The laurel cherry Caucasica is characterized by its robustness and beautifully colored foliage. Growing vigorously, it forms an evergreen, easy-care and frost-hardy privacy and noise barrier. To prevent Caucasica from growing over your head and taking up too much space in small gardens, we recommend pruning it at least once a year.
How should the cherry laurel Caucasica be cut?
To prune the Caucasica cherry laurel, start right after the main bloom in spring. Cut the hedge in a trapezoidal shape, round corners and remove dead wood, frozen and diseased branches. Shorten annual branches by about half to encourage bushy growth.
Growth habit of the Caucasica
This laurel cherry is one of the rather slender and upright growing varieties that has a dense and compact growth. It is fast-growing and can grow up to forty centimeters in height and width per year. Uncut, it grows to around three meters high and has a diameter of at least 120 centimeters.
Cutting promotes he althy and strong growth
Like all laurel hedges, Caucasica should be trimmed regularly right from the start. This ensures that the bushes thrive and do not become bare inside due to a lack of light.
The right time to prune
Ideally, cut back the laurel cherry Caucasica directly after the main flowering. This time of pruning promotes abundant flowering next year. In principle, pruning can take place from the beginning of March until August. Cutting should not be done later in the year so that any emerging wood can mature until winter.
How to cut?
- When cutting the hedge to form, give it a trapezoidal contour. Starting from a wide base, it should taper towards the top.
- Round corners so that a lot of light gets into the interior of the bushes.
- Cut out dead wood, frozen and diseased branches completely.
- Cut inward-facing, soft shoots at the base.
- For bushy growth, shorten the annual branches to about half.
- Place the scissors at a slight angle so that rainwater runs off the wound quickly.
The right cutting tool
So that the leaves of the laurel cherry do not look torn, you should not use motorized scissors when pruning the hedge. Always use sharp cutting tools that make straight cuts and do not damage the tree more than is absolutely necessary. Wear gloves when carrying out any work as the cherry laurel is poisonous and can cause allergies.
Tips & Tricks
The laurel cherry Caucasica also tolerates radical rejuvenation pruning well. Cut deeply into the wood and shorten the main shoots to a length of around thirty to fifty centimeters. Leave at least one visible bud per main shoot so that the tree sprouts vigorously again.
