The cherry laurel belongs to the rose family. It is very popular as a hedge plant because it grows quickly and forms dense hedges. The botanical name of cherry laurel is Prunus laurocerasus. The difference to the classic laurel, the "Laurus nobilis", is that the cherry laurel is hardy. Pruning is required due to its rapid growth. We will explain to you how often you can cut your laurel hedge and individual plants and what you should consider when doing so.
popularity
That is why the cherry laurel hedge is so popular
The "Prunus laurocerasus" is ideal for planting as a hedge. Thanks to its rapid and dense growth, it is an effective privacy and wind protection for your garden. A cherry laurel hedge is a nice alternative to the classic coniferous hedge. The cherry laurel hedge is evergreen. Its foliage has a noble sheen. It grows up to three meters high. A height of one to two meters is recommended as a hedge. In German gardens you will also often find the Portuguese cherry laurel.
Portuguese cherry laurel
There are different varieties of the cherry laurel hedge. A well-known variant is the Portuguese laurel, which bears the botanical name "Prunus lusitanica". You can recognize the Portuguese cherry laurel by its height, for example. It grows 3 to 8 m high. Plants with a height of 20 m are rarer. If you see a laurel bush with dark red and bare petioles, it is probably the Portuguese cherry laurel. Its fruits are black-purple in color and ovate in shape. Its heyday is in June. You can often find it in southern France, the Iberian Peninsula and the Canary Islands.
- Growth height 3 to 8 m
- dark red, glabrous petioles
- black-purple, egg-shaped fruits
- Flowering time June
cutting time
The right time
Since the laurel grows 20 to 40 cm a year, the hedge needs to be trimmed regularly. When is the best time to prune your laurel cherries depends primarily on whether you want to prune them once or twice a year. One cut is enough if you want the laurel to look natural and original. Then you can cut it back once a year. However, if you prefer a laurel hedge that always has a tidy appearance, you should prune it at least twice a year. It always looks well-groomed and evenly grown.
- grows 20 to 40 cm per year
- Cut back 1-2 times a year
pruning
One-off pruning - the best time
Since the laurel cherry is an early bloomer, you should prune it after flowering. This encourages the laurel cherry to sprout more densely and grow more vigorously. If you want to rein in its vigorous growth, you can prune it more. Avoid cutting in the rain or in strong sunlight - neither is good for the laurel cherry.
- after flowering
- not in the rain
- not when the sun is too strong
Cut back twice - the best time
The strong-growing cherry laurel can also be cut twice a year. In this case, you should make the cut in spring and summer. It makes sense to make the first cut before the first sprouting. That means you can prune your 'Prunus laurocerasus' in late February to early March. It is then the turn of the second cut in the summer - preferably by the end of July. This gives the shoots a chance to mature before winter. Frost damage can be avoided.
- 1st cut: late February to early March
- 2nd cut: until the end of July
Tip: Never prune the cherry laurel in frost. At minus temperatures below five degrees Celsius, branches that have just been cut off can suffer frost damage. These would severely weaken the cherry laurel hedge.
trimming
How to prune the cherry laurel
First you should cut off branches with a diseased bark - preferably with a radical cut down to the healthy wood. Fungi like to settle in damaged areas, which can cause diseases. After that, you can trim branches that grow inwards. This way more light gets inside. Examine whether the cherry laurel has frost damage and remove the affected branches. Finally, you can give crooked edges a shape and shorten the shoots if necessary. It is also allowed to make a radical cut and cut back deep into the old wood. The vigorous cherry laurel will soon grow back in full force.
- Remove branches with diseased bark
- Cut off inward growing branches
- Remove branches with frost damage
- give crooked edges a straight shape
- shorten the shoots
radical cut
Cut back radically - avoid poisonous berries
Berries later develop from the cherry laurel blossoms. These are poisonous to humans and must not be eaten under any circumstances. To prevent too many poisonous berries from forming, you can radically cut back the cherry laurel hedge when pruning in autumn. In this case, this means that you also cut off the beginnings of the flowers. Then hardly any flowers grow from which the poisonous berries would later develop. Anyone who prefers to have lush flowers should leave most of the buds in place and make sure that no one eats the berries.
- Cherry laurel berries are poisonous
- To avoid berries, cut off the ends of the flowers
taper cut
The ideal time for rejuvenation cuts
So-called rejuvenation cuts are made when the cherry laurel hedge is bare at the bottom. Cutting encourages the plant to sprout again. February is a good time to do a makeover cut. Since birds like to stay in a laurel hedge, you should be considerate of the chirping guests. Therefore, you should definitely cut the laurel hedge before March 1st. If necessary, the plant can then be cut back radically down to the stick.
- Taper cut helps with bald spots
- before March 1st
- also possible up to the floor
How much you can cut off - hedge and specimen tree
Since the laurel hedge grows back 20 to 40 cm every year, you can cut it heavily - especially in the first few years. In this way you achieve a more compact growth. That means you can cut back half of the new shoots. If your cherry laurel is a single tree in the garden, a so-called solitary tree, you do not necessarily need to cut this shrub. Unless it doesn't have enough room to grow.
- Cut back half of the new growth
- especially in the early years
- Solitary trees do not need to be pruned
topiary
The topiary of the laurel cherry
Cherry laurel plants are also suitable for a topiary. For example, you can give it the shape of a sphere. This looks very decorative in your garden. However, it is also extremely time-consuming. The plants require a lot of care and the shape must be trimmed regularly.
tool
The cut - by hand or electrically
The "Prunus laurocerasus" has very large leaves. It is therefore advisable to cut it with a manual hedge trimmer. Electric hedge trimmers usually have large blades that can cause severe damage to plants with large leaves. There is a risk that the foliage will be shredded. This results in cut edges on the leaves, which turn brown after a short time and no longer look nice. Evergreen hedges are slow to shed damaged plant parts. It therefore takes a while for the hedge to replace them with fresh leaves. You can prevent this by trimming the hedge by hand.
- cut by hand with hedge trimmers
- electric scissors cause damage
Attention: You should always wear gloves when cutting, as the cherry laurel is poisonous! Skin irritation and other reactions may occur.
Cut diseased bay cherries
The laurel bush is very susceptible to powdery mildew. Another disease that often spreads on the leaves is shotgun disease. As an immediate measure, you should cut off the affected leaves and branches. Prune the shrub generously. If the plant is already very badly infested, you can make a radical cut and cut back almost to the ground. You should dispose of the clippings immediately.
- susceptible to powdery mildew and shotgun disease
- remove affected leaves and twigs
- cut generously
- a radical cut if the infestation is severe
Dispose of clippings
This is the best way to dispose of the clippings
The leaves of the cherry laurel are fleshy. They rot very slowly. If a radical cut produces a lot of clippings, it is usually better to put this in the organic waste bin. On the compost it would take a very long time for the foliage to rot.
- thick-fleshed leaves slowly rot
- Cut well into the compost bin