Cherry laurel
Cherry laurel - evergreen and hardy
The cherry laurel owes its name to its leaf shape, which is strongly reminiscent of laurel leaves. However, there is no actual relationship to the laurel, which is why the name laurel cherry is also very common. The plant, which is popular as a cherry laurel hedge in this country, is originally native to Asia Minor.
It is characterised by its high frost resistance and its evergreen leaves, which make the laurel an ideal hedge plant.
The laurel bears thick, leathery-looking laurel leaves and develops creamy white flowers during spring. During August, black berries form from the inflorescences of the laurel when ripe, which are not suitable for eating.
The plant rarely grows taller than 4 metres. An exception to this is the cherry laurel Otto Luyken, which can grow up to 1.5 metres high.
Care and pruning
The cherry laurel hedge is very undemanding as far as soil conditions are concerned, but prefers nutrient-rich humus or clay soils. However, if the laurel leaves are heavily lost, a little adjustment should be made with regard to the soil condition. Excessively compacted soils and waterlogging are particularly bad for the laurel.
Ideally, the cherry laurel should be planted in loosened soil during the spring or autumn. Autumn has the advantage that the plant no longer produces new shoots.
The hedge plant does not require any special care, but should be fertilised annually towards the end of March. Additional watering is only necessary during very dry summers.
Pruning should be done once a year towards the end of June. Care should be taken to use sharp scissors, as the thick, sturdy bay leaves can prove very robust. Pruning is best done in spring. The plant will sprout again without further ado. As the cherry laurel hedge can grow up to 50 cm per year, pruning should not be dispensed with. With regular pruning, the plant will grow into a dense evergreen hedge within a few years, which is very easy to maintain.
Dense cherry laurel hedge plant for every garden
The Mediterranean flair that the cherry laurel conjures up in a garden with its laurel-like appearance is what makes it so popular. The thick, evergreen laurel leaves are, like the plant, very robust and visually a real eye-catcher. The strong contrasts that occur during the flowering period between the strong green of the leaves and the creamy white of the flowers provide a visual enhancement to many different types of garden. Particularly suitable as a boundary hedge, the laurel can also be used in other ways. It is suitable both for more wild garden styles and for more formal gardens. In the latter, it is a good choice, especially because of its malleability.
Complementary to the cherry laurel hedge are ferns or also funcias. The flowering in spring can be excellently complemented by other spring-flowering plants. These include photinia, forsythia or vinca.
Buy Cherry Laurel
Buy cherry laurel online at Intragarten. We offer different types of cherry laurels in controlled quality. If you have questions about planting, take a look at our planting instructions. Complete your dream garden with a cherry laurel and enjoy Mediterranean flair at home.
Buying cherry laurels is now very easy on the Internet. In our online shop we offer you everything about the cherry laurel and many other plants and for your garden.
The cherry laurel, many varieties
One of the best known hedging plants is Prunus laurocerasus, also known as the cherry laurel. When we use Prunus laurocerasus in a hedge, we speak of a laurel hedge. The laurel or cherry laurel is a comprehensive group of hedge plants. As the cherry laurel is an evergreen hedge plant, you can enjoy it all year round.
The laurel or cherry laurel is a comprises a large group of garden plants. All species are evergreen and grow as a shrub. In addition, the plant is easy to prune. These characteristics make the bay tree a very easy plant to use for hedges. The many species available mean that there are laurel trees for a low hedge or also for a higher hedge.
At Intragarten we have several varieties of cherry laurels in our range, most of which grow quite quickly. In combination with their large leaves, they therefore make for a fairly opaque hedge that works well as a privacy screen. The 'Rotundifolia' laurel, the 'Caucasica' laurel and the 'Novita' laurel are all wonderful Prunus species that grow about half a metre in a year. Do you have a relatively small garden or do you want a narrow laurel hedge? Then you can choose the cherry laurel 'Genolia'®, cherry laurel 'Elly'® or the Portuguese cherry laurel. These laurel hedges stay low and do not grow too fast. If you plan to plant a low hedge of no more than one metre in height, Prunus 'Otto Luyken' is the best choice.
A hedge without berries
One of the main reasons is probably that many of these plants are often used in formal hedges. This means that the plants are often pruned early in the year to ensure that they look neat in spring and summer. As a result, the young flowers are often cut off the tree before the hedge plants can actually flower. In this case, the hedge does not get any berries either.