Prunus laurocerasus Caucasica

Description

Often a bush for hedging, this variety of cherry laurel is available here at Barcham as a standard specimen.This tough version of Cherry Laurel that has darker leaves than its cousin Rotundifolia and is considered slightly hardier.

This cherry laurel starts life as a fairly upright little shrub, but don’t be fooled as at maturity it can spread as wide as it is tall. It needs full or partial sun to thrive and a well-draining soil.

At Barcham, we grow these trees as standards with a 1.8-2.0m clear stem, making them ideal for stilted hedging. The clear stem on these standard specimens means that the foliage sits perfectly above most fences to form a higher level screen.

These standard trees can be planted at anywhere from 1 - 2m centres, depending on how instant you would like the screening coverage. The planting distance is basically a balance between how much you are looking to spend on the project and the required instant impact of the screen..

Like the other Cherry Laurels, Prunus laurocerasus Caucasica will tolerate pruning which is often done to ensure the trees foliage remains full and has a good shape. On this note, care should be taken not to prune too early or late in the season as the new flush of foliage encourages leaves which will take some time to harden up to frost, so ensure you prune after the last frost in the spring and no later than the end of July.

Mature Height: 3-5m