Portuguese Laurel Lollipop Topiary Pair - Rafe & Elowen

Two numbers describe every lollipop here, and they do different jobs. Clear stem is the bare trunk below the head: 40–60cm holds the head at doorstep and planter height, which is the classic entrance pair, while 80–100cm lifts it clear of fence panels and garden walls for screening. Girth is the trunk's circumference, 6–16cm across this range, and it is the honest age measure — height can be forced in a season, a thick trunk cannot, so girth is the number to compare between two listings. Every extra centimetre is more years in the Tuscan field, a broader and denser head, and presence that arrives grown rather than promised. Pick the stem for the job, then take the biggest girth the budget allows. The lollipop sizes guide maps both numbers band by band.

Closely, because they were grown as twins rather than picked as a pair on dispatch day. We guarantee a height difference of no more than 10cm between them, and before your pallet is built you receive your pair's quality-control certificate — origins, dimensions and six photographs of your actual two trees — with 24 hours to review before dispatch. If the pair that arrives still isn't right, email hello@topiarytwins.co.uk within 7 days of delivery with the subject “Matching Guarantee Claim – [order number]”. Claims are resolved within 24 hours, with a replacement pair or a full refund, whichever you prefer.

Site first, looks second. A sheltered doorstep, where walls break the wind, is the home fixture of Atlas & Oria, our bay laurel pair — aromatic leaves at the threshold, and the species that most wants shelter. Exposed, windy or coastal ground is where bay would scorch and Rafe & Elowen, the Portuguese laurel, shrugs: wind-proof, cold-proof, and the most shade-tolerant head here, so it doubles as the answer for a north-facing frontage. If you want colour that performs, Vida & Solène, the Red Robin pair, throws a flame-red new flush after every trim — give it light, because the flush needs it — while Marla & Faye, the Pink Marble photinia, does the same trick in pink and cream and is the rarity of the range. And for the most head for the money in a position that will forgive a missed trim, Mio & Liora, the Delavay privet, is dense, glossy and endlessly good-natured. Our growers rank the renditions head to head in the best lollipop tree varieties.

At a door, one either side, centred on the width available and clear of the door swing — the pair should frame the entrance, never obstruct it, and the stems should leave the threshold walkable. Along a fence or wall run, space them on the head each tree will grow into rather than the one that arrives, so the heads just meet at maturity: roughly one head-width of air between trees. Along a path or drive, place your pair facing each other across the route and repeat further pairs at even intervals, so the eye reads a rhythm rather than a queue. If you're unsure, email a photo of the spot to hello@topiarytwins.co.uk and we'll mark it up, or take the two-minute Entrance Edit and we'll suggest a layout for you.

Little and often beats rarely and hard. Cut around the curve of the head in short overlapping passes that follow the dome, rather than flat across it — a flat pass shears a facet you'll be looking at for a whole season. Step back constantly and walk around the tree as you work; the eye catches a bulge the hand never feels. One to three short trims a year keeps a head crisp, depending on species: bay is happy with one or two, Portuguese laurel and the two photinias prefer two light trims a season, and Delavay privet, the quickest grower here, will take two or three. Keep the clear stem clear as well — rub off any shoots that break from the trunk while they are still soft, before they thicken and spoil the line. Generous watering through the first summer and one spring feed is the whole of the rest of it.

Kerbside, on its own pallet, by a specialist plant haulier, UK-wide. Your two trees travel upright and are never boxed, the consignment is fully tracked, and the driver phones about an hour ahead so you can be there when he arrives. Allow 14–21 working days from order — the pair is being selected, photographed and documented during that window, not sitting in a warehouse. Delivery is to the kerb, so plan how you'll move two well-grown standards from the kerb to their position before the pallet lands.

Tell us early. The 6-Month Thrive Guarantee covers a plant that fails to thrive in its first six months: we replace it at 50% of the single-plant cost. Worked example — a £1,000 pair is £500 a plant, so your replacement costs £250. Email hello@topiarytwins.co.uk with the subject “Thrive Guarantee Claim – [order number]” and we review eligibility within 48 hours. One honest exclusion: if both plants fail, the guarantee doesn't apply, because two identical failures point at the site rather than the stock and a straight swap would only repeat it. That's precisely what Lifetime Care Support is for — unlimited email guidance from the growers, answered within 24 hours, free, forever, so we can fix the conditions instead.