A spotlight on Laurel

A spotlight on Laurels

When talking to visitors at the nursery, many are looking for an evergreen, but they rarely want to go for a laurel. They all remember the big, heavily overgrown common laurels that you often see in commercial plantings and industrial estates. However, once you can start to look past this preconception, most people start to appreciate what beautiful and useful plants they can be. The key is ensure you’re choosing the right laurel for your space and taking care of them properly, but we know how tricky that can be.

Below we will take you through some of our favourite laurel options at the nursery, their characteristics, where to plant and how to look after them so they’re always looking their best.

 

Prunus lau. Rotundifolia (common or Cherry Laurel)

The Prunus lau. Rotundifolia or Common/Cherry Laurel is the most commonly seen large leaved laurel. Fast growing and resilient, this plant has been mistakenly planted in gardens and areas for years. In a domestic garden the speed of growth and the spreading nature of the pant, if left untrimmed, means that it soon out grows the area it’s in. Plus, if not trimmed correctly it can form a goblet shape, being lot wider at the top than the bottom. Trimming with a mechanical hedge trimmer can lead to cut leaves which then die off and look unsightly, so it is best trimmed by hand, using secateurs. With its larger leaf it can look a bit open and unkempt, but it will still be doing a great job of screening. Best planted where space is not an issue, allowing this hedge to make a brilliant backdrop to a garden. Due to its manner of growth this is only available in our Readybag range.

Prunus lus. Angustifolia (Portuguese Laurel)

Very different to the common laurel above, this hedge has a smaller dark green leaf that allows this plant to be clipped up into a really good, tight formal hedge. The smaller leaves allow it to be trimmed using mechanical trimers without any problems. With regular trimming it can be kept very narrow and controlled, because of this it means that this type of laurel can be used in areas where space is at more of a premium. The Portuguese Laurel makes for an excellent back drop to a garden or even a formal herbaceous border but can also be used to make more intimate areas within an outdoor space. When kept regularly trimmed it can look as good as English Yew. We can supply this in both the Readyhedge trough and Readybag range as well as midi and high screening panels.

Prunus lau. Novita

This is a selected form of Common Laurel that is easy to train up into a clear stemmed plant. The leaf is the same shape as the common laurel but it is a beautiful mid green in colour. Slightly slower growing than the common laurel, this variety lends itself perfectly to making pleached or aerial screening trees We supply this purely as aerial screening.

 

Whichever variety of Laurel you choose, in the right place and with the right care they all make fantastic hedges and screens. Not sure which would be the right option for your space? Pop us a message and a member of the team will be in touch to help.

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