Prunus laurocerasus - Cherry laurel

Cherry laurel (Prunus laurocerasus) is an evergreen shrub grown for its dense, glossy foliage, widely used as a clipped hedge and screening plant. The fully ripe fruit is edible and leaves can be distilled for an almond-like flavoring, but all parts of the plant contain cyanogenic compounds and bitter fruit or seed should not be eaten.

Inputs

• Hardiness zone 6¹
• Hardiness zone 7¹
• Hardiness zone 8¹
• Full sun¹
• Semi-shade¹
• Full shade¹
• Well drained soil¹
• Moist soil¹

Outputs

• Human food¹
• Medicinal use¹
• Dye¹

Type

• Shrub
• Evergreen

Functions

• Hedge¹
• Ground cover¹
• Fire resistance²³

Footnotes

1. Prunus laurocerasus | Plants for a Future ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³

2. Fire Retardant Flora, Glen Forrest Volunteer Bush Fire Brigade, adapted from “Trees and Plants for Bush Fire Prone Areas,” Fire and Emergency Services Authority (Western Australia), 2002, listed as Cherry Laurel ↩

3. Lower Risk Plants for Hedges, Privacy, Screening, FireSmart BC, listed as Laurel - Dwarf Cherry, Prunus laurocerasus ↩