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A typical German cherry laurel hedge: to criticize it is "left-wing do-gooder"
Photo: H.-R.
Mueller / Blickwinkel / IMAGO
I hate cherry laurel.
Mercilessly I sawed off and chopped up all the specimens that the previous owner of our house had planted.
It was a pleasure for me, especially since elderberries, a willow tree and other native plants grow in the same place, which are much more popular with insects and birds.
I have an inkling of what might trigger this admission.
In my report "Saat des Bad" I reported on the considerable reservations that conservationists have against the evergreen plant.
One of the experts even said, somewhat exaggerated, that cherry laurel is ecologically as valuable as a concrete wall.
That caused a lot of excitement in many people that I hadn't expected.
I and the environmentalists were accused of, among other things, green paternalism and “left-wing do-gooder”.
In view of these unfounded allegations, I was pleased about the reader Walter Z. from Schwäbisch Hall, who at least tried very hard to refute the criticism of the conservationists.
He stood with a camera next to his cherry laurel to document the ecological value of the plant.
The pictures weren't particularly good, but Walter Z. should know one thing: I can recognize the bee that is feeding on his plant.
I can even explain why it does this: the cherry laurel secretes sugar juice through so-called extra-floral nectaries, which is supposed to attract insects, such as ants.
When the crawlers are there, in the best case scenario they will also directly devour the aphids and other pests that affect the cherry laurel.
The nectaries make the cherry laurel particularly defensive.
Like a concrete wall.