If you want a dense cherry laurel hedge around your property, you will need numerous shrubs for the plant. Since laurel cherries are not exactly cheap in the trade, it is worth growing the young plants yourself. Breeding your own offspring takes a little longer than buying; However, since the laurel cherry is extremely fast-growing, the time required remains within a manageable framework.
Propagation by cuttings
Cuttings can be taken from the mother plant throughout the growing season. A good opportunity to win numerous seedlings for vegetative propagation is a successful pruning. Be sure to:
- Do not cut too large cuttings in summer. A length of fifteen centimeters is ideal.
- Leave only a few leaves on the shoot.
- Cut these leaves in half to reduce the evaporation surface.
Two methods have proven effective for rooting:
Rooting in the water glass
You can place the small cuttings a few inches deep in a glass of water and root them there. As soon as the roots have reached a length of five centimetres, the small laurel cherries are transplanted into bowls or directly into the field.
Pull shoots into soil
- Fill the seed pots with a sand-soil mixture and insert the lower half of the shoot tips into the substrate.
- Keep the soil well moist for the next few weeks.
- However, avoid waterlogging, as this promotes rot and mold growth.
- Put the jar in a bright place.
- Create a humid climate by putting a clear plastic bag over the flower pot.
At temperatures of around twenty degrees, the small laurel cherries form roots after about four weeks and can now be isolated. You can now plant the young plants directly in the garden or put them in a larger planter.
Propagation by seeds
Often the cherry laurel sprouts on its own and you will find many young plants near the bush in spring. You can carefully dig them out and move them to the desired location in the garden. However, cherry laurel can also be grown specifically by seeds, but this method takes significantly longer than propagation by cuttings. You can obtain the seeds from the ripe fruits of the laurel cherry in autumn and sow them directly.
To do this, collect the ripe, shiny black berries and remove the stone core from the pulp. Proceed as follows when sowing:
- Fill containers with potting soil.
- Place seeds on the ground and only lightly cover them with substrate.
- Moisten well with a sprayer.
- The cherry laurel is a cold germ, so place the peel in a cool room and never in a heated room.
Since laurel cherries do not germinate too quickly, it can take several weeks for the first shoots to appear. Since the young plants are still quite sensitive, you must keep them frost-free for at least a year and continue to cultivate them indoors. Only in the second year are the small laurel cherries used in their final place in the garden.
Propagation by sinkers
By lowering you can gradually pull as many bushes as you need for a dense cherry laurel hedge. This type of propagation is considered the most effective and simple. The best time to grow young plants using sinkers is the months of May or June, when the ground has already completely thawed and there is no longer a threat of night frost.
Propagation is by a branch still attached to the bush, which grows near the ground. Bend it carefully down to the ground and loosen the ground a little where the branch touches the ground. You can now weigh down the shoot directly with a stone and cover it with soil.
The sinker will take root faster if you cut the branch before digging in, but don't completely separate the shoot from the mother plant. To keep it from closing, stick a small pebble into the cut. Fix the branch in the ground with tent pegs or stones. Cover the sinker with some soil.
After about six to eight weeks, the first roots have formed. Now carefully dig out the sinker and cut the connection to the mother plant. Now you can move the young plant to its final location. Take this opportunity to provide the little laurel cherry with compost or horn shavings (€32.93) so that it has enough nutrients available.
tips and tricks
On the underside of the leaf of the cherry laurel there are small brown dots, the nectarines. A sweet plant sap escapes from them, which can cause allergic reactions. Therefore, wear gloves when working on the laurel cherry and, if you are allergic, avoid skin contact with the plant.
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