cherries and other trees with stone-centred fruit, like peaches or plums. Although its evergreen leaves resemble a true laurel's, they aren't related. It's easy to tell cherry laurel leaf apart from a bay laurel: it's important to be sure if you are going to cook with it!
The variety that we grow is Prunus laurocerasus Rotundifolia, which has a more evenly rounded leaf than other cultivars and really bushy growth that suits a hedge perfectly.
This plant has been used for its poisonous properties since ancient times, such as poisoning enemy wells in Roman era sieges and, more recently, to kill insects and small animals for scientific study.