Portuguese Laurel (Prunus lusitanica ‘Angustifolia’)
Price range: €3.00 through €300.00 inc VAT
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Latin Name: Prunus lusitanica ‘Angustifolia’
Common Name: Portuguese cherry laurel, Portugal laurel
Origin: Native to Portugal, Spain, Western France, Morocco, Madeira and Canary Islands
Hardiness: Fully Hardy. Will survive unprotected outdoors in most areas of the UK, even in the harshest winters.
Growth: Medium. Expect to see moderate growth during growing season. 12m The plant’s ultimate height in typical growing conditions.
Sun: Full Sun to Part Shade. Enjoys direct sun most of the day, but tolerant of fewer sunlit hours or light dappling.
Latin Name: Prunus lusitanica ‘Angustifolia’
Common Name: Portuguese cherry laurel, Portugal laurel
Origin: Native to Portugal, Spain, Western France, Morocco, Madeira and Canary Islands
Hardiness: Fully Hardy. Will survive unprotected outdoors in most areas of the UK, even in the harshest winters.
Growth: Medium. Expect to see moderate growth during growing season. 12m The plant's ultimate height in typical growing conditions.
Sun: Full Sun to Part Shade. Enjoys direct sun most of the day, but tolerant of fewer sunlit hours or light dappling.
Exposure/Position: Good wind tolerance and good in all situations other than at the coast
Soil: Moist but Well Drained. Soil that allows water to drain at a moderate rate, without the water pooling.
Moisture: Medium. Once it is established, this plant is likely to only require watering during drier periods.
Habit: Bushy. 8m The plant's ultimate spread in typical growing conditions.
Foliage: Evergreen. Always in leaf throughout the year. It won't lose all its leaves at any one time.
Maintenance: Moderate. Some special care needed, which may include pruning or winter protection.
Feed: Regularly once a fortnight with a balanced fertilizer between May to October (link here to sundries and options)
How many plants do I need?
We recommend the following number of plants per metre for each plant size:
0.8 litre 5 per metre
3 litre 4 per metre
10 litre 3 per metre
20 litre 3 per metre
40 litre 2 per metre
20 litre trough 1 per metre
110 litre trough 1 per metre
Planting
Portuguese laurel is the toughest and hardiest variety of Laurel, more so than Cherry Laurels and so we often recommend this variety for hedges in colder and more exposed situations. (Even then providing a little extra protection using windbreak netting is a good idea to begin with in harsh conditions).
Portuguese laurels are easy to grow, they will succeed in both full sun and partial or full shade. They are suitable for any soil type provided it doesn’t become waterlogged in wet spells, (if you have a wet site we have a list of plants that are more suitable) this plant is the only member of the Prunus hedging laurel family that grow perfectly well in thin chalky soils (where cherry laurels tend to become pale and unhealthy).
We stock a complete range of Portugal Laurel hedging plants.
Potted hedging plants are delivered to you fresh from our growing beds in the pots that they have been grown in and there is therefore no root disturbance. These Portugal Laurels can be planted all year round and we usually have a great selection of sizes from small starter plants in 9cm pots right through to large bushy hedging plants up to 150cm or more to suit all hedging requirements and budgets.
Aftercare
It trims beautifully with a hedge trimmer or shears to give a neat tidy finish. Untrimmed plants will produce candle-like clusters of small white scented flowers that rise up from the foliage in early summer. These will develop into small red fruits, eventually ripen to dark purple and are very popular with the birds.
