Hedging
How to grow a cherry laurel hedge
Prunus laurocerasus
Cherry laurel is the quickest broad-leaved evergreen screen, growing 30 to 60 cm a year in sun or shade on most soils except thin chalk and waterlogged ground. Plant root-balled or pot-grown plants 60 to 90 cm apart between October and March. Success comes down to watering through the first summer, 10 litres per plant each week, and pruning with secateurs so the big leaves are not shredded.
- Hardiness
- Fully hardy
- Position
- Sun to shade
- Soil
- Fertile, free-draining
- Ideal pH
- 6.0 to 7.5
- Water
- Moderate while establishing
- Feeding
- Moderate feeder
Sowing and planting a cherry laurel hedge
WhenPlant Oct to Mar; prune May to Jun and Aug with secateurs
Starting off
Plant root-balled stock Oct to Mar or pot-grown any time, watering 10 litres per plant weekly through the first summer; large root-balled plants are the usual route to an instant screen. Propagate by 15 cm semi-ripe cuttings with a heel in Aug to Sep in gritty compost in a cold frame, rooting over the winter; hardwood cuttings 20 cm long in Oct also take. All parts, including the cherries, are poisonous.
Spacing and planting
Unclipped P. laurocerasus reaches 6 to 8 m by 8 m; hedges are held at 1.5 to 3 m tall and 1 m thick, and 'Otto Luyken' or 'Zabeliana' stay at 1 m by 1.5 m for low hedges. Plant root-balled or pot-grown hedging at 60 to 90 cm apart in a single row for a 2 to 3 m hedge, 45 cm apart for dwarf forms, with the rootball level with the surface and 1 m from any building. Dwarf forms suit a 50 cm pot; the species does not.
Varieties worth growing
- 'Rotundifolia'
- The standard hedging laurel: large, rounded, glossy mid-green leaves and upright, vigorous growth to 5 m if you let it.
- 'Novita'
- Similar in looks to 'Rotundifolia' and selected for hardiness; a sound choice for cold or exposed gardens.
- 'Caucasica'
- Narrower, darker leaves and a more upright habit, so the hedge needs less cutting back at the sides.
- 'Etna'
- Compact, dense laurel with bronze new growth, easily held at 1.5 to 2 m. Good where the full-sized plant would be too much.
- 'Otto Luyken'
- Low, spreading laurel about 1 m tall with narrow leaves and plenty of white flower spikes. For a knee-high hedge or ground cover in shade.
A cherry laurel hedge month by month
Timings are for central England. Allow two weeks later in the north and on cold, heavy soil.
- January
Plant root-balled laurel in open weather.
- February
Plant. Cold-wind scorch shows as brown leaf edges; leave it until May.
- March
Feed and mulch. Last root-balled planting.
- April
Upright white flower spikes open on unpruned plants. Start weekly watering of new hedges if dry. Hard renovation of overgrown hedges once hard frosts are over.
- May
Prune after flowering late in the month, checking for nests first.
- June
Finish the first prune. Water new hedges 10 litres per plant weekly.
- July
Keep watering new hedges. Mildew may show on soft tips; trim it off.
- August
Second prune to tidy the summer growth. Take semi-ripe heel cuttings.
- September
Finish pruning early in the month. Black cherries ripen; do not eat them, as the seed kernels are harmful to people and pets.
- October
Planting season opens for root-balled stock. Take hardwood cuttings.
- November
Plant. Stake tall root-balled plants on windy sites.
- December
Plant in mild spells. Nothing else to do.
Feeding a cherry laurel hedge
A moderate feeder. One balanced feed in March with a mulch keeps a laurel hedge dense and glossy; more than that only means more cutting.
Moderate, a balanced spring feed for fast, glossy growth.
Feeding plan
At planting, October to March
5 g per litre of root ball: 25 g for a 5 litre pot, 50 g for a 10 litre pot or a root ball of similar size, rubbed onto the outside of the root ball. Once only.
March
100 g per metre run: the label's 100 g/m² over a strip 1 m wide along the hedge, watered in.
March, after feeding
Garden compost
A 5 to 7 cm mulch over the root strip. On thin chalky soil, where laurel yellows, this is the most useful thing you can do each year.
First summer, May to August
1 g per litre of water: 10 g in a 10 litre can, used as one of the weekly waterings every 2 to 3 weeks to help a root-balled plant settle.
March, dwarf forms in pots
2 g per litre of compost on the surface: about 90 g for a 50 cm pot holding 45 litres.
Signs to watch
Yellow leaves with green veins on thin chalk
Lime-induced chlorosis, to which cherry laurel is prone
Chelated iron, sulphur chips and a compost mulch
Pale leaves and slow growth on a new hedge
Nitrogen hunger on poor ground
Balanced feed at 100 g per metre run in Mar and a mulch
Leaf scorch and browning in Feb after cold wind
Weather, not deficiency
Trim in May
Pests, diseases and problems
Brown spots on the leaves that fall out, leaving round holes as if peppered with shot
Shot hole, caused by bacterial canker or fungal leaf spots; often blamed on insects
Cosmetic on an established hedge. Prune in dry weather, avoid wetting the foliage when watering, and feed and mulch in spring so the plant grows past it.
Young leaves puckered and distorted, with a pale felt underneath and brown patches that tear, leaving ragged edges
Powdery mildew on soft new growth
Trim off the affected shoot tips. Avoid hard pruning in late summer and heavy nitrogen feeding, both of which produce the soft growth it attacks.
U-shaped notches around the leaf margins, mostly low down
Adult vine weevil feeding at night
Tolerate on hedges in the ground. For dwarf laurels in pots, water on nematodes in late August or September against the root-eating grubs.
Leaves on one branch take on a silvery sheen, and the branch dies back the following year
Silver leaf, a fungus that enters Prunus through wounds made in autumn and winter
Cut the branch out to at least 15 cm beyond any brown staining in the wood, in summer. Routine pruning between May and August avoids it.
Leaves yellow and drop on a hedge planted in the last year
Transplant stress from too little water, or too much on heavy clay
Check the soil at root depth before acting. Water 10 litres per plant weekly if dry; if the hole is holding water, stop and open up drainage. Some shedding of old leaves in the first spring is normal.
Pruning
Pruning and care
Prune May to Jun after flowering and again in Aug with secateurs or loppers, cutting each shoot back to a leaf joint, because shears slice the big leaves and the cut edges brown; a hedge trimmer is acceptable on a long hedge if you accept browned edges for a month. Keep the top narrower than the base. Laurel renovates superbly: cut to 60 to 90 cm or one face back to the trunks in Apr, and it is green ag
Good to knowA fast evergreen screen; prune with secateurs (shears slice the big leaves and brown them). All parts are toxic.
Growing a cherry laurel hedge in pots
The full-sized cherry laurel is not a pot plant; it outgrows any container in a couple of years and blows over. 'Otto Luyken' and 'Etna' will live in a 50 cm pot of loam-based compost for some years in sun or shade. Water weekly, twice weekly in summer, feed in March, and watch for vine weevil, which finds laurel in pots very quickly.
A cherry laurel hedge: common questions
Why are there holes in my laurel leaves?
The holes are almost always shot hole or powdery mildew, not insects. Both make brown patches of dead tissue that drop out, leaving round holes or tattered edges. It looks alarming but an established hedge is not harmed: trim off the worst, feed in spring, and it grows through.
How fast does cherry laurel grow?
About 30 to 60 cm a year once established. A hedge planted at 90 cm reaches 1.8 m in two to three years on reasonable soil, provided it is watered through its first summer.
Why are my laurel leaves turning yellow?
On a new hedge it is nearly always water, either too little or roots sitting in a wet hole. On an established hedge, yellow leaves with green veins point to thin chalky soil locking up iron, and a general pale colour to hunger. A few old leaves yellowing and falling each spring is normal.
Sources
Growing information on this page was checked against these references in November 2026. Feeding rates are Dr Forest label rates.