Лавровишня prunus laurocerasus

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How to Grow and Care for Cherry Laurel

Jennifer Lesser is a New Jersey-based freelance writer covering lifestyle for The Spruce. She has over 16 years of experience writing for various outlets including Time Out NY and NJ Monthly.

The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova

Cherry laurel plants (Prunus laurocerasus) are attractive evergreen shrubs that produce dainty white flowers in the spring. They are part of the Prunus genus, which also includes plum, peach, and almond trees.

These large, fast-growing shrubs are known for their sweet-smelling flowers and ability to attract birds to their red, cherry-like fruits (which turn black when they’ve fully matured). They are also a favorite among butterflies, bees, and other pollinators The cherry laurel can blend in perfectly with hedges of any shape thanks to its dark green, opaque foliage, and distinctive white flowers.

Cherry laurels are shade tolerant and rapid growers that can be ideal for privacy shrubs in a garden setting. They are resilient and quite easy to care for, especially when already well-established in the garden.

The leaves, stems, seeds, and berries of this laurel are toxic when ingested by both humans and pets.

Common NameCherry laurel
Botanical NamePrunus laurocerasus
FamilyRosaceae
Plant TypeEvergreen shrub
Mature SizeUp to 25 feet tall, 30 feet wide
Sun ExposureFull shade to full sun
Soil TypeFertile, well-drained
Soil pH6.5-7.5
Bloom TimeSpring
Flower ColorWhite
Hardiness Zones4-9 (USDA)
Native AreaSouthwest Asia, Southeast Europe
ToxicityToxic to people and pets

Cherry Laurel Care

When planting cherry laurel, it’s best to aim for October to March (although fall is best) to allow for the opportunity for root development before winter. If you do choose to plant these shrubs in the warmer months, keep in mind that they will need more frequent watering.

It’s also among the fastest-growing shrub varieties—they can reach heights over 25 feet when mature. Dwarf varieties are available, and they can also easily be given more of a tree-like form by progressively pruning the lower branches as the shrub grows taller.

The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova

The Spruce / Evgeniya Vlasova

Traditional uses and benefits of Cherry Laurel

Prunus laurocerasus, also known as cherry laurel, common laurel is an evergreen species of cherry (Prunus) belonging to Lamiaceae / Labiatae (Mint family). The plant is native to regions bordering the Black Sea in southwestern Asia (i.e. northern Iran, Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and southern Russia) and southeastern Europe, from Albania and Bulgaria east through Turkey to the Caucasus Mountains and northern Iran. This plant is commonly found in urban forests in King County, Washington and can also be found escaping into more remote areas, usually spread by yard waste dumping or by birds eating the plant’s cherry-like fruits (which are not palatable to people, and can be poisonous).Cherry laurel, common cherry laurel, common laurel, English laurel, laurel and laurel cherry are some of the popular common names of the plant.

Genus name Prunus comes from Latin means plum or cherry tree. Specific epithet laurocerasus means laurel cherry in reference to its laurel-like evergreen leaves and cherry-like fruit. The common names refer to the similarity of foliage and appearance to bay laurel (Laurus nobilis), and like the bay laurel, Prunus laurocerasus was used for making laurel wreaths, but the two plants are not closely related. It is not to be confused with its American relative Prunus caroliniana, which is also called cherry laurel. Cherry Laurel plants are pretty easy to grow for every type of gardener. They are tolerant of extreme light conditions, drought, aerosol salt, and even neglect. The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food, medicine and source of materials. The plant is widely grown as an ornamental, where selected cultivars can be used as ground cover or hedging.

Cherry Laurel Facts

  • In small quantities, hydrogen cyanide has been shown to stimulate respiration and improve digestion, it is also claimed to be of benefit in the treatment of cancer.
  • In larger concentrations, however, cyanide can cause gasping, weakness, excitement, pupil dilation, spasms, convulsions, coma and respiratory failure leading to death
  • Leaves and seed may cause severe discomfort to humans if ingested.

Plant Description

Cherry laurel is a tall, spreading, thicket-forming evergreen shrub or small to medium-sized tree that normally grows about 5 to 15 meters (16 to 49 ft.) tall, rarely to 18 meters (59 ft.), with a trunk up to 60 cm broad. The plant is found growing in fields, forest edge, plantations, roadsides, waste lots, riparian thickets, shaded ravines, understory of urban and second-growth forests, damp to wet sclerophyll forest, cool montane forest and other disturbed areas. The plant prefers a damp but well-drained moisture retentive soil that is rich in nutrients. It grows well in heavy clay soils and thrives in a loamy soil, doing well on limestone. It prefers some chalk in the soil but it is apt to become chlorotic if too much is present, growing badly on shallow chalk. It is extremely tolerant of shade; it succeeds in the dense shade of trees with almost no direct light and in their drip line. The plant has green bark which has cherry-like aroma when bruised.

Leaves

The leaves are thick, leathery, shiny, alternate, on short, thick stalks, oblong-ovate, from 3-8 in. (7.6-20.3 cm) long, growing narrower at each end, and with a slightly serrate margin. The dark green upper surface is smooth and shining and the under one much paler, dull, and the midrib very prominent. There are glandular depressions and hairs near the base. The leaves can have the scent of almonds when crushed. Leaves are evergreen with no fall color.

Flower

The flower buds appear in early spring and open in early summer in erect, oblong 7–15 cm racemes of 30–40 flowers. Each cup-shaped flower is 1 cm across with five small cream to white petals and numerous yellowish stamens and grows in small clusters. Flowers have a powerful aroma. The blooming period occurs from April to May.

Fruits

Fertile flowers are followed by small cherries and grow in clusters like grapes. The fruits are 0.3 to 0.7 inches (1-2 cm) in diameter, turning black when ripe in early autumn. This fruit is basically inedible for humans (bitter aftertaste) but is loved by local bird populations. It is similar in shape and structure to a black cherry, the odor of hydrocyanic acid may be detected in almost all parts of the tree and especially in the leaves when bruised.