The evergreen cherry laurel offers a perfect privacy screen as a hedge. We will show you what needs to be considered when planting, cutting and caring for your plants.
cherry laurel (Prunus laurocerasus) is not only a popular hedge plant because of its good vigor and its dense, evergreen leaves. Unlike other members of the rose family (Rosaceae) the robust plant gets along well with almost any location and its demands on the soil are also limited. However, a little help is needed for good growth. Sufficient fertilization is therefore an absolute must and provides a good basis for pruning. We will show you how to plant your cherry laurel and, with a little care, quickly grow it into an impressive hedge that will give you your well-deserved privacy.
contents
- Buy cherry laurel
- Cherry laurel varieties: Also suitable as hedges?
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Plant cherry laurel
- Cherry laurel: when should you plant it?
- Planting cherry laurel: step-by-step instructions
- Multiply cherry laurel yourself
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Cultivate cherry laurel
- Pour the cherry laurel properly
- Fertilize cherry laurel properly
- Cut cherry laurel
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Cherry laurel: diseases and poor growth
- Cherry Laurel: Yellow and brown leaves
- Cherry laurel loses leaves
- Cherry laurel does not want to grow
- Cherry Laurel: Common Pests and Diseases
Buy cherry laurel
When buying cherry laurel, it is important to keep your eyes open. Before you buy, look at each individual young plant that you want to take home with you later. Otherwise, you run the risk of actually avoidable problems. In the best case, the cherry laurel only gets going slowly, in the worst case you bring pathogens into your garden paradise. A healthy cherry laurel plant has lush green leaves all year round. Yellow, brown and holey leaves are clear indicators of disease or improper care. In addition, you should not find any deformations, broken branches or evidence. Also take a closer look at the point of sale. If the plants are in full sun, dry or swimming in water, the young plants are incredibly stressed and therefore particularly sensitive. But even before you buy, there are a few things you should think about. Think carefully about the conditions you will encounter at your chosen location and how you want to plant your cherry laurel.
More about finding varieties and suitable sources of supply for the Buying a cherry laurel you'll find here.
Cherry laurel varieties: Also suitable as hedges?
The different types of cherry laurel differ mainly in the shape and color of their leaves. There are small and large leaves, rich, dark green tones or foliage with beautiful bronze shades. But the varieties do not only differ visually. The usability as a hedge is also strongly dependent on the variety. There are very fast-growing varieties like 'Caucasica' or particularly bushy, opaque variants such as the 'Rotundifolia' variety.
And as different as they look, the varieties are also hardy. From relatively frost-sensitive varieties to very frost-hardy, everything is included. Therefore, before you buy, think about which properties suit your garden project best.
A selection hardy and fast-growing cherry laurel varieties you'll find here. An overview of the best Varieties for cherry laurel hedges we have compiled for you here.
Plant cherry laurel
Just by paying attention to a few little things when planting your cherry laurel, you can within a few years on a dense, high hedge or on an imposing solitary plant delight.
Cherry laurel: when should you plant it?
Fall is the best time to plant cherry laurel. This gives the plant enough time to root before the first frost and can then properly sprout for the first time in spring. It is best to choose a dry, snow-free and frost-free day for planting.
Planting cherry laurel: step-by-step instructions
Cherry laurels are considered extremely undemanding and robust. Therefore, almost every location is suitable for the rapidly spreading plants. Sun or shade - the cherry laurel finds its way to the top. He also makes no special demands on the soil conditions. However, it does not tolerate waterlogging. Therefore loosen up very heavy soil with sand and dig up the soil around the planting hole. Once you have found a nice place for your plants, you can start planting:
- Planting distance: 80 - 100 cm
- Dig planting holes
- Lay out a drainage layer of sand, gravel or broken pottery on the ground
- Mix excavated topsoil with compost, manure or horn shavings
- Plant the cherry laurel vertically in the planting hole
- Plant the root ball so that it is as deep as in the container
- Fill in the planting hole and press down the soil well
- Water well
The planting distance can be reduced to three plants per meter so that the hedges close more quickly. With container plants, the planting hole should be significantly larger than the plant container. With baled goods, it is advisable that the roots have space to spread out. In addition, you should place the roots of balled goods in water for about half an hour before planting. During the period in which your cherry laurel is growing, it is watered as soon as the soil dries out on the surface, because a lot of water evaporates through the large leaves, which increases the risk of drying out.
More to Planting cherry laurel can be found here in our special article.
Multiply cherry laurel yourself
Cherry laurels can be easily propagated via cuttings or offshoots. For example, you can easily fill in gaps in your hedge yourself in winter or due to illness. The propagation of cuttings also offers high chances of success for the garden novice. It is best to use healthy, approximately 15 cm long shoots as cuttings - these are cut back several times a year. In order for the cuttings to root, you should do the following:
- Remove lower leaves
- Cut the remaining leaves in half
- Fill a small pot with sand and soil mixture
- Stick the shoot about halfway into the substrate
- Keep the soil moist, but avoid waterlogging
- Put the foil hood over the pot
- Choose a bright location
- Temperature: around 20 °C
- It takes a few weeks for roots to form
The leaves are shortened to minimize evaporation. Also, be sure to avoid waterlogging to prevent mold from forming. You can also root the cuttings in a glass of water and then plant them in the ground. The cutting should be a few centimeters deep in the water. Propagation via seeds is also possible. But both the germination and the formation of a real plant require a relatively long time.
More to Propagation of cherry laurel you'll find here.
Cultivate cherry laurel
Of course, your cherry laurel also wants to be properly cared for. Below is a brief summary of what needs to be considered when it comes to maintenance. A more detailed guide to the ideal Care of the cherry laurel you'll find here.
Pour the cherry laurel properly
Especially on sunny and warm days it is advisable to reach for the watering can. In general, the cherry laurel should be watered when the surface of the earth around the plants has dried out. Since the cherry laurel is one of the deep-rooted plants, you should water the root area thoroughly so that the water also reaches the lower roots. In any case, make sure that you avoid waterlogging.
Fertilize cherry laurel properly
Just like us humans, cherry laurels also need a lot of nutrients in their mass phase. Although the biceps don't grow in this case, the shoots do increase by a good 40 cm per year. Therefore, the supply of your cherry laurel starts with the planting. Here, mix the topsoil with compost or organic slow-release fertilizer like ours Plantura organic universal fertilizer to.
Proper fertilization not only allows your cherry laurel to grow properly, but also supports the plant's resistance to frost. If you still want to think about the environment, it is better to keep your hands off mineral fertilizer variants. These are produced in a wasteful manner, are more difficult to dose and are usually more expensive. You can find out how you can further optimize fertilization here.
Cut cherry laurel
Pruning your cherry laurel regularly will encourage growth and keep your plants in the shape you want them to be. The vigorous plants are pruned for the first time in the first spring after planting. Thereafter, it is cut back once or twice a year - depending on how fast the variety grows. The first cut takes place in the spring before they sprout. Also meticulously remove all winter damage. Here, frozen or dried shoots are cut back deep into the healthy wood. The second cut takes place at the end of May to the beginning of June, but at the latest at the beginning of August. Here is only slightly cut into shape. Do not choose a day that is too wet or too sunny for pruning, otherwise there is a risk of fungal infections or sunburn. Also, do not use electric scissors to cut back. This severely injures the large leaves, causing the plants to look tattered rather than well cared for. In addition, the injured leaves turn brown and unsightly. Good, solid manual work with sharp pruning shears offers a remedy.
Always work with gloves and do not touch your face with your fingers. Because cherry laurel leaves secrete a plant sap on their underside, which can lead to contact allergies. More to Toxicity of cherry laurel you'll find here.
Notice: The many prunings result in a lot of cutting material. This rots rather moderately well in cherry laurel. Therefore, make sure that the compost is well mixed and layered with soil.
More to the right Pruning of cherry laurel we have summarized them here in a special article.
Cherry laurel: diseases and poor growth
Although the rose family (Rosaceae) as extremely robust, but a lack of nutrients and water in particular quickly makes itself felt in them and leads to an increased susceptibility to diseases.
Cherry Laurel: Yellow and brown leaves
There are many reasons why the once rich green leaves of your cherry laurel can turn yellow and brown, including the following:
- soil compaction and waterlogging
- sunburn
- frost and frost
- Too little or too much water supply
- fungal infections
- Nutrient deficiencies (nitrogen, iron)
- Leaves were injured when cutting (electric scissors)
- Too small pot
- Calcareous soil with too high pH
- Stress from relocation
More detailed information about yellow and brown leaves of cherry laurel and how to prevent them can be found here in this special article.
Cherry laurel loses leaves
It is normal for evergreen plants to occasionally lose leaves. Leaf edge necrosis (brown leaf edges) usually occurs on older leaves before they sail towards the ground. But if the leaves are piling up or if all the leaves are even shed, there are other reasons for this. The reasons are the same as for the previously mentioned leaf discoloration, as the next stage in this process is shedding of the damaged leaves. So proceed as described in the previous section.
Cherry laurel does not want to grow
If your laurel does not shoot up as expected, this can be due to the wrong care or simply to the growth characteristics of the variety. Therefore, find out about the growth rate of your cherry laurel variety before you get frustrated. Particularly fast-growing cherry laurel varieties you'll find here. If it is not due to the selected variety, the following reasons for the sparse growth are possible:
- Too little / too much water
- pests, diseases
- Too little fertilizer
- Cut back too little
- Compacted, heavy soil
Here's how to get your plant back to its best form:
- water well; Avoid waterlogging
- Remove diseased plant parts and combat pests/diseases (see p. below)
- Fertilization twice a year (more information on the care and fertilization of cherry laurel can be found here)
- Cut back twice a year (see p. above)
- Dig up, improve the soil, plant again
Don't forget to water, especially in winter. Especially on sunny days, the cherry laurel loses a lot of water through its leaves, even in the cold season. Improve the soil by working coarse sand and compost into the soil. When cutting in spring, cut out the flower buds. As a result, all energy is put into the drive formation.
Cherry Laurel: Common Pests and Diseases
Waterlogging in particular, but also stress, causes problems for the cherry laurel, because the moisture promotes fungal infections. The most common diseases of cherry laurel include:
- shotgun disease: Holey leaves with red-brown spots
- Wrong mildew: Yellow spots on leaf; white deposits on the underside of the leaves
- powdery mildew: Coating on the upper surface of the leaf
In the case of fungal infections, you should remove and discard the infected leaves to prevent the infection from spreading in the first place. For a heavier infestation, especially powdery mildew, consider a fungicide treatment. However, so that it doesn't get that far in the first place, you can treat your plants with Algan (Neudorf), for example, and of course you should avoid waterlogging.
The most common pest is the vine weevil, which eats the roots as a larva and thus damages them. As a result, the plant can absorb less water and nutrients, grow weaker or even dry up at some point. Even when fully grown, the nocturnal beetles are opponents of every cherry laurel lover, because they eat small bays in the leaf edges. To combat this, clay pots filled with wood shavings are placed under the infested plants. These are used by the beetles as a resting place during the day. The beetles snuggled up in the wood shavings are then disposed of together with them during the day and the pots are filled with new wood shavings.
Cherry laurels are ideal for planting as hedges. Further easy-care hedges, which can serve as a privacy screen for your garden, can be found in this article.