Carolina cherry laurel is an evergreen shrub or small tree with shiny green leaves and bowl-shaped, fragrant white flowers borne in dense clusters in spring. The fruit is lustrous, cherry-like, and black.
Noteworthy CharacteristicsUseful for hedging and screening. Can become weedy.
CareGrow in any moist but well-drained soil.
PropagationRoot semi-ripe cuttings in mid-summer. Bud cultivars in summer or graft in early spring.
ProblemsCaterpillars, borers, scale insects, aphids, leaf hoppers, nematode, and eriophyid mites. Crown gall, mushroom root rot, canker, dieback, lesions, fireblight, leaf curl, powdery mildew, mosaic and ringspot viruses.
Fine Gardening Recommended Products
DeWalt Variable-Speed Cordless Reciprocating Saw with 6-Piece Saw Blade Set
Fine Gardening receives a commission for items purchased through links on this site, including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs.
Scotts Cordless Grass-Shear/Shrub-Trimmer Combo
Fine Gardening receives a commission for items purchased through links on this site, including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs.
DeWalt Variable-Speed Cordless Reciprocating Saw
Fine Gardening receives a commission for items purchased through links on this site, including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs.
- Genus : Prunus
- Zones : 10, 7, 8, 9
- Plant Height : 15 to 30 feet
- Plant Width : 15 to 30 feet
- Characteristics : Fragrant Flowers, Showy Fruit
- Light : Full Sun to Partial Shade
- Moisture : Medium Moisture
- Plant Type : Shrubs
- Bloom Time : Spring
- Plant Seasonal Interest : Spring Interest
- Flower Color : White
Plant Characteristics are only available to Fine Gardening members
Sign up for a free trial and get instant access to our complete plant guide as well as our entire collection of articles and videos.