Cherry laurel: planting seeds properly
Cherry laurel is a plant that is often grown as a hedge. As a hardy plant, it can be found in many gardens and parks. You can either buy cherry laurel as an already grown plant at the hardware store or you can grow it yourself from seeds. Read more here.
The cherry laurel as a hardy ornamental plant
- The cherry laurel comes from Asia Minor. Because of its laurel-like leaves and cherry-like stone fruits, the plant has the colloquial names "cherry laurel" or "laurel cherry".
- The laurel cherry is an evergreen shrubwhich blooms between April and June.
- The plant reaches heights of growth of up to seven meters and is hardy up to a temperature of minus 20 degrees Celsius.
- In particularly harsh winters, leaves and some parts of the branches freeze to death and turn brown. In most cases, however, the plant sprouts again and again in spring.
- The fruits of the laurel cherry are dark blue when fully ripe. They contain a high proportion of hydrogen cyanide.
- Cooking destroys the hydrogen cyanide compounds and so the fruit can be processed into jam and jelly.
- In the raw state, the fruits of the cherry laurel are poisonous. If you chew up to ten leaves or seeds, poisonous hydrocyanic acid is formed in the stomach, which leads to vomiting, nausea and cramps.
Planting cherry laurel - this is how it works
Cherry laurel is evergreen and hardy. Because it is also growing quickly, you can ...
Plant the cherry laurel seeds correctly
Planting Cherry laurel is not suitable for allotment gardens because it is a proliferating and self-sowing plant. The laurel cherry tolerates both a sunny and a shady place quite well. You should sow the seeds of a bay cherry in spring or autumn.
- When planting, mix 10-15 liters of plant substrate under the soil. That is good for the young bay plants.
- Water the seed well. The soil must always be moist for the seeds to sprout. In general, you should also provide the bushes with a good supply of water in the first year.
- When the bushes are approx. half a meter high, place them approx. one meter apart. If you want a dense hedge, you can also plant two to three bushes per running meter.
- The cuttings method is also particularly suitable for the cherry laurel: To do this, cut two to three stems from the hedge.
- Place the stems in a position of approx. 10 cm glass filled with water. After a few days, roots will set on the stem.
- The water should be changed when it turns brown or streaks. Also rinse the stems under running water.
- Orchid fertilizer is ideal for rapid root formation. The young plants can be planted in the ground in autumn or spring.
How helpful do you find this article?
