Cherry laurel

Cherry laurel: how do you recognise it?

Habit

Evergreen shrub of 3–8 m, usually grown as a shrub or hedge; broad and dense.

Leaf

Alternate, evergreen, leathery and glossy light green, 10–20 cm, edge smooth or shallowly toothed. A few small glands underneath near the base.

Bark

Grey-brown and smooth.

Flower

Upright spikes of small white flowers in April–May.

Fruit

Glossy black little cherries; seeds and leaves are poisonous.

Difference from holly

Holly has a smaller leaf with a spiny edge.

Flowering: April–May · Pruning: May–June and August–September

Identify by feature: Evergreen leaves · White blossom · Black berries

Looks like it, but isn’t

• Holly Ilex aquifolium: smaller leaf with a spiny edge. Difference from holly

Why grow it?

• Why it is so popular: it grows fast, stays green all year and tolerates shade.
• Why we still advise against it: birds spread it into woodland, where it crowds out native plants.
• Already have a cherry laurel hedge? Cut it straight after flowering, so it forms no berries and doesn’t spread.
• A native hedge of holly, yew, wild privet or beech is just as dense, and far richer for birds and insects.

Cherry laurel: where does it grow best?

• Grows in sun, partial shade and deep shade, on almost any soil: that is exactly why it escapes so easily.
• Never plant it on the edge of woodland, a hedgerow or a nature area.
• Left to grow freely it becomes 4–5 m wide; as a hedge, annual pruning keeps it narrow.

Light

Sun to shade

Legal basis

Any garden soil

Moisture

Normal

Size

6 m tall, 5 m wide

Hardiness

Throughout Belgium, no protection needed

Goes well with

• Holly: The best native alternative: evergreen, shade-tolerant and with berries for the birds.
• Yew: Evergreen and easy to clip neatly, even in deep shade; note that yew is poisonous too.
• Wild privet: Native and semi-evergreen; it flowers in June for butterflies and bees and bears black berries for the birds.
• Beech: A clipped beech hedge keeps its brown leaves all winter.

Cherry laurel: when and how to plant it?

1. Preferably don’t plant a new cherry laurel: choose a native evergreen such as holly or yew, or a beech hedge that keeps its brown leaves.
2. If you do plant it, do so in a garden far from woodland and nature, and keep it as a clipped hedge.
3. Replacing an existing hedge? Dig out the shrubs with as much root as possible: a stump left in the ground will sprout again.
4. Plant the new native hedge in autumn or winter, bare-root or root-balled.

Care

Preventing berries

Cut the hedge straight after flowering, removing the spent flower spikes: then no berries form and birds cannot spread it.

Seedlings

Every year, look for young cherry laurels under trees, in borders and in hedgerows, and pull them up roots and all.

Removal

Cut down a large shrub and dig out the stump. If that isn’t possible, cut off every new shoot until the stump is exhausted.

Water and feeding

Not needed: it grows fast enough already.

Tip: Want to replace a cherry laurel hedge without suddenly being on view? Plant the new native hedge alongside it and only remove the laurel once the new hedge is dense enough.

Cherry laurel: when to prune it?

Pruning months: May–June and August–September.

When: After flowering (May–June) and, if needed, again in late August.

How:

• Use secateurs rather than a hedge trimmer: leaves cut in half turn an ugly brown.
• After flowering, remove the spent flower spikes as well, so that no berries form.
• An overgrown shrub can be cut back hard, into old wood; it will sprout again.

Caution: Don’t dump clippings in woodland or near chickens or livestock.

Pruning: when and how · Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Better not

Don’t propagate it: birds already spread it more than enough. To extend an evergreen hedge, take cuttings of holly or yew in late summer instead.

Seedlings

Young cherry laurels that come up by themselves are not free plants: pull them up, especially near woodland.

Cherry laurel: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy throughout Belgium: no protection needed.

• Fully hardy; in severe frost the leaves can scorch brown, but the shrub sprouts again.
• In winter, escaped cherry laurels stand out clearly among the bare trees: a good time to pull them up or dig them out of your own copse or hedgerow.

Diseases and pests

• Escaping into the wild: Seedlings under trees and in woodland, spread by blackbirds and other birds. Pull them up young; dig out larger shrubs with their roots.
• Shot hole: Small round brown spots in the leaf that drop out, leaving holes. Usually harmless; cut off badly affected branches.
• Vine weevil: Half-moon notches in the leaf edges, made by a beetle that feeds at night; its grubs eat the roots. Nematodes work well against the grubs.
• Powdery mildew: White coating on young leaves, which become distorted. Cut off affected shoot tips.

Through the year

• January: Dig out escaped cherry laurel in your copse or hedgerow: they are easy to spot among the bare trees.
• March: Pull up seedlings in borders and under trees.
• April: Flowering: bees visit the white spikes.
• May: Prune after flowering, taking off the spent spikes: then no berries form.
• June: Finish pruning; watch for vine weevil and shot hole.
• August: Second cut in late August, if needed.
• September: Last pruning; pull up seedlings.
• November: Replace a cherry laurel hedge: dig it out and plant a native hedge.

What can you use it for?

Garden and landscape

Fast-growing evergreen hedge.

Caution: Leaves and seeds contain hydrogen cyanide: poisonous to people and animals. Invasive in woodland, and of little value to wildlife.

Did you know?

• Popular hedging plant that birds spread into woodland, where it crowds out native plants.
• Despite its name, it is not related to the true bay laurel: it belongs to the rose family, like cherry and plum. In the kitchen, only use leaves of bay laurel.
• The small glands at the base of the leaf secrete nectar, which attracts ants.
• Despite the name it is not a laurel but a Prunus, related to cherry and plum; laurocerasus means ‘laurel cherry’. It comes from south-eastern Europe and western Asia.
• Insect collectors used to put crushed cherry laurel leaves in their killing jars: the hydrogen cyanide released killed the insects.