Prunus Laurocerasus 'Herbergii'

Laurel Herbergii

This shrub is ideal for low to medium hedges, and although it is not as fast growing as other cultivars, it’s still able to achieve a medium growth rate of 20-40cm per year.

This plant is very popular with people who want to grow a particularly striking privacy hedge. However, laurel herbergii, is chosen mainly because of its aesthetic value as it will take a few years before it becomes tall enough to serve as a privacy hedge. But still, Laurel Herbergii is a favored shrub for anyone to add the beauty of a laurel hedge of medium height to their garden.

Growing Laurel Herbergii

Laurel Herbergii is generally known for its wonderful, elegant leaves, characterized by their thick leather structure, overall shape and shiny upper sides. Its white flowers attract bees and purple fruits provide food for the birds.

Why you should grow Laurel Herbergii

Here are a few advantages of growing this shrub:

• Fully hardy and tolerant of many types of soils and planting positions except waterlogged soils
• It is also tolerant of shade, but will not grow well in chalky soil
• The privacy hedge plant can also be trimmed easily
• Fragrant flowers which attract bees are followed by purple berries which are loved by birds
• It is also the ideal hedge plant for people who have small garden and wouldn’t want a fast-growing variety
• It does not grow as fast as other cherry laurel varieties but it has all the great qualities that you would get in a formal and information hedge
• It can tolerate tricky growing locations such as windy area in a coastal town
• It is ideal plant for anyone looking for a laurel hedge of medium height
• It is also frost resistant and adaptable
• As a hard, evergreen, the shrub can be grown in the centre of a garden border or as a standalone with its extraordinary pyramidal shape to create a striking effect

Where to plant

Laurel Herbergii is fully hardy, tough and tolerant to almost all types of soils and planting positions except waterlogged soils. It also tolerates shade, but will not grow well in chalky soil. It can also grow well in tricky locations such as windy sites near coastal regions.

How to plant Laurel Herbergii

Planting Laurel Herbergii is a pretty straightforward process; however, you want to make sure that you get it right for the hedge to grow uniformly and at a growth rate of 20-40cm per year. Follow these simple steps:

1. Prepare the planting area by removing grass and other weeds.
2. Dig a trench twice the width and same height as the clod
3. Break the soil at the bottom of the trench and mix in some well-rotten compost manure. This will allow the roots to penetrate and establish quickly while utilizing the nutrients provided by the manure
4. Mix a small portion of the soil from the trench with manure
5. Place the clod in the trench, ensuring that the plant stands straight and the top of the clod is at the same level as the ground surface
6. Fill back the trench with the mixture of soil and manure, firming with your feet as you go
7. Water the plants deeply and keep them well-watered throughout the first growing season

Tips

The leaves and berries of this shrub should not be consumed as they are poisonous to humans

Should not be grown in chalky soil

Shouldn’t be grown in wet, waterlogged soils

Although this shrub is hardy, it should be watered during the first growing season and dry season

Spacing

Generally, you should grow two to three Cherry Laurel Herbergii plants per meter. The shrub can achieve a mature height of 2 to 3 meters.

Care & Advice

For Laurel Herbergii to grow into a healthy hedge, you will need to maintain it. Here are a few simple tips you should keep in mind:

• Water

You need to water your Laurel Herbergii regularly, especially during the growing season. This is important in ensuring that the plant gets the water it requires to establish quickly. Most importantly, you need to water during dry seasons. But don’t overwater the plant.

• Pruning

This shrub can also be pruned if necessary. Pruning and trimming should be done in Spring or July. The good news is that trimming is easy. Make sure that you remove all dead branches and leaves and use clean scissors to reduce infection

• Mulching

You may also want to apply a thin layer of mulch around the plant to reduce water loss to the atmosphere especially in dry and windy conditions

Advantages

• Evergreen foliage
• Very hardy
• Average growth height of 20-40cm per year
• Can grow as a stand-alone
• Grows in tricky locations
• Tolerant to different types of soils
• Tolerant of shade
• Fragrant flowers attract bees
• Purple berries are fed on by birds
• Ideal for small gardens

Should I buy Laurel Herbergii for hedging?

As we have mentioned above, Laurel Herbergii is ideal for people who have a small garden as it does not grow quickly to create a bulky hedge within a short period of time. This shrub is mainly grown for its aesthetic value and it is the perfect plant for anyone looking to add the beauty of a cherry laurel of medium height in his garden.

Another feature that makes this plant stand-out among many hedging plants is its hardiness and tolerance to nearly all types of soils, except chalky soils. In addition, it can be trimmed easily. And if you are the kind of person that loves wildlife, this hedging shrub will attract bees during the flowering season and birds when the purple fruits are formed. If your garden or compound is located in a tricky location, such as in a windy site near a coast region, this slow-growing cherry laurel will grow well.