You can easily propagate cherry laurel from self-cut offshoots. Even if the offspring takes some time, it is always worth it if you need a lot of plants or want offspring from a strong and particularly well-growing mother plant. Propagation by cuttings is the most uncomplicated way and succeeds without any problems with our tips.
Cutting offshoots
The shoot tips of the laurel cherry are cut as offshoots. Separate the cutting two or three leaf axils below the one-year shoot. You can recognize the two-year-old wood by the dark color of the bark.
Cuttings from tears
First make leaf tears from the lowest one or two shoots of the branches. To do this, these shoots are simply torn off the wood and the attached bark tail is separated with a clean tool. Then proceed as follows:
- Remove the bottom three or four leaves.
- Cut off the upper shoot tip so that two to three leaves remain on the cutting.
- Cut these in half as well to reduce water evaporation.
Cut offshoots from the main shoots
The remaining main shoots give more offshoots, so no plant material is wasted:
- Cut off two-year-old wood diagonally about one centimeter below the one-year-old wood.
- Be sure to use a sharp knife so as not to injure the plant.
- Remove lower leaves, leaving a two-inch leafless stalk
- Cut the shoot tip down to two or three leaves.
- shorten leaves.
Insert cuttings
If you want to grow many offshoots of the laurel cherry, you can use special cutting boxes from the trade. Alternatively, larger flower pots or plant bowls are ideal for growing. Since the cherry laurel is sensitive to waterlogging, you must ensure good water drainage.
- Fill the container with a mixture of potting soil and sand.
- Smooth out the soil and press down lightly.
- Cut an auxiliary line into the soil so that the cuttings can be brought in easily.
- Stick offshoots about five centimeters deep with a planting distance of ten centimeters in the ground.
- Press down the soil so that the seedlings have good contact with the soil.
Be sure to place the planter with the cuttings in the sun so that the offshoots do not evaporate more water than they can absorb with the newly grown roots. Although cherry laurel offshoots are not very sensitive, you should take care of the young plants in a sheltered place until next spring.
tips and tricks
Alternatively, you can root shoot tips from which only the bottom leaves have been removed in a glass of water. As soon as the laurel cherry has formed roots four to five centimeters long, it is transplanted into soil.