Portuguese Laurel: A Versatile Evergreen for Hedges and Shapes
Portuguese laurel is the quiet alternative to the more obvious laurel that everyone knows. Smaller leaves, redder stems, more refined habit, and a much better hedge in almost any setting. It has slowly become the standard evergreen screening choice for serious UK gardens, replacing both cherry laurel for elegance and Leylandii for sanity. The reasons hold up.
Here is the honest profile of Prunus lusitanica — what it looks like, what it does well, and how to grow it as a hedge, a standard tree or a shaped specimen.
The short version: Portuguese laurel is a glossy dark-leaved evergreen with red-tinged stems that grows 30cm to 45cm a year, reaching a usable hedge in three to four years and holding at any height from 1.5m to 4m. Its smaller leaves clip cleanly with a hedgetrimmer, unlike cherry laurel, which tears and browns at the edges. It tolerates sun or shade, clay, sandy soil and coastal wind, and is fully UK-hardy. Clip twice a year - late May and late August - for the crispest finish, or once for informal screens.
What it looks like
Glossy dark green oval leaves around 6cm to 12cm long on red-tinged stems and petioles. The colour combination of dark leaves and red stems is the most refined thing about the plant — far more elegant than the larger, brighter leaves of cherry laurel. Long racemes of small fragrant white flowers appear in June, followed by red berries that ripen to black through autumn.
As a free-standing shrub it reaches 4m to 6m tall and wide given decades. As a clipped hedge it holds at any height between 1.5m and 4m. As a standard tree (single clear trunk with a clipped head) it makes one of the most reliable doorway and patio specimens available.
Why over cherry laurel: Portuguese laurel has smaller, more refined leaves that clip cleanly with a hedgetrimmer. Cherry laurel's much larger leaves tear visibly when cut with a hedgetrimmer rather than secateurs, leaving brown ragged edges that take weeks to recover. For any visible hedge, Portuguese laurel is the better-looking choice.
Where it thrives
Portuguese laurel is one of the most adaptable structural evergreens for UK conditions. It tolerates sun or partial shade, heavy clay, sandy soils, and coastal positions exposed to salt-laden wind. It is fully hardy throughout the UK and shows no significant pest or disease problems in domestic gardens.
The only condition it dislikes is waterlogged ground — a hedge planted in soil that sits wet through winter will struggle to establish. Improve drainage with grit if the planting trench holds standing water for more than a day after rain.
Growth and clipping
Portuguese laurel grows 30cm to 45cm a year — fast enough to reach a usable hedge height in three to four years from substantial starter plants, slow enough that it doesn't become an ongoing maintenance problem once established.
Spacing as a hedge. Three plants per metre in a single row, or two staggered rows for a denser faster screen.
Clipping. Twice a year for the crispest finish — late May after spring flowering and again in late August. Once a year is enough for established informal screens.
Tool choice. Smaller leaves than cherry laurel mean a hedgetrimmer cuts cleanly. For prized specimens or standard trees, secateurs give the cleanest finish.
Renovation. Regenerates well from old wood. A leggy or overgrown plant can be cut back hard in early spring and will resprout strongly.
Feeding and watering
A new Portuguese laurel hedge needs deep weekly watering through the first two summers from May to September. Mulch the line each autumn with 5cm of compost or well-rotted manure. After year two, the hedge is largely self-supporting and needs watering only in exceptional drought. A single spring application of slow-release general-purpose fertiliser each year is enough to keep growth strong.
Standard trees and shaped specimens in pots need more attention — water weekly through the warmer months, feed twice a year and repot every two to three years.
Different forms
Portuguese laurel is sold and grown in three main forms.
Hedging plants. Multi-stem young plants from 60cm to 1.5m tall, sold for hedge planting at three plants per metre. The most common and most cost-effective form.
Standard trees. Single clear trunk topped with a clipped ball head. Heights typically 1.8m to 2.5m. Used in pairs at doorways or as patio specimens.
Shaped specimens. Clipped pyramids, cones and balls for formal positions. Less common than yew or Ilex crenata for this purpose but works beautifully for medium-scale architectural plants.
Related guides:
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Portuguese laurel fast growing?
Yes — Portuguese laurel grows 30cm to 45cm a year, which is fast enough to reach a usable hedge height in three to four years from 80cm to 1m starter plants. It is slower than Leylandii (1m a year) and cherry laurel (45cm to 60cm a year) but faster than yew (20cm to 30cm a year). The slightly slower growth than cherry laurel is part of what makes it lower-maintenance over the long term.
Is Portuguese laurel a good hedge?
Yes — it is widely considered the best balance of speed, density, refinement and long-term maintenance among UK hedging evergreens. It tolerates clay, partial shade and coastal positions, reaches privacy height in three to four years, and settles into one annual clip once established. The dark glossy leaves and red stems read as more elegant than cherry laurel, and the smaller leaves clip cleanly with a hedgetrimmer.
What is the difference between cherry laurel and Portuguese laurel?
Portuguese laurel has smaller, narrower oval leaves on red-tinged stems and a more refined habit. Cherry laurel has larger, broader bright green leaves and grows more vigorously. Portuguese laurel clips cleanly with a hedgetrimmer; cherry laurel's large leaves tear and leave brown ragged edges. For any visible hedge, Portuguese laurel is the better choice. Cherry laurel is faster and cheaper but coarser in appearance.
Portuguese laurel does excellent service as a hedge or standard tree. Browse our Architectural Collections for Portuguese laurel standards and specimen plants. Delivered free to your door.
