Subject: Re: cherry laurel

From: "t.r." <[email-masked]>
Date: 3 Apr 1995 15:49:35 GMT

[email-masked] (Cheryl Rothlisberger-HO-77163U(MT4758)T147) wrote:
>
> Hello,
> 
> I need some information on cherry laurel and andromeda (sp?) shrubs. 
> I'd like to know:
>   - How tall and wide does they grow?
>   - How fast do they grow (on an average)?
>   - Do you think they will blend well with Rhododendrons as a privacy 
>     fence under the shade of oak trees? 
>   - Does they require a lot of pruning?
>   - Are they highly susceptible to any diseases or infestations?

Cherry laurel is better known here in the Seattle area as
"English laurel." Same deal, prunus laurocerasus.

Here it is UBIQUITOUS as a hedge. I suspect it became
wildly popular in the '40s or '50s, when so many of
the neighborhoods like mine were built up.

Here, it grows to about 15 feet if you don't prune it. As long
as at least one side gets sun, it doesn't seem to mind where you
stick it -- but as I recently read, keep grass away, it's not good friends
with the laurels.

Do NOT try another laurel known as Portugal laurel,
prunus lusitanica, if you want a fast hedge. I have 13 three-foot
PL's on the north side of my house (they do get some sun)
which are languishing after 2 years. No height increase at all,
just a bit of bushiness on a few. That's the side of my house
that most needed screening and I wish I had just been 
noncreative and planted English("cherry") laurel instead.

They don't seem to need much fertilizer. The established ones here
grow at least a foot a year. Their big broad leaves make for a perfect
impermeable hedge. I do have two clumps that screen the
south side of my peninsula-ish lot.

Good luck!!!!

t.r.

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From: [email-masked] (Cheryl Rothlisberger-HO-77163U(MT4758)T147)
Date: Mon, 3 Apr 1995 14:25:38 GMT

Hello,

I live on a corner property, so I'd like to screen the backyard
from the sidestreet. This is the Northwest side. The area is shady
(dense to light shade) depending on the specific location, and the
soil is acidic. I live in zone 7.

Thanks,
Cheryl

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From: "t.r." <[email-masked]>
Date: 3 Apr 1995 15:49:35 GMT

Good luck!!!!

t.r.