Laurel Caucasica Hedging Plants (Prunus laurocerasus ‘Caucasica’), this is a more upright variety of evergreen Common or Cherry Laurel with narrower and more elongated glossy deep green leaves. A more upright growing type of Laurel hedge is a good choice if space is limited and you don’t have room for some of the more spreading varieties.
Like all Laurel hedging varieties, Caucasica will produce attractive clusters of hawthorn scented white flowers in May, standing up from the foliage in upright ‘candles’, especially on untrimmed plants. Later in the season these will develop into red cherry like fruits that eventually mature to black and are very popular with birds.
Prunus Caucasica is easy to grow and quite fast at 30-60cm per year making it one of the fastest growing types of Laurel. This is also a hardier plant than the usual Cherry Laurel making it better suited to more hostile sites although we would always recommend you protect a new Laurel hedge with a well anchored line of windbreak netting if it’s very exposed.
Laurel Caucasica hedging plants are suitable for hedges of any size from 120cm up to 5 metres, they are very popular for taller evergreen hedges of around 2 metres or more to give year-round privacy at eye level, especially for boundary hedges where they have the added advantages of filtering wind, noise and pollution. The deep green glossy foliage makes a very welcome addition to the winter garden giving both structure and a great home for many forms of wildlife.
Cherry Laurel hedges are best trimmed in autumn or spring either before growth starts or after growth has finished. Like all evergreen Laurel varieties, Caucasica can be hard pruned in the Spring if the hedge has got too large, even back to little more than stumps if necessary. With a feed and mulch after the unpromising woody skeleton will rejuvenate with fresh leaves within a few weeks.
Grow Caucasica Cherry Laurels in any garden soil that does not become waterlogged during wet spells, although on very shallow chalky soils the Portuguese Laurel (Prunus lusitanica) is a better choice. (or you could take a look at our page of hedging plants suited to chalky soil) Caucasica Laurels are a little tougher than the usual Cherry Laurel and this includes their tolerance of poorer soils although we always advise improving the soil with thorough preparation. If you aren’t sure how to plant a new hedge we have a useful and easy to follow guide on our How to plant a hedge page.
When planting Laurel Caucasica hedging plants we always recommend using bone meal fertiliser, well mixed into the soil before planting, and rootgrow mycorrhizal fungi to get your new Laurel hedge off to the very best start.
The number of hedging plants you need for a new hedge really depends on how patient you are and your budget. You can use 3 plants per metre in a single row to give excellent results or to get a very dense and bushy hedge, go for 5 plants per metre in a staggered double row, as in the diagram below.
You can of course use fewer Laurel plants and still get excellent results, setting them further apart – but it will take longer for the hedge to develop and grow together.
We have pot grown Laurel Caucasica hedging plants that can be planted at any time of year and because they do not suffer any root disturbance they will establish and grow away quickly. These plants are selected fresh from our growing beds and sent out to you the same day in the pots they are grown in.
We also stock instant Caucasica Laurel hedge elements, at a height of up to 200cm these plants will give instant privacy from the moment they are planted.
If you need any further information about Laurel Caucasica hedging plants, or a special price for a large quantity of plants over £1000 then please call our experienced sales team on 01580 765600 or drop us a line via our contact page.
