How fast and how high does cherry laurel grow? All information at a glance

Along with the tulip, the cherry laurel was one of the first exotic plants to be found in the Middle Ages Europe and has always been used as a hedge in gardens, parks and along roadsides come. The rose family is known for its rapid growth and winter hardiness down to -20 ° C, which makes it perfect for German gardens. If you want to buy a cherry laurel, you should therefore know about the growth speed and height before buying.

Laurel cherry species

Laurel cherry, as tall as it is wide

Incorrectly referred to as cherry laurel, Prunus laurocerasus is characterized by excessive growth that does not only stretch towards the sky. The wood is one of the few hedges that you can literally watch as it grows and that can reach dimensions of up to twelve meters in its tree shape over several years. During the growth, the width of the cherry laurel is based on the height and can therefore quickly cover large areas if it is not cut to size. The final height of the rose plant differs from variety to variety.

Caucasica (Narrow-leaved cherry laurel)

•  over 500 centimeters

Rotundifolia (Large-leaved cherry laurel)

• over 500 centimeters

Angustifolia (Portuguese cherry laurel)

•  about 350 centimeters

Novita

•  about 500 centimeters

Etna

• about 200 centimeters

Otto Luyken (Broad-growing laurel cherry)

•  maximum 120 centimeters

Genolia (Columnar cherry laurel)

•  over 350 centimeters

Diana

•  about 200 centimeters

Herbergii (Upright cherry laurel)

•  350 centimeters

Mount Vernon

• 35 centimeters (one of the smallest cherry laurels)

These varieties are among the best-known and most common laurel cherries that can be found in Germany and survive the winter without any problems. It should be noted that these heights are mainly in Caucasica, the large-leaved cherry laurel and Novita can easily be exceeded if maintenance stops and the hedges start to close run wild. Then they start to sprout in all directions and also change from a classic hedge to their tree shape with one or more trunks. Some specimens of unconfirmed species in Europe could reach heights of 1,180 centimeters and form several trunks.

Note: This is just a small selection of the cherry laurel varieties. Since the plant is easy to grow, there are numerous cultivated forms at different heights.

growth

How fast does cherry laurel grow?

Laurel cherries have a really vigorous growth and in the trade there are mainly species that have fast growing times. This is mainly due to the fact that laurel cherries have always been used for delimitation in horticulture and therefore the strong sprouting varieties were used. But there are also special breeds such as Low’n Green and Otto Luyken, which are designed for wider growth. Each of the species mentioned has its own growth and especially in the speed there are clear differences. The general growth rate of the typical commercially available varieties is between 25 and 50 centimeters per year.

Budding

What does budding mean?

There are different speeds of growth that can be found in cherry laurel and determine how quickly it reaches its final height. Because laurel cherries only sprout very little after they have reached their actual height and last for decades need to gain more meters, the actual budding determines when the rose plant this condition achieved. The expulsion speeds are listed below.

• very strong: fully grown and sprouting within a few years
• strong: fully grown within a few years and then sprouting weaker
• medium: takes longer to reach full size, then continues to sprout
• weak: takes a very long time, after reaching full height or width, sprouting weakly
• small amount: takes several years to reach height, after which growth switches to supplying the plant

Tip: The labels tell you how long it takes the cherry laurel to reach full size. This also means that the stronger the shoot, the more often the plant has to be cut so that it does not get completely out of control.

Growth habit

From Caucasica

Caucasica is one of the classic cherry laurel species that can be found in Germany and is popular because of its ability to grow. Their growth is described as follows.

• 50 to 70 centimeters per year with ideal soil conditions, 25 to 50 typically
• strong budding
• Spread: 80 to 120 centimeters
• Leaves are narrow and pointed

From Rotundifolia

The large-leaved cherry laurel is very similar to the Caucasica in terms of growth behavior, but presents itself a little differently.

• about 55 to 65 centimeters a year in good conditions
• strong budding
• Spread: 200 centimeters
• leaves wider than the narrow-leaved cherry laurel, also rounder

From Angustifolia

The Portuguese cherry laurel is a bit smaller in comparison and also grows more slowly, so it can be pruned very easily.

• 20 to 40 centimeters a year
• medium-strong budding
• Spread: 120 to 150 centimeters
• small and closely spaced leaves

Growth habit of Novita

Novita is one of the most original cherry laurel varieties and impresses with its lush green leaves and its good effect as a hedge. It has the following characteristics.

• 50 to 70 centimeters a year without any problems
• very strong budding
• Spread: up to 200 centimeters
• Leaves are similar to Rotundifolia, only the color is darker and richer

From Etna

With Etna there is a variety that, in contrast to the laurel cherries mentioned so far, remains really small and typically continues to grow rather slowly after two meters. For this reason, it is often used for higher-lying hedges. The growth is shown as follows.

• 10 to 30 centimeters a year
• medium-strong budding
• Spread: 150 to 200 centimeters
• industry-proof
• broad, thick leaves with bronze-colored shoots

Tip: Industrial grade means that strains like Etna are extremely persistent and do well in human environments. This means that you can grow industrial species yourself if you live on the busy main road in a large city or in dry areas.

Growth habit of Diana

With Diana, a variety is offered that does not get along so well in urban areas, but has no problem with drought, heat and cold. If Diana is not cut, the plant will turn into a round shrub that is the same width as height.

• 30 to 50 centimeters a year
• medium-strong budding
• Spread: 200 centimeters
• Leaves like Rotundifolia, only darker
• bronze-colored shoots with less intensity than Etna

Growth habit of Genolia

Genolia is extremely interesting because this cherry laurel is not that wide. For this reason it is also called columnar cherry laurel because it grows densely and appears like a column. The growth is as follows.

• 15 to 30 centimeters a year
• weak budding
• Spread: 100 centimeters
• grows slim and upright, hardly requires pruning
• leathery, dark leaves, medium-sized and narrow

From Herbergii

Herbergii is one of the hardiest varieties of the laurel cherry and is therefore also suitable for the coolest regions in Germany. It is also very undemanding and can be used anywhere. The growth is shown as follows.

• 30 centimeters a year
• medium-strong budding
• Spread: 120 to 150 centimeters
• extremely small, thick leaves

Growth habit by Otto Lyuken

The cherry laurel Otto Lyuken was named after the gardener of the same name from Siegen, who worked in Weener throughout his life. The extremely low growing cherry laurel is twice as wide as it is high and is therefore very attractive in all gardens that want low hedges or accents. The growth is shown here as follows.

• 10 to 20 centimeters a year
• medium strength
• Spread: 250 centimeters
• slender and small leaves, medium green

From Mount Vernon

Mount Vernon is a variety that is extremely hardy and is also one of the smallest cherry laurel varieties. It is used exclusively as a ground cover and is an interesting comparison to the otherwise high varieties of the Prunus laurocerasus plant species. The growth is shown as follows.

• 10 to 15 centimeters per year
• very little budding
• Spread: 100 centimeters
• Leaves dark green and shiny
• dense branching