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When to Prune English Laurel

If you're looking for a fast-growing shrub that tolerates smog or salty air, English laurel (Prunus laurocerasus) is one of the best choices. A versatile garden shrub, it responds well to pruning and can be trained as a small tree. The dense growth habit of English laurel, sometimes called cherry laurel, also makes it useful as part of a privacy screen or hedge. English laurel grows in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 6 through 9.

  1. Timing

    • English laurel is an evergreen with 3- to 6-inch-long leaves that are shiny and dark green on top and pale green on their undersides. A mature plant can be 25 feet tall if left unpruned and may spread to an equivalent width. It has fragrant, 1/2-inch-wide white flowers in late spring that make an attractive display. English laurel blooms on old wood, or stems that grew during the previous season. For this reason, the best time to prune the plant is immediately after flowering, so that growth appearing during summer and fall can produce flower buds the next spring.

    Pruning

    • Pruning methods for English laurel depend on how you plan to use it in your garden. For a treelike shape, remove all but one or two central stems from a young plant and allow these to grow, pruning back any new central stems that appear later and removing any side branches that form near the base of the main stems. You can shape the outline of the tree by retaining side branches with a pleasing pattern and removing others. For a shrubby, more compact plant, cut back main stems by about one-third every year or two to promote a densely branched plant and to keep its size under control.

    Hedge

    • You can grow an English laurel hedge by planting several specimens in a row, spacing them about 5 feet apart and allowing them to merge with each other as they grow. Avoid shearing the plants along their outer surfaces, since this mutilates the outer leaves and can be unsightly. Shearing also ignores older, less vigorous branches that should be removed periodically. Instead, prune back several older branches near the center of the plant each year and cut back individual branches near the plant's surface to help form the desired shape. You can remove dead or damaged branches from the plant any time of year.

    Culture

    • English laurel grows well in full sun, especially in cooler regions, and tolerates shade. A spot that gets sun in the morning and partial shade in the afternoon is ideal in areas with hot summers. The plant isn't especially drought-tolerant and does best with regular watering. It thrives in any type of garden soil, provided it has good drainage. If your soil contains clay and tends to stay soggy for long periods, adding fine sand at planting can improve its drainage.

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