Portuguese Laurel
Prunus lusitanica
Big enough for a boundary hedge, and worth the slower job of cutting it stem by stem rather than shearing it over.
Spacing & sowing
- Plant spacing
- 13 ft 1 in
- In-row spacing
- 13 ft 1 in
- Between rows
- 16 ft 5 in
- Square-foot density
- Not suited to SFG
Growing
- Type
- Shrub · Perennial
- Botanical family
- Mixed / other
- Sunlight
- Full sun to partial shade.
- Watering
- Low once established — water young plants through dry spells.
- Feeding
- A light spring feed for hedging; established specimens need little.
- Frost tolerant
- Yes
- Flowering
- June
- Pruning
- Once or twice over summer, with hand pruners rather than hedge shears.
- Overwintering
- Hardy enough to leave unprotected through a normal winter.
Through the year
- Mar–Apr Bud Break
- Apr–Jun Spring Growth
- Jun–Sep Flowering
- Sep–Dec Growing
- Jan–Mar Growing
Pests & problems
Garden allies
Beneficial predators that hunt this plant's pests — grow their favourite flowers nearby to recruit them. companion plant
- Parasitic wasps Braconidae & TrichogrammaHunts Sawfly
Tiny, stingless wasps that lay eggs in or on caterpillars, aphids, and moth eggs — the white cocoons riding a hornworm are their calling card, so leave that caterpillar be. Umbel flowers with shallow nectar keep the adults fuelled.
- Spined soldier bug Podisus maculiventrisHunts Sawfly
A predatory stink bug — same shield outline as the pest, but with a sharp spine at each shoulder and a beak it uses to spear caterpillars and beetle grubs. Learn the spines before you squash a shield bug, because this one is on your side.
- Tachinid fly TachinidaeHunts Sawfly
Bristly, house-fly-lookalike parasitoids that lay eggs on caterpillars, beetle grubs, and earwigs — the maggot consumes the host from within. Adults sip nectar from shallow umbels and daisies.
The Cottage Garden Companion — the gardener's herbarium at cottagegardencompanion.com