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Cherry Laurel hedging

I've just planted a couple of 4 foot cherry laurel hedging plants to hide a fence that our neighbour has just put up in place of a hedge.  The plants have berries on at the moment but when I look around over here (Isle of Man), I don't see many berries on other laurels.  Does anyone know the secret to getting laurels to flower and produce berries please?

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  • nutcutletnutcutlet Posts: 27,445

    Yes, stop cutting it back into a hedgeimage 

    My big laurels flower, the laurel hedge doesn't

     



    In the sticks near Peterborough
  • WelshonionWelshonion Posts: 3,114
    Why do you specifically want berries? They are poisonous.
  • CharleyDCharleyD Posts: 440

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    Oh ok, so if I treat them as two separate plants and let them go their own way?  What about chopping the tops though to keep them bushy?  Do you think I'll get away with that?

  • CharleyDCharleyD Posts: 440

    Welshonion, I just like the look of them ...

  • nutcutletnutcutlet Posts: 27,445

    I'd do a chop all round to get them bushy. Have you any idea how big a laurel is if you leave it unprunedimage   

    I shall be (or OH will be) doing a big chop on a couple of ours this year as they're going into the electric wires along the road.

    The width matches the heightimage



    In the sticks near Peterborough
  • CharleyDCharleyD Posts: 440

    image  Yes, ha ha, it won't be long before we get our privacy back.  I'd read that they grow as wide as they do tall.  How long though do you think I should wait before giving them a chop all over, with them being newly planted today?

  • nutcutletnutcutlet Posts: 27,445

    I'd nip out the ends of all the stems, not much, just a couple of leaf's worth. It will encourage it to bush out. I don't think it's too late in the season to do that. Don't be tempted to just let it go, it could end up a bit 'see through'



    In the sticks near Peterborough
  • Buying female plants is a good way of getting berries! And yes trim them too shape! I'm removing some hedging from a clients garden that didn't have the top pruned out and they are the best part of 40 foot high at least

  • CharleyDCharleyD Posts: 440

    I'll be on to it tomorrow Nut.  Thanks for your help.

    Ok Rhod, at the risk of showing my ignorance, (I'll plead that I'm a novice gardener with only a year's experienceimage ) - how do I tell if I have a female plant????

  • nutcutletnutcutlet Posts: 27,445

    Laurels have both male and female parts in the flowers as far as I know.

    They don't come in male and female like hollies do.



    In the sticks near Peterborough
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