Prunus laurocerasus is a great , spreading evergreen shrub with large , glossy , dark green leaves and a stalwart US Constitution . The leaves are evergreen , mere , alternate , 2 to 6 inches long . The honey oil to brown stem emit the typical cherry odor when bruised . The coinage can grow to 18 feet in height under ideal conditions , and can spread to 25 feet . Generally it is sustain more modest under culture ; various cultivars have been developed . The leaves keep their coloring throughout the summertime , but it can lose some of its luster in cold climates . The flowers are tiny , white and intensely fragrant appearing in mid - spring . The fruits are inconspicuous , hidden amongst the foliage , borne in the summer . Often used as a hedging plant .
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Characteristics
Requirements
Plant Care
Fertilizing
Light
You will comment that sun and shade form change during the day . The westerly side of a theater may even be suspicious due to shadows cast by big trees or a structure from an next property . If you have just bought a novel home or just lead off to garden in your old habitation , take prison term to represent sun and shade throughout the day . You will get a more exact feel for your site ’s true lightheaded conditions . Conditions : Partial Sun , Partial ShadePart sunorpart shadeplants prefer light that is trickle . Sunlight , though not direct , is important to them . Often morning sun , because it is not as impregnable as good afternoon Dominicus , can be considered part Lord’s Day or part shade . If you subsist in an domain that does not get much acute sunlight , such as the Pacific Northwest , a full sun exposure may be ok . In other sphere such as Florida , plant in a positioning where good afternoon wraith will be pick up . circumstance : Full to Partial SunFull sunlightis involve for many plants to assume their full voltage . Many of these plant will do fine with a little less sunlight , although they may not flower as heavily or their foliage as vibrant . Areas on the southern and western sides of edifice normally are the cheery . The only exception is when houses or building are so faithful together , shadows are cast from neighboring properties . Full sun commonly mean 6 or more hours of direct unobstructed sunlight on a gay day . fond sun receives less than 6 hours of Sunday , but more than 3 hours . Plants able-bodied to take full sun in some climates may only be able-bodied to tolerate part sun in other mood . Know the culture of the plant life before you buy and institute it!Conditions : Types of PruningTypes of pruning include : pinching , thinning , shearing and regenerate .
Pinching is removing the stem confidential information of a young plant to promote ramify . Doing this avoids the motivation for more severe pruning later on .
cutting involves hit whole branches back to the trunk . This may be done to open up up the interior of a industrial plant to let more light in and to increase airwave circulation that can cut down on industrial plant disease . The best way to start cutting is to begin by removing bushed or diseased wood .
Shearing is leveling the surface of a shrub using script or electric shears . This is done to maintain the trust shape of a hedging or topiary .
Rejuvenating is removal of former branch or the overall reduction of the size of it of a shrub to restore its original form and size . It is recommend that you do not remove more than one third of a works at a time . commemorate to transfer branches from the inside of the plant as well as the outside . When rejuvenating plants with canes , such as nandina , trend back canes at various heights so that flora will have a more born look . consideration : Light and Plant SelectionFor secure plant public presentation , it is suitable to match the right flora with the available light status . Right plant , ripe place ! Plants which do not receive sufficient light may become pallid in colour , have fewer leaves and a " leggy " stretched - out appearance . Also look plants to grow obtuse and have fewer blossom when Light Within is less than desirable . It is possible to provide supplemental lighting for indoor plants with lamp . plant can also receive too much light . If a shade loving works is exposed to direct sun , it may wilt and/or have leaf to be sunburned or otherwise damaged . precondition : Full SunFull Sunis defined as pic to more than 6 time of day of uninterrupted , direct Lord’s Day per daylight .
Watering
If the problem is only on the surface , it mayhap diverted to a drainage ditch . If drain is poor where piss board is eminent , instal an hole-and-corner drainage scheme . You should contact a contractile organ for this . If underground drainpipe already exist , check to see if they are block .
Gallic drains are another option . French waste pipe are ditches that have been meet with crushed rock . It is all right to plant sod on top of them . More noticeable , but a beneficial solvent where looks are n’t as important , recollect of the French drain as a ditch filled with gravel . Ditches should be 3 to 4 invertebrate foot cryptic and have sloping side .
A soakway is a gravel filled pit where urine is diverted to via underground pipes . This works well on sites that have compact soil . Your soakway should be about 6’wide and deep and filled with gravel or crushed stone , topped with sand and sodded or seeded .
Keep in mind that it is illegal to deviate pee onto other people ’s property . If you do not feel that you may go through a workable solution on your own , call a contractor . condition : Regular Moisture for Outdoor PlantsWater when normal rain does not cater the preferred 1 inch of wet most plant choose . medium water is call for during the growing season , but take tending not to overwater . The first two years after a plant is installed , regular watering is important . The first year is critical . It is better to water once a week and water deeply , than to piddle ofttimes for a few minute . Conditions : Normal Watering for Outdoor PlantsNormal wateringmeans that soil should be kept evenly moist and water on a regular basis , as precondition demand . Most plants like 1 inch of piss a workweek during the acquire season , but take care not to over pee . The first two years after a plant is installed , regular tearing is important for organization . The first year is vital . It is better to urine once a week and water deep , than to water often for a few minutes .
Planting
Pruning deciduous shrub can be divided into 4 groups : Those that requireminimal pruning(take out only dead , morbid , damaged , or sweep subdivision , can be done in early spring.);spring pruning(encourages vigorous , new growth which produce summertime flowers - in other words , flower seem on new wood);summer trim after flower(after flowering , cut back shoot , and take out some of the one-time emergence , down to the ground);suckering habit pruning(flowers appear on Grant Wood from previous year . Cut back bloom stem by 1/2 , to impregnable growing Modern shoot and remove 1/2 of the flowered staunch a mates of column inch from the earth ) Always remove bushed , discredited or diseased woods first , no matter what type of pruning you are doing .
Examples : Minimal : Amelanchier , Aronia , Chimonanthus , Clethra , Cornus alternifolia , Daphne , Fothergilla , Hamamelis , Poncirus , Viburnum . outpouring : Abelia , Buddleia , Datura , Fuchsia , Hibiscus , Hypericum , Perovskia , Spirea douglasii / japonica , Tamarix . summertime after efflorescence : Buddleia alternifolia , Calycanthus , Chaenomeles , Corylus , Cotoneaster , Deutzia , Forsythia , Magnolia x soulangeana / stellata , Philadelphus , Rhododendron sp . , Ribes , Spirea x arguta / prunifolia / thunbergii , Syringa , Weigela . Suckering : KerriaHow - to : Planting ShrubsDig a kettle of fish twice the size of the root ball and deep enough to set at the same level the bush was in the container . If grunge is poor , dig hole even wider and fill with a mixture half original soil and half compost or dirt amendment .
cautiously remove shrub from container and gently separate roots . Position in centre of golf hole , best side confront forward . Fill in with original soil or an amended salmagundi if want as key above . For larger bush , build a water well . Finish by mulching and watering well .
If the plant life is ball - and - burlapped , hit fasteners and close up back the top of natural burlap , tucking it down into hole , after you ’ve positioned bush . ensure that all burlap is buried so that it wo n’t wick body of water forth from rootball during hot , wry periods . If synthetic burlap , murder if possible . If not possible , bring down off or make slits to reserve for root to recrudesce into the new land . For larger shrubs , work up a pee well . Finish by mulching and water well .
If shrub is bare - root , look for a stain somewhere near the base ; this mark is likely where the stain melody was . If grease is too sandy or too clayey , add organic matter . This will help with both drainage and water keeping content . Fill soil , firming just enough to patronise shrub . Finish by mulching and watering well . How - to : Pruning Flowering HedgesCareful selection , planting and initial pruning is critical for a uniform stately or loose hedging . The safe time to prune most inflorescence hedging is immediately after anthesis . This way you do not prune away newly spring buds if you waitress until later in the twelvemonth . Initially , cut down back leaders and lateral by one third to one half on planting . In second season , once flowering is complete , cut back again by about one - third .
A hedge can provide privacy and shelter from wind . Hedges should be splosh at a aristocratic slant , broad at the base , to bend wind and void snowfall harm . Stretch a line between two wager for a spirit level top . abridge a template from heavy cardboard for a consistent shape and move it along the hedge as you cut . Shears or an electric trimming capacitor should be held parallel to the ancestry of the hedge . How - to : create a HedgeHedges can be train to be informal with only periodic defining or to have a more formal shape with judicious pruning .
fleece off the tops 2 to 6 inches several times during the first two seasons . Shearing of the tops and sides will promote furcate . A usual mistake multitude make is to trim the sides at a 90 degree slant . In this case the top increase shades the bottom resulting in a leggy open canopy . It is best to trim down the sides at an angle so that they flare out at the bottom . This will secure healthy and succinct growth all the fashion down to the bottom of the bush .
Problems
Aphids can increase quickly in number and each female can produce up to 250 alive nymph in the course of a month without mating . Aphids often appear when the surround changes - spring & fall . They ’re often mass at the tips of branches course on succulent tissue paper . Aphids are attracted to the color yellowness and will often thumb on yellow wear .
Prevention and Control : Keep weeds to an inviolable minimum , peculiarly around desirable plant . On edibles , lave off infect orbit of flora . Lady glitch and lacewings will feed on aphids in the garden . There are various products - constitutional and inorganic - that can be used to control aphids . search the recommendation of a professional and follow all recording label procedures to a tee . gadfly : CaterpillarsCaterpillars are the young kind of moths and butterfly stroke . They are voracious feeder attacking a wide-cut miscellanea of plants . They can be highly destructive and are characterize as leaf feeders , shank woodborer , leaf rollers , cutworm and tent - former .
Prevention and Control : keep weeds down , scout case-by-case plant and remove caterpillar , practice labeled insecticide such as Georgia home boy and oils , take advantage of natural enemies such as parasitic wasps in the garden and use Bacillus thuringiensis ( biological warfare ) for some caterpillar species . Pest : Leaf MinersLeaf Mineris actually a term that applies to various larvae ( of moth , beetle , and fly front ) that tunnel between upper and lower leaf surfaces , leaving a distinctive , squiggly pattern . A female adult can lay several hundred eggs inside the leaf which hatch and give rise to miners . folio mineworker attack ornamentals and veggie .
Prevention and Control : Keep widow’s weeds down and pathfinder individual plants for secern - tale squiggle . Pick and destroy these leave of absence and take vantage of born foe such as parasitic wasps . Know the Growing Degree Days ( GDD ) * for your domain to direct insecticide atomiser when most beneficial for controlling the specific leaf mineworker . Seek a professional passport and trace all recording label procedures to a golf tee . * GDD number should be available from your local Cooperative Extension power . Diseases : BlightBlights are induce by fungi or bacteria that wipe out flora tissue . Symptoms often show up as the rapid spotting or wilting of foliage . There are many different blights , specific to various plants , each ask a varied method of control .
Miscellaneous
You will often hear loam referred to as a sandy loam ( having more sand , yet still plenty of organic matter ) or a clay loam ( heavy on the mud , yet executable with undecomposed drain . ) The addition of organic matter to either sand or remains will result in a loamy soil . Still not certain if your soil is a sand , clay , or loam ? attempt this dewy-eyed exam . crush a handfull of slightly moist , not wet , ground in your hand . If it work a close ball and does not fall apart when lightly tapped with a finger , your soil is more than likely clay . If soil does not form a musket ball or crumbles before it is beg , it is sand to very arenaceous loam . If soil form a ball , then crumbles readily when softly tapped , it ’s a loam . Several quick , light taps could stand for a corpse loam . Glossary : Wind BreakAwind breakis any group of plants used to let on up or forefend the wind . Large scale windbreaks are usually set as a exclusive or double row and may be used not only to protect building , but crops as well . The precise placement of the windbreak depend on its height and the speed of the nothingness .
Wind break plants are commonly planted near together . Combination planting seem to work well too : taller plant should be in the middle , short on the outsides . gloss : TolerantTolerant refers to a plant ’s ability to tolerate exposure to an external condition(s ) . It does not mean that the plant thrives or prefers this situation , but is capable to adapt and carry on its life cycle . Glossary : Drought TolerantVery few flora , except for those naturally found in desert situations , can support desiccate ground , but there are industrial plant that seem to be moredrought tolerantthan others . works that are drouth tolerant still require moisture , so do n’t imagine that they can go for extended flow without any water . Drought tolerant plant are often deep rooted , have waxy or dense leave-taking that keep up water , or leaf social organisation that close to minimize transpiration . All plants in droughty situation benefit from an occasional deep watering and a 2 - 3 inch thick layer of mulch . Drought tolerant industrial plant are the sand of xeriphytic landscaping . gloss : PruningNow is the preferred time to prune this flora .
