Cherry Skip Laurel Shrubs for Sale - Buying & Growing Guide

Planting and Care

by John Haryasz | Horticulture Writer and Landscape Designer – last update on February 16, 2022

Planting instructions

If you wish to grow cherry skip laurel as a hedge plant, as many gardeners do, spacing is crucial. While this plant grows quickly, the closer you plant each shrub, the sooner your hedge will fill in. Try planting shrubs about 2 to 4 feet apart. You can also grow cherry skip laurel as a specimen plant, allowing its natural form to develop with plenty of open space around it. In either case, you can choose sun or shade and any soil that has good drainage.

Watering and nutrients

A mature cherry skip laurel can withstand moderate droughts. But this plant will grow much better if you keep its soil moist by watering it about once a week. During initial establishment, cherry skip laurel saplings will need water daily.

A single annual application of slow-release fertilizer is all that a cherry skip laurel needs. In fact, more than that can have a negative effect. Fortunately, this species also has mild salt tolerance and no issue growing in alkaline soils.

Pruning

One of the primary selling points of cherry skip laurel is that it responds incredibly well to pruning. That ability is what allows gardeners to prune this plant heavily into neat hedge shapes. The natural vigor of cherry skip laurel’s growth is what allows it to respond to your many pruning cuts with new shoots.

The best time to prune cherry skip laurel is in the spring, after the flowers have bloomed. You can do your pruning at the same time as your annual fertilizer application, which should also take place in this post-bloom period.

Pests, diseases, and animals

One of the most prominent challenges for those growing evergreen hedges is deer browsing. It’s frustrating to spend time fostering a healthy row of hedge plants over the years, only to have a group of deer eat all the foliage.

One of the biggest advantages of cherry skip laurel is that it is deer-resistant. However, that does not mean that the cherry skip laurel faces no threats from pests and disease. It can develop powdery mildew and it may become infested with weevils or aphids.

Achieving maximum results

Despite the many benefits of cherry skip laurel, this plant also has some downsides that you should know about before you use it in your garden. Cherry skip laurel contains a toxin called hydrogen cyanide. While rare, if you ingest enough cherry skip laurel leaves, death is possible.

Controlling the growth of cherry skip laurel is also quite difficult. This plant’s roots are aggressive as they spread through the soil and absorb as many nutrients as they can. At times, cherry skip laurel can grow two feet in a year. For that reason, some regions label it as invasive.

Compare Similar Products