If you want a dense, glossy, evergreen hedge and you want it quickly, cherry laurel (Prunus laurocerasus) is the plant we recommend more than any other — and the one we grow more of than any other here at the nursery. Its large, deep-green leaves knit together into a solid screen within a few seasons, it thrives in sun or shade, tolerates most soils, and shrugs off wind, pollution and neglect in a way few hedging plants can match.
Growing at 30–60cm a year, laurel gives you privacy fast without the runaway maintenance of Leylandii — one good trim a year keeps it exactly where you want it, and unlike conifers it regrows happily even from a hard cut into old wood.
Every laurel below was grown on at our nursery in Whitestake, so you’re buying plants already hardened to North West weather — not forced stock straight off a lorry. Choose pot grown for year-round planting, rootballed for an instant mature screen (October–March), or bare root for the most economical way to plant a long run (November–March). Not sure how many you need? Our hedge calculator below works it out from your hedge length and picks the right spacing for the size you choose.
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PLANTING DISTANCE
Plant standard laurel at 3 per metre for sizes up to 125cm, or 2 per metre for larger rootballed plants — they'll knit into a solid hedge within two to three seasons. For the fastest possible screen, 3 per metre at any size closes the gaps a season sooner. Use the calculator below to get the exact number for your run.
WHY BUY LAUREL FROM NEWGATE?
Laurel is our home ground — we plant it, trim it and troubleshoot it for customers every week of the year. Order online for UK-wide delivery quoted at checkout, click and collect seven days a week, or send us a photo of your run and we'll spec the whole job — plant size, quantity, topsoil and feed — for free. Call 01772 612336.
Around 30–60cm a year once established — fast enough to form a solid 2m screen from 60–80cm plants in three to four seasons, but slow enough to control with one annual trim. Only Leylandii is meaningfully quicker, and it demands far more cutting.
3 plants per metre for pot-grown laurel up to about 125cm, and 2 per metre for larger rootballed plants. Our hedge calculator works out the exact number for your run.
Yes — like many garden plants, laurel leaves and berries are toxic if eaten, so it's one to avoid if your dog is a determined chewer of plants. Most dogs ignore it completely, but if yours grazes on greenery, consider alternatives like hornbeam or beech, and speak to your vet if any plant has been eaten.
Pot-grown laurel can be planted year-round as long as the ground isn't frozen or waterlogged — spring and autumn are ideal. Rootballed and bare root laurel is planted November to March.
Cherry laurel is faster-growing with larger, brighter leaves — the quickest evergreen screen. Portuguese laurel is slower and slightly hardier, with smaller, darker leaves on red stems and a neater, more formal look. If speed matters most, choose cherry; if refinement matters most, choose Portuguese.
Some yellowing and leaf-drop is normal after planting while roots establish — keep watering weekly through the first summer. Small holes in a "shot-gun" pattern are usually shothole, a cosmetic fungal issue laurel grows through; trim affected growth and avoid overhead watering. If you're local, bring a leaf in and we'll diagnose it at the counter.
