Propagation by cuttings
You can cut cuttings from the mother plant during the entire growing season. A good opportunity to gain numerous seedlings for vegetative propagation is a successful pruning. Be sure to:
- Do not cut too large cuttings in summer. A length of fifteen centimeters is ideal.
- Only a few leaves to leave on the shoot.
- Cut these leaves in half to reduce the evaporation area.
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Two methods have proven effective for rooting:
Rooting in a glass of water
You can put the small cuttings a few centimeters deep in a glass of water and let them take root. As soon as the roots have reached a length of five centimeters, the small laurel cherries are transplanted in bowls or directly into the field.
Pull shoots into soil
- Fill the growing containers with a mixture of sand and earth and insert the lower half of the shoot tips into the substrate.
- Keep the soil well moist for the next few weeks.
- However, avoid waterlogging as this promotes rot and mold growth.
- Put the jar in a bright place.
- Create a humid climate by placing a clear plastic bag over the flower pot.
At temperatures of around twenty degrees, the small laurel cherries form roots after around four weeks and can now be separated. You can now plant the young plants directly in the garden or put them in a larger planter.
Propagation by seeds
Often the cherry laurel comes out alone and you will find many young plants near the shrub in spring. You can dig these out carefully and move them to the desired location in the garden. Cherry laurel can also be grown specifically from seeds, but this method takes significantly longer than propagation using cuttings. You can extract the seeds from the ripe fruits of the cherry laurel in autumn and sow them directly.
To do this, collect the ripe, shiny black berries and loosen the stone core from the pulp. When sowing, proceed as follows:
- Fill the vessels with potting soil.
- Put seeds on the ground and cover only lightly with substrate.
- Moisten well with a sprayer.
- The cherry laurel is a cold germ, so put the pods in a cool room and never in a heated room.
Since laurel cherries do not germinate too quickly, several weeks can pass before the first shoots appear. Since the young plants are still quite sensitive, you have to keep them frost-free for at least a year and continue to cultivate them indoors. Only in the second year are the small laurel cherries put in their final place in the garden.
Propagation by subsidence
You can gradually pull out as many shrubs as you need for a dense cherry laurel hedge by means of lowerers. This type of propagation is considered the most effective and easiest. The best time to grow young plants by lowering is the months of May or June, when the soil is already completely thawed and there is no longer any threat of night frosts.
Propagation takes place through a branch that is still on the shrub and grows near the ground. Bend it carefully down to the ground and loosen the ground a little at the point where the branch touches the ground. You can now weigh down the shoot directly with a stone and cover it with earth.
The sinker will take root more quickly if you prune the branch before digging it in, but do not completely separate the shoot from the mother plant. To prevent it from closing up, place a small pebble in the cut. Fix the branch in the ground with tent pegs or stones. Cover the sinker with some soil.
The first roots have formed after about six to eight weeks. Now carefully dig out the sinker and sever the connection to the mother plant. You can now move the young plant to its final location. Take this opportunity to provide the small cherry laurel with compost or horn shavings (€ 6.39 on Amazon *) so that it has enough nutrients available.
Tips & Tricks
On the underside of the leaf of the cherry laurel there are small brown spots, the nectarines. A sweet plant sap emerges from them, which can cause allergic reactions. Therefore, wear gloves when working on the cherry laurel and avoid skin contact with the plant as an allergy sufferer.
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