In the pot, laurel delights as an evergreen feast for the eyes on the balcony and terrace or in the winter garden. Its lush green, decorative leaves give dishes delicate strength and richness. A good-natured compatibility with cutting rounds off the colorful array of veritable characteristics. The following tutorial is dedicated to the skillful cutting of Laurus nobilis. This is how you prune laurel in an exemplary manner.
How do I prune a laurel tree correctly?
In order to prune laurel correctly, you should observe different types of pruning and dates: pruning for shrubs in February/March or June/July, pruning for standard trees also in these months, pruning for shape and maintenance before clearing out or putting away and Rejuvenation pruning in late winter. Always use sharp secateurs.
Cutting types and dates
The floral charisma of laurel is not based on its delicate, yellowish flowers. It is the dark green, elliptical leaves on upright shoots that spread the Mediterranean magic in the garden or house. Thesubtropical origin prohibits planting the evergreen tree in most regions. The majority of home gardeners choose to keep them in containers. Their mobility allows the green ambassador from the Mediterranean to be admitted in good time before winter. The cherry laurel benefits if you cut it before and after changing location due to the weather. But the tree also has no objection to the use of scissors between clearing and tidying up. In summary, the following table presents important cutting types and dates:
| Cut style | Goal/Occasion | Appointment option I | Appointment option II | Appointment option III |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Structural pruning shrub | shape growth, dense foliage | February/March | June/July | before putting away |
| Education cut high stem | Pruning of trunk and crown | February/March | June/July | before putting away |
| Shaping and maintenance pruning | Growth control, thinning out dead wood, maintaining shape | before clearing out | June/July | before putting away |
| Rejuvenation cut | revitalizing aging laurel | late winter | none | none |
Build the laurel bush beautifully
With tightly upright, densely leafed branches, laurel is an ornamental shrub. Agradual build-up cut makes a valuable contribution to well-formed growth. Don't just let a young laurel grow tall. By pruning it at least once a year, you create a sap log that encourages branching. How to do it right:
- Build a laurel bush with 5 to 7 strong ground shoots as a framework
- Cut off all remaining ground shoots at the base
- In February/March and June/July, cut back the previous growth down to an opposite pair of leaves
Extend a scaffold shoot by about10 centimeters per year Also limit their number. In this way you build a laurel bush with compact growth. This is the ideal prerequisite for artistic topiaries as columns, cones, spirals or imaginative sculptures.
Raise laurel to be a standard member
The good pruning tolerance makes laurel the ideal candidate for training to become a representative standard tree. The training begins on the day of planting and continues for several years. This is how you master pattern training in an exemplary manner:
- On the day of planting, select the strongest ground shoot and tie it to the support post
- Remove remaining ground shoots as competitors
- Regularly defoliate the central shoot as a future trunk and mount it on the post
As the pictures below illustrate, initiate thebranching to the crownwith thecutting the trunk tip. Before cutting off the top bud, wait until there are four to six pairs of leaves above the planned crown base. Please remove shoots that compete with the trunk as soon as possible, as well as all side shoots below the crown.
Do not cut the tip of the central trunk until the desired trunk height has been reached. The tip bud should be at least 4 to 6 leaves above the crown base when cutting is made. A subsequent height extension is rarely successful.
Background
Tip bud has to give way for crown formation
Capping the top bud on the laurel standard is a double-edged sword. If you cut too early, the stem will remain tiny. If you wait too long, it will take what feels like an eternity until the desired crown branching occurs. The growth law of top funding eliminates discussions about the connections. Accordingly, the tree transports the majority of itsreserve materials to the top bud in order to stimulate growth towards the light. Only when the position at the top of the trunk is no longer occupied does the sap pressure spread to deeper buds, which then sprout and form the crown. At the same time, the upward growth has ended.
Shaping and preserving laurel
Once a laurel has successfully developed into a shrub or been trained to become a standard tree, pruning care is aimed at preserving it. The robust cutting tolerance allows you to use scissors regularly from spring to autumn. This way, shape and vitality are preserved:
- Thimout dead shoots in spring
- Cut out branches that are also in an unfavorable position and protrude into the inside of the crown or bush
- Excessively long branches lead to a lower, outward-facing side shoot
The best time for the main pruning is in February or March, in good time before budding begins. Please cut each laurel branch individually. Ideally, place the scissors 3 to 5 millimeters above a pair of leaves.
With 5 to 7 scaffolding shoots, a laurel bush presents itself in a representative manner. Cut back any excessively long shoots that stick out of the shape. Dead and inward-facing branches are removed.
Excursus
Cutting laurel with one-handed secateurs
For pruning laurel, usehigh-quality pruning shears, ideally with a bypass mechanism. If you dedicate yourself to cuttingshoot by shoot, the bush and crown will shine in new splendor. An electric shrub shear, on the other hand, leaves a picture of devastation. The large leaves get caught in the knife bar and tear. The resulting brown edges will spoil your laurel in the long term.
Rejuvenate old laurel
If you don't trim your laurel for several years, you'll end up with a bald, misshapen network of old and young shoots. With a radical rejuvenation cut you can help the aging tree make a brilliant comeback. The secret of success lies in sleeping eyes from which Laurus nobilis sprouts again. The following process has proven itself well in cutting practice:
- Best time is in late winter
- Remove all dead wood from the bush or crown in advance
- Cut back remaining shoots by half to two thirds
A strategic cut optimizes the success of the measure. Take a look at each old ground shoot or crown branch individually. If the shoot has a young, vital side branch in the lower area, cut old and young wood at the fork.
Frequently asked questions
Can laurel overwinter outside?
North of the Alps, laurel is not hardy. If the thermometer falls below -5 degrees Celsius, there is a risk of fatal frost damage or even total failure. We recommend cultivation in a bucket for most regions of Germany. Exceptions apply to protected locations in mild-winter wine-growing regions or in valleys on the Lower Rhine. Without extensive protective measures, a laurel cannot overwinter as a shrub or standard tree in any location. A warm fleece cover and an insulating wooden base are indispensable even on the Ahr and Moselle.
Are the leaves of a laurel tree edible?
In fact, laurel is a globally valued spice plant. The aromatic-smelling leaves add a special flavor to hot and cold dishes. Bay leaves are very popular as an ingredient in stews, gravies, vegetables and meat dishes. According to the classic recipe, pickled cucumbers are pickled with a few bay leaves. By the way, you can also use the small black berries for culinary purposes. If you add a few bay berries to game dishes, you will have a delicate culinary delight.
Can I use clippings from laurel bushes for propagation?
The many advantages of laurel include the rapid rooting of cuttings. Whatever cuttings you can't use as spice supplies for the kitchen are suitable for easy propagation. The best time is in late summer. 15 centimeter long, not completely woody, half-ripe shoot tips are well suited. Remove the leaves from the lower half and place them in potting soil.
My laurel tree spent the winter outside in the Ahr valley (hardiness zone 7) and is now partially brown in March. Is the tree frozen? Can pruning save the plant?
A laurel tree must not be exposed to frosty temperatures below -5 degrees Celsius for long periods of time. This premise also applies to wine-growing regions with mild winters. As long as the branches inside are still green to cream-colored, you can still save the tree. Cut all frozen shoots back to he althy wood and apply an organic fertilizer for green plants.
The 3 most common cutting mistakes
Laurel with tattered leaves and brown edges is the victim of a typical pruning error. A similar thing happened to a standard tree that remained at a measly height and simply no longer wanted to grow. In order to protect the readers of this tutorial from classic damage patterns, the following overview lists the three most common mistakes when cutting laurel:
| Cutting errors | malicious image | Prevention |
|---|---|---|
| cut with electric shrub shears | tattered leaves with brown edges | always cut with one-handed secateurs |
| Tip on the high trunk cut prematurely | very small standard tree with no height growth | Tip bud first cut 4 to 6 buds above the crown base |
| never cut | misshapen growth, baldness from the inside out | cut and thin at least once a year |
Tip
At first glance, real laurel and cherry laurel look very similar. If you look closely, you will notice striking differences that have far-reaching consequences for cultivation. Real laurel (Laurus nobilis) primarily thrives as a cold-sensitive spice plant. Cherry laurel (Prunus laurocerasus), on the other hand, is hardy and has become one of the most popular hedge plants in Central Europe. When it comes to a magnificent, evergreen foliage and robust pruning tolerance, both trees pull together.
