Garden owners with children in particular often look for cherry laurel species that hardly produce any fruit due to the toxicity of the berries. Although there is no laurel cherry species that does not bloom at all and does not produce any berries, you can take a few measures to limit the fruit setting of the bush or even completely prevent fruit formation.

The variety choice

There are Prunus species that bloom only weakly and therefore produce only a few fruits. These include the varieties Rotundfolia and Genolia. However, the large-leaved species Rotundfolia is not as frost hardy as other cherry laurels. Therefore, always give the wood in rough areas sufficient winter protection so that the laurel cherry does not freeze back too much. Genolia is characterized by its slender growth, which is why this variety is often referred to as columnar cherry laurel. It is extremely hardy and is also suitable for small gardens and narrow hedges.

Cut back the faded inflorescences

If you want to prevent fruit set, you should cut out all faded parts of the plant immediately after flowering. Some species flower a second time a year and then have to be pruned again. As a result of this care measure, the cherry laurel remains without fruit and the plant also thrives more densely because it puts all its energy into the new shoots.

A vigorous pruning in late summer almost completely prevents flowering in spring. However, you should not cut back the laurel cherry too late in the year so that the wood survives the winter well. Depending on the region, the latest pruning time is late August to mid-September.

The cherry laurel does not bloom unintentionally

Cherry laurel has hermaphrodite flowers, which means that there are both male and female flower parts in one inflorescence. Unlike many trees, where the male plants do not bear any floral decorations, all cherry laurels flower and therefore do not remain without fruit.

In some species it can take several years before the first inflorescences appear. If an older laurel cherry does not bloom either, poor soil conditions are usually the cause. Bay cherries love humus-rich and well-drained soil with a high nutrient content. Improve heavy clay soils with mature compost and loosen the subsoil with coarse sand.

tips and tricks

Groundcover cherry laurels like the Mount Verno variety are only about half a meter high and naturally produce almost no flowers or fruits at all.

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Trees