How to grow common laurel

Common laurel (also known as cherry laurel or English laurel) is a hardy and hardy shrub. It is suitable for hedges where it can reach a height of 1.5 to 4 meters. As a hedge, laurel trees provide sheltered privacy all year round. However, they are not suitable for sites with young children, around playgrounds, schools and nurseries as they have poisonous berries. 

However, if you can have a common laurel tree in your garden, it will continue to grace your garden even in winter - providing a wonderful sight, especially if it is already a little weathered or decorated with a crust of snow. 

Botanically, the laurel tree forms a separate genus, Laurocerasus, otherwise also in the broad genus Prunus - plum tree, where laurel trees are placed along with cherries, peach trees, plum trees, cherry trees, sour cherry trees, sakura trees, mirabelles and other species of "plum trees." 

The common laurel is one of the most widespread and very reliable species. In the Czech Herbarium of 1899, it is listed as a medicinal plant, from whose leaves a medicinal lotion is prepared, which contains bruisetic acid. It cures irritated spinal cord and senses, but it is also dangerous as it causes dizziness and death in large doses. 

In nature, the common laurel is found in the eastern Balkans, Turkey and the Caucasus - in mountain beech forests and in damp and shady valleys. It has been cultivated in gardens since the Middle Ages and came to Europe from Trabzon via Constantinople as early as 1546. From 1574, it spread from Vienna throughout Europe - it was particularly popular in monastery and castle parks and gardens.

A new, very hardy species of laurel has been bred - NOVITA. It retains all the qualities of its more delicate relatives - Novita is tall, boasts large, shiny, leathery leaves of a pleasant color, grows quickly and is very hardy (despite its large leaves). The new species is a selection of Rotundifolia. The leaves are 10-15 cm long. They have a fresh green color when young. When they get older, they are dark green and have lighter veining. The shape of the leaves is obovate but slightly pointed.

Novita grows rapidly in all directions, but most rapidly in height. Very quickly you get nice dense evergreen shrubs. It is suitable for hedges as a fast-growing screen, but also as a solitaire in the background of garden planting. As Novita is offered with a low or high trunk, we can also get an evergreen tree if we want. 

Novita does not flower until later in adulthood. Then it produces many flowers as well as almost black fruits. Only the leaves and seeds of the immature fruit are poisonous, not the fruit itself. The discolored and fallen fruit should not harm children. The berries are small black drupes that are palatable to birds in winter but are reported to be dangerous to humans and pets. 

The Portuguese laurel (Prunus lusitanica) is probably the most popular in this country. It grows to the size of a shrub or tree (depending on the cut) and forms a beautiful regular shape with strong, sturdy branches. Shrubby forms, semi-shrubs, trees on tall trunks, and cut forms are available. 

Portuguese laurel has gracefully drooping, dark green, small leaves with red margins and petioles. The flower is very similar to other bay trees. However, the panicles of white flowers are not upright but fall sideways. The smaller leaves with less water content make this bayberry even more resistant to frost. Water evaporation tends to be the biggest problem in frosts. It loves the sun, but in winter it is advisable to cover the leaves with a non-woven fabric during prolonged frosts so that the sun does not scorch the leaves. It likes acidic, humid and moist soil - just like other laurel trees.

A variable hedge is obtained by planting different varieties of laurel trees side by side, with evergreen rhododendrons, hollies, hawthorns and shrubby ivy mixed in. Be warned, however - this hedge will be quite wide, but the reward will be 'evergreen density of foliage' and variation in color throughout the year. You will get a very effective property fence that will avoid the gaze of onlookers and instead draw attention to itself.

The laurel tree is a very hardy tree species. It tolerates drought well, but will die if permanently waterlogged. 

As can be seen from the previous paragraph, the laurel tree is ideally planted in combination with other evergreen shrubs. It makes a good dark background for early flowering shrubs and taller perennials. Do not combine laurel trees with shrubs that bear fruit and do not plant them near playgrounds. 

They like sunny or slightly sheltered sites and should be planted in well-drained, slightly acidic and moist (but never waterlogged) soil. The soil must not be calcareous. They do not thrive in soils that are too calcareous and their leaves turn yellow (chlorosis). However, the yellowing of the leaves can be eliminated by adding bitter salt or adjusting the pH of the soil to acidic. Leaf yellowing can also be caused by a lack of nutrients or by planting in clay soil.

Plant laurel in spring from containers or uncontainered but with a good quality root ball. The underlying soil should also be amended with good quality compost. In the case of planting a hedge from bay only, plant 2-3 seedlings per meter length of the future hedge. If the bay tree is planted in clay soil, plant it slightly above the ground (elevate it).

You can propagate laurel by cuttings. Cuttings are taken at the end of the summer holidays. They must be about 10 cm long and only 2-3 leaves should be left. The cuttings are first soaked in a growth stimulator, then planted in mobile containers and placed in the garden in spring.

If it is not currently freezing in winter and the ground is not frozen, we need to water our laurel plants. In any case, the plant should not dry out before the ground freezes. If the leaves or twigs freeze, just cut them back in the spring - the bayberry grows reliably and vigorously. This shrub can cope with temperatures as low as -27°C in the short term, otherwise it is hardy to about -24°C. Cut back in April or mid-July. Water in dry weather during the season, but the plants can tolerate drought in the long term. The only way to keep the laurel in good health is to choose the right habitat and modify the soil if necessary, but also by pruning.

The laurel tree does not usually suffer from any diseases or pests. However, it can develop a white coating on its leaves, which is caused by Podosphaera tridactyla. 

The leaves of the laurel tree may also show the gyre of the weevils, or some worms. The brown spots on the leaves are caused by Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae and several fungal pathogens such as Cercospora sp., Blumeriella sp., and Wilsonomyces carpophilum. Stigmina carpophila in turn parasitizes flowers, fruits and buds. It produces dry blotch on leaves - brown spots that soon dry up and fall off.