Laurel hedging plants are very popular with gardeners and landscapers alike. With two varieties in particular standing out. Cherry laurel and Portuguese laurel are two of the fastest selling hedging trees we stock here at Direct Plants. You’ll see mile upon mile of the cherry species throughout the UK. It’s little wonder this type of hedging is also called ‘common laurel'.

If you’re looking for hedging for your garden at home or your next commercial landscaping project laurel should be high on your list of possibles. But what makes this particular variety of hedging so popular?

Fast growing and evergreen hedging plants

When it comes to the fastest growing hedging there’s only conifers which will sprout quicker than the common laurel. They’re also incredibly hardy, suitable for just about any conditions and are attractive evergreen plants. What’s not to like?

Cherry laurel hedging plants

A very fast-growing hedging plant the cherry laurel is suitable for all sites, apart from coastal, and will thrive in full or partial shade. It can be grown up to around 15 feet or five metres in height. A very hardy plant and easy to look after the cherry laurel can g row up to around two feet in a year.

However, because it’s so fast-growing you do need to take some precautions to stop it taking over your garden. It can be a very invasive plant, so take care to keep in control of its growth. A slower growing variety of cherry is Prunus Novita which grows around 1 foot per year. This plant is even more resilient than the common laurel.

The foliage produced by the cherry laurel is a luscious glossy green with white flowers and black berries.

Portuguese laurel hedging plants

It grows slightly slower than the cherry but the Portuguese laurel makes a very attractive hedge. It has lovely red stems and its green foliage is complemented in summer by aromatic white flowers.

The Portuguese is very easy to grow. You really don’t need green fingers to successfully cultivate a hedge. Especially if you opt for our pot grown varieties which are available all year round. If you prefer, we have this hedging plant available root balled between March and October.

Like all laurel hedges once established it will require very little maintenance. A once a year trim will be sufficient. Its dense green foliage makes an ideal privacy screen and if you’re looking for something a little different the Portuguese laurel is a great choice.

Other types of laurel

Although we’ve discussed the two most popular types there are other laurel plants. The best of the rest, or at least the one you’re most likely to see apart from the cherry and Portuguese varieties, is the bay or sweet bay laurel.

A slow growing hedge the bay produces yellow flowers in the spring. Bay is only suitable for hedges up to six feet as is the case with the compact laurel. By contrast the cherry and Portuguese can be twice as high.

Planting Laurel hedging

We’ve already mentioned the hardiness of laurel hedging plants. And this applies to all varieties. The plants you receive from our nursery will arrive in perfect condition, established and ready to plant. You can plant laurel in just about any soil and conditions and very soon you’ll have a dense evergreen hedge.

Benefits of laurel hedging plants

To sum up, there are several reasons why you should choose laurel for your hedge:

• Provides a dense hedge perfect for a privacy screen. 
• Ideal for screening unwanted views. 
• Attracts birds and other wildlife. 
• Serves as a physical barrier to intruders. 
• Very effective windbreak for gardens in exposed locations. 
• Ornamental and attractive for landscaping projects.

Buying your new hedging

You can purchase your laurel hedging from us either as pot grown or root ball. We have several varieties of laurel so do check them out.

If you need a hedge in a hurry have a look at the laurel trees in our range of instant hedging troughs. These troughs are a great way to quickly establish a mature hedge. You can read more about them here.

Whichever type of laurel hedging plants you choose you can be sure the plants will arrive from us in perfect condition all ready for planting. You can see an independent review of Direct Plants here or don’t hesitate to call us on 01485 601143 or email sales@directplants.co.uk if you have any questions or would like further information on any of our hedging trees.