If the cherry laurel grows rampant, a radical pruning is possible from November
Created: 11/23/2022, 10:00 am
By: Ines Alms
Whether as a hedge or as a shrub - the cherry laurel is very vigorous and quickly loses its shape.
Winter is a good time to prune it back.
The evergreen cherry laurel is very popular, not only with hobby gardeners, but also with blackbirds and other birds that like to breed in the wood.
For this reason, severe pruning of hedges is also prohibited from March to the end of September.
If you don't want to wait until late summer because the cherry laurel is too rampant, you can use scissors in the winter months.
There are a few things to keep in mind.
Pruning cherry laurel: A radical cut is possible from November
In order for the cherry laurel hedge to stay in shape, it has to be trimmed once or twice a year.
© McPHOTO/Imago
From November to February, the cherry laurel, like other hardy shrubs, has a rest period - a good time for pruning.
Since the plant can grow up to 40 centimeters of fresh shoots a year, you should not lose sight of this.
You don't have to be afraid of severe pruning either, as the shrub sprout very well from old wood, explains Dr.
Markus Phlippen on the Gardify
You Tube channel
.
The best way to cut back is as follows:
Choose a dry day on which there is no threat of frost in the following days.
Disinfect cutting tools such as secateurs.
Do not use hedge trimmers, otherwise you will damage the leaves in such a way that the laurel cherry becomes more susceptible to diseases.
Cut off long protruding twigs at the next branch fork, shorten large branches further down with the saw.
You can find even more exciting garden topics in the regular newsletter of our partner 24garten.de.
It is best to dispose of the clippings in the organic waste bin or at the recycling center and not on the compost, as the leaves rot badly.
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In order to keep a cherry laurel hedge in shape throughout the year and to avoid radical pruning in winter, the new shoots that have grown up to St. John's Day can be pruned back at the end of June with a gentle care cut.
Before doing so, however, you should check whether there are still breeding birds in the hedge and leave out these areas, advises Dieke van Dieken from
Mein schöner Garten
.
