Cherry Laurel (Pot Grown)

Pot grown cherry laurel is the flexible way to plant a laurel hedge: because the root system is established in the container, it can go in the ground in any month of the year, as long as the soil isn’t frozen or waterlogged. It’s also the most economical route per metre — smaller plants cost less, suffer less transplant stress, and establish so quickly that they often catch up with far larger (and far more expensive) plants within a couple of seasons.

WHICH SIZE SHOULD I CHOOSE?

Every size on this page forms the same hedge in the end — the difference is how long you wait and what you pay. Our smallest plants are the budget route for a long run and reach chest height in around three seasons. The mid sizes are the sweet spot of price and head start, and the largest give genuine screening from day one. Plant 3 per metre for sizes up to about 125cm, or 2 per metre for the largest plants, and the row knits into a solid hedge within two to three seasons.

All heights are measured from the top of the pot to the top of the plant.

GROWING CONDITIONS

Laurel is famously unfussy. It grows in full sun or quite deep shade, in any reasonable soil that isn’t waterlogged, and once established it handles wind, drought spells and urban pollution without complaint. Maintenance is one trim a year, in late spring or early autumn — and if a hedge ever gets away from you, laurel regrows readily even from a hard cut into old wood.

PLANTING & AFTERCARE

Dig a trench or individual holes roughly twice the width of the rootball and the same depth. Break up the base, work in a good handful of bone meal per plant, and set each plant so the top of the rootball sits level with the surrounding soil. Backfill, firm in well, and water thoroughly. Water deeply once or twice a week through the first spring and summer — a good soak beats a daily sprinkle — feed each spring, and trim slightly narrower at the top than the base so light reaches the bottom of the hedge.

GROWN AT NEWGATE

These plants were grown on at our nursery in Whitestake, Lancashire, hardened off outdoors in North West weather. Order online for UK-wide delivery quoted at checkout, or click and collect seven days a week — you’re welcome to come and pick your plants off the beds yourself.