Portugal Laurel Plants

Growing Portugal Laurel plants:
Portuguese Laurel will grow well in any soil with decent drainage apart from pure sand. It tolerates full shade although, like any plant, this will slow down its growth. It will grow in frost pockets and very exposed locations on the coast or on a hillside. It is ideal for dry shade underneath larger trees.
The Laurels will not grow well if the site is too damp. Wet sites will kill them and while they tolerate damp, humid locations, they will be affected by mildew.

Prepare your site before planting:
It is good to dig over the area where you plant a hedge several months in advance, especially if the soil is poor. Destroy the weeds first: nettles, brambles and ground elder are tough and a glyphosate based weed-killer is the best way to remove them. Then dig the soil over; remove rocks, roots and other rubbish. Mix in well rotted compost or manure down to the depth of about 2 spades. If your soil is rich, you don't have to dig it over, but killing all the weeds is still necessary.

Watch our video on how to plant a garden hedge for full details. The plants in this video are delivered pot-grown, but planting out bareroot stock is essentially the same.
Remember to water establishing plants during dry weather for at least a year after planting.

Growing Portuguese Laurel as a Tree:
The plants that we sell have been trimmed for extra bushiness, which is ideal for a hedge. If you want to grow a Portugal Laurel tree, all you need to do is plant your young bush and let it settle in for a year. In winter, select the thickest upright stem to become the trunk of your tree and prune off all the other stems. As the tree grows, you will probably need to continue removing side-shoots from low down on the plant: it's best to do this early in the year when the unwanted shoots are still new and soft.

Hedge Planting Accessories:
Prepare your site for planting by killing the weeds and grass with Roundup weed killer.
You can buy a hedge planting pack with sheets of mulch fabric and pegs to hold it down.
Portugal laurel doesn't need protection from rabbits or deer.
If your soil quality is poor, we recommend using mycorrhizal "friendly fungi" on the roots of new trees and shrubs.
You can also improve your soil with bonemeal organic fertiliser and Growmore.

After you have planted your Portuguese Laurel hedge, the most important thing to do is water it in dry weather. You will also need to weed around the plants. Watering should be thorough, so the ground is soaked. Let the soil almost dry out before watering again. Watering & weeding will be necessary for at least a year after planting.
Like all evergreen plants, Portugal Laurel is active and needs moisture in the ground throughout the year. This means that your establishing plants need to be watered in the winter when they are planted, if the weather is dry.

Trimming Formal hedge plants:
Our Portuguese Laurel doesn't need any clipping at all in its first year after planting. In the spring of the following year, your young hedge should be trimmed lightly and every spring after that until it is mature.
When it is fully grown, you can clip it at anytime. Once per year is sufficient and you can trim it up to 3 times a year if it is growing vigorously in a sunny location and you want to keep it really neat.

If you trim your Portuguese Laurel hedge every other year, you will be rewarded with a great display of flowers.
Portugal responds very well to hard pruning and overgrown old plants can be cut back to low stumps if necessary.

Special notes on caring for Portugal Laurel hedges:
Portugal Laurel is a very tough hedge plant that shouldn't need special attention once it has established. If you didn't use a mulch fabric, it is beneficial to mulch around the base of the hedge each year with well rotted manure or compost.

Hygiene & Diseases:
Dead, damaged or diseased wood can be pruned off as soon as it appears.
Disinfect your pruning tools between every cut if there is any sign of disease.
Burn or dispose of any diseased material, do not compost it.