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How to plant a cherry laurel hedge: depth and water

Updated: 21 October 2026

The plants are in the driveway, or they are about to be. A cherry laurel hedge fails in two ordinary ways: a wet hole that rots the roots, or torn leaves that look brown for months. This is the sequence for pot-grown Prunus laurocerasus, including the Carbeth 3 L Rotundifolia and the Easy Plants 17 cm Novita in our [cherry laurel comparison](/hub/hedges-and-privacy-screens/cherry-laurel). This page is from Peter F. on 21 October 2026. We have not planted this row for you. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Which pack to buy sits on the [cherry laurel buying guide](/hub/hedges-and-privacy-screens/cherry-laurel/sub/cherry-laurel-buying-guide). Dig only after the soil drains and you have looked for nests.

The plants are in the driveway, or they are about to be. A cherry laurel hedge fails in two ordinary ways: a wet hole that rots the roots, or torn leaves that look brown for months.

Our top picks

Carbeth Plants Carbeth Rotundifolia, 10 plants

Best overall

Carbeth Plants Carbeth Rotundifolia, 10 plants
8.3/10about £70.99
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Carbeth Plants Carbeth Rotundifolia, 15 plants

Best value

Carbeth Plants Carbeth Rotundifolia, 15 plants
8.2/10about £100.99
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Easy Plants Easy Plants Novita, 1 plant

Alternative

Easy Plants Easy Plants Novita, 1 plant
4.2/10about £13.99
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On this page
  1. 1.Before you dig
  2. 2.Spacing that matches the plant you bought
  3. 3.Planting and the first year of water
  4. 4.The first cuts

Before you dig

Clear weeds along the measured line. The RHS hedge method is a strip about 60–90 cm wide and one spit deep. If water sits in a test hole overnight, do not plant. Cherry laurel wants moist but well-drained soil. Stand the pots out at your spacing before you dig, so you can see the gate and the neighbour's fence. Gardeners' World suggests about 1–1.5 m off a fence as magazine guidance, not a legal set-back. On poorer, shallow chalk the RHS says the leaves may yellow. Read cherry laurel or Portuguese laurel before you dig. Look for nests before any cutting. Damaging a nest in use is an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and the RSPB advises avoiding March to September.

Spacing that matches the plant you bought

Use the spacing that belongs to the plant in your hand. Carbeth prints 600 mm for these 60–80 cm Rotundifolia. Gardeners' World says about 60–90 cm for a single row. A chart for 2–3 ft plants uses about 30–40 cm. Do not average 30 cm and 90 cm into 60 cm. The Easy Plants Novita listing has no spacing at all. Five Carbeth plants at 600 mm, with a plant at each end, are four gaps and 2.4 m from first to last. That length is your arithmetic. The listing does not state it. If the tape and the pots disagree, stop.
Carbeth Plants Carbeth Rotundifolia, 10 plants

Testsieger

Carbeth Plants Carbeth Rotundifolia, 10 plants
8.3/10about £70.99
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Planting and the first year of water

Water the pots first. Dig each hole a little wider than the rootball and no deeper, so the compost sits level with the soil. Burying the stem about 5 cm under the old pot line is a common way to stall a new laurel. Tease roots that have circled a 3 L pot. Firm so the rootball does not rock, then water. Year one includes winter wind, because evergreen leaves still lose water in cold, dry weather. Carbeth says water after three dry days, and daily in a first-year hot spell. Do not follow a once-a-month line through July. If the soil is damp a finger down, wait. You can plant pot-grown laurel in summer if you can water.

The first cuts

Do not shape the hedge on planting day beyond a damaged shoot. The RHS prunes Prunus laurocerasus twice in the growing season. Carbeth's monthly summer trim is the seller's habit, not a duty. Large leaves tear under a coarse trimmer. Use secateurs or loppers back to a leaf. A powered trimmer needs an RCD, dry conditions, and work at or below shoulder height. The high-hedge Acts are about a tall evergreen barrier and a neighbour's light, not an order to cut new plants to 2 m. From March to September, look for nests before you cut. Clear clippings the same day. PDSA says dogs investigate the pile, and leaves and berries are harmful if eaten. The phone call is on is cherry laurel poisonous?.

Common questions

How deep do I plant a pot-grown laurel?
Plant so the compost in the pot sits level with the soil in the bed. The hole should be a little wider than the rootball and no deeper. Burying the stem below the old pot line is a common reason a new hedge sits still. Firm the soil so the plant does not rock, then water. A mulch can cover the strip if it is kept off the bark.
How far apart should a 60–80 cm plant go?
Carbeth prints 600 mm for these 3 L plants. Gardeners' World says about 60–90 cm for a single cherry laurel row. A trade chart for 2–3 ft plants uses about 30–40 cm. They disagree. Use 600 mm if you are following the listing you bought, and use the wider band if you are happy with a slower knit. Do not invent a compromise figure and call it both.
How often do I water in the first year?
Check the soil rather than the calendar. If it is dry after a few days without rain, water. In a hot spell, Carbeth says daily for year one. In winter wind, evergreen leaves still lose moisture, so a dry freezing week is not automatically a week off. If the soil is wet, stop. Monthly watering, copied from one Novita bullet, is too little in July and can be too much in a soggy November.
When do I trim, and with what?
Twice in the growing season is the RHS pattern for this species. Skip a haircut on the day you plant, except for a broken shoot. Use secateurs or loppers on large leaves so you do not leave a brown shredded face. A powered trimmer needs an RCD, dry weather, and work that stays at or below shoulder height.
Can I cut in May if I see no nest?
Only after you have looked properly. It is an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to damage a nest that is in use or being built. The RSPB advises avoiding March to September. A quick glance is not the same as a check through the canopy. If anything is uncertain, wait. The hedge will still be there in autumn.

Related pages

Best cherry laurel in this set

Cherry laurel hedge

Cherry laurel hedging plants: count the row before you order

Is cherry laurel poisonous? Leaves, berries, cuttings

Cherry laurel vs Portuguese laurel on chalky soils

Sources

Public UK sources named below. amazon.co.uk prices, stars and review counts are from the five listings in this comparison. Page updated 21 October 2026.

  1. RHS, Prunus laurocerasus (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  2. RHS, Prunus laurocerasus Novita (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  3. RHS, Prunus lusitanica (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  4. GOV.UK, high hedges: complaining to the council (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  5. High Hedges (Scotland) Act 2013 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  6. High Hedges Act (Northern Ireland) 2011, section 2 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  7. Veterinary Poisons Information Service, cherry laurel (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  8. PDSA, poisonous plants (retrieved 21 October 2026)