Also known as Portuguese Cherry Laurel or Prunus lusitanica, the Pleached Portuguese Laurel offers a smart, formal solution for instant privacy and garden structure. Trained on a clear stem with a neatly clipped screen of evergreen foliage above, it’s ideal for creating living fences, screening above walls, or dividing garden spaces with year-round elegance.
At Tree Heritage Nursery, our Pleached Portuguese Laurel Trees are expertly trained and available in a range of pleached panel sizes and trunk heights to suit your garden design.
Growing Conditions
Portuguese Laurel is hardy and adaptable, thriving in moist but well-drained soils, from chalky to clay, and tolerating full sun to partial shade. It performs reliably in urban environments, and once established, is drought-tolerant, pollution-resistant, and suitable for both sheltered and exposed sites.
Where to Position It
Perfect for creating instant privacy, green screening, or elevated hedging, pleached Portuguese Laurel is ideal for small urban gardens, contemporary courtyards, or along boundaries where space is limited at ground level. Its compact form and lush canopy make it a refined alternative to fencing or brick walls.
Foliage, Flowers & Fruit
Portuguese Laurel has glossy, deep green leaves on distinctive reddish stems, forming a dense, tidy screen when clipped. In early summer, it produces upright clusters of small white flowers, lightly scented and attractive to pollinators. These may be followed by small red berries, ripening to dark purple-black, which add subtle interest and benefit birds.
Size & Growth
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Ultimate Height: 3–5 metres (with regular pruning)
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Ultimate Spread: Head dimensions maintained by pruning
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Time to Ultimate Size: 5–10 years
Delivery — By Our Own Team
Standard and pleached trees are too tall for courier pallets, so our own team delivers them:
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£55 — within 18.6 miles (30 km) of our Hertford nursery
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£105 — 18.6–46.6 miles (30–75 km)
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£250 — 46.6–205 miles (75–330 km)
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£400 — 205–329 miles (330–530 km)
Oversized trees are delivered within a 4-week window and we’ll agree the date with you. Scotland or beyond 329 miles: please contact us for a quote before ordering. Select your distance band at checkout — we confirm by postcode before dispatch.
Plant Now or Reserve for Autumn
We deliver all year round — our container-grown stock can be planted in any season (summer planting just needs committed watering). Prefer to plant in autumn, when establishment is easiest? Order now and add a note at checkout — we’ll reserve your plants and deliver when you’re ready.
Planting & Aftercare
Every order includes our planting and establishment notes. The single biggest factor in success is water: new plants need generous, regular watering through their first two growing seasons. Follow the guide and your plants will establish strongly — and we’re on the end of the phone if you need us.
Why Tree Heritage
We’re a working nursery in Hertfordshire, not a reseller. Every plant is selected, grown on and quality-checked by our own team before it leaves the nursery.
