Laurustinus

Laurustinus: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Dense, rounded, evergreen shrub of 2–3 m.

Leaf

Opposite, 4–10 cm, oval, untoothed, dark green and glossy, with hairs in the vein axils.

Bark

Reddish young twigs, later greyish-brown.

Flower

Pink buds and white, lightly scented flowers in flat heads, from November to April.

Fruit

Metallic blue berries in summer; poisonous.

Difference from guelder rose

Guelder rose drops its lobed leaves and bears red berries.

Difference from garden privet

Garden privet has smaller leaves, white panicles in July and black berries.

Flowering: December–April · Pruning: April–June

Identify by feature: Evergreen leaves · Winter flowers · Blue berries

Looks like it, but isn’t

• Guelder rose Viburnum opulus: drops its lobed leaves and bears red berries. Difference from guelder rose
• Garden privet Ligustrum ovalifolium: smaller leaves, white panicles in July and black berries. Difference from garden privet

Why grow it?

• Flowers from November to April, when little else is in bloom.
• Evergreen: a dense hedge or shrub all year round.
• Grows in sun, partial shade and shade, on almost any soil.
• Winter flowers for the first bumblebees and bees; berries for birds.

Laurustinus: where does it grow best?

• Sun to shade; in sun it flowers most freely.
• Almost any free-draining soil, chalky ones too; no wet feet.
• Allow 2–3 m width as a free-standing shrub; as a hedge you keep it narrower.
• Preferably sheltered from cold east winds: in hard winters the leaves can scorch.

Light

Sun to shade

Legal basis

Any garden soil

Moisture

Normal

Size

3 m tall, 2.5 m wide

Hardiness

Throughout Belgium, no protection needed

Goes well with

• Winter heath: Pink winter flowers at its feet, in the same months.
• Witch hazel: Fragrant yellow or orange flowers on bare branches, in front of the evergreen leaves.
• Holly: Red berries beside the white flower heads: an evergreen winter group.

Good and bad companions

Goes well with

• Tolerates shade and suits planting under large trees such as: ginkgo, box elder, ash, honey locust, field maple, silver maple

Laurustinus: when and how to plant it?

1. Plant pot-grown plants in spring (April–May) or early autumn.
2. For a hedge: 2–3 plants per metre.
3. Dig a generous planting hole and mix in some compost.
4. Water well after planting and keep the soil moist during the first year.

Care

Watering

In dry spells during the first year; after that only in long dry summers.

Feeding

A little compost in spring.

Hedge

Clip once a year, straight after flowering.

In a pot

Also grows in a large pot; water regularly and protect the pot in hard frost.

Tip: Plant it by the front door or in front of a window: you will have flowers in view all winter.

Laurustinus: when to prune it?

Pruning months: April–June.

When: After flowering, in April–June.

How:

• Clip a hedge once a year after flowering.
• A free-standing shrub needs little pruning: shorten overlong branches and remove dead wood.
• An overgrown, bare shrub tolerates hard rejuvenation pruning in April; it regrows, but flowers less the following winter.

Caution: Clipping after June costs you the following winter’s flowers. Before clipping, check that no birds are nesting in the hedge.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Cuttings

In summer, take 10 cm semi-ripe cuttings and root them in a pot of sandy compost under plastic.

Layering

Bend a low branch to the ground and cover it with soil; after a year it will have roots.

Laurustinus: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy throughout Belgium: no protection needed.

• Hardy in a normal winter; in hard frost the leaves can turn brown or twigs can be killed back, but it usually regrows in spring.
• Frost can damage open flowers; the buds simply carry on opening afterwards.

Diseases and pests

• Viburnum beetle: Larvae and small beetles eat holes in the leaves in spring and summer. Cut off twigs with eggs (rows of small bumps) as soon as you see them.
• Vine weevil: Half-moon notches in the leaf edges. Control the grubs with nematodes in spring or late summer.
• Frost damage: Brown leaves after a hard winter. Wait until April, then cut out the dead parts.

Through the year

• January: Flowering: white heads with pink buds.
• March: Flowering continues; first bumblebees.
• April: Flowering ends; pruning and planting.
• May: Clip the hedge.
• June: Last pruning: no clipping after this.
• July: Metallic blue berries.
• November: First flowers.
• December: Winter flowering.

What can you use it for?

Garden and landscape

Evergreen hedge or shrub that flowers in winter; tolerates partial shade.

For wildlife

Winter flowers for the first bumblebees and bees; berries for birds.

Caution: The berries are poisonous.

Good for wildlife

Bumblebees

Nectar and pollen for bumblebees, also from deep flowers and early in spring.

Bees

Nectar and pollen for honeybees and wild bees.

Birds

Berries, seeds or insects as food, or a place to nest.

Did you know?

• One of the few shrubs that flower in winter: good for an evergreen hedge that still flowers.
• The blue sheen of the berries comes not from a pigment, but from a layered structure in the skin that reflects light.
• It grows wild in the Mediterranean maquis; that is why it is somewhat sensitive to hard frost here.
• It comes from the Mediterranean. Tinus was already its Latin name; laurustinus roughly means ‘laurel tinus’, after its laurel-like leaves.
• The metallic blue sheen of the berries comes not from a pigment but from tiny layers of fat droplets in the skin that reflect light: a structural colour.