How far apart should you plant Cherry Laurel?

If you are looking to grow Laurel hedging, there are a few things to consider before your shovel even touches the ground.

One of the most asked questions I get about Cherry Laurel, is how far apart should I plant them. Now unfortunately, there isn't one answer to this question, but there are a few rules you should abide by to make sure your hedge grows full, thick and fast.

In this guide, you'll find the exact distances you need to plant the right size hedges, lets start with the most popular sizes first:

1. How far apart do I plant 2-3ft Cherry Laurel Hedging

Our most popular size, the 3L pot, 2-3ft pot grown Cherry Laurel works out excellent value for it's size.

You will want to be planting these roughly 30-40cm apart, that works out roughly 3 per metre.

Size	Planting Distance
2-3ft Tall	1 every 30cm - 40cm apart (Or 3 per metre)

There are many factors to consider when planting laurels of this size, if they are bare root, rootball, pot grown or the bushy-ness of the actual plant will factor in, but based on our years of experience planting, 30-40cm is just right for this size.

2. How far apart do I plant 3-4ft Cherry Laurel Hedging

For something slightly more established, you may want to look at a 3-4ft Cherry Laurel. These often come in a larger, 5L pot and are a great established height that gives you an instant, low hedge with minimal effort.

You will want to be planting these roughly 50cm - 60cm apart, that works out roughly 2 per metre.

Size	Planting Distance
3-4ft Tall	1 every 50cm - 60cm apart (Or 2 per metre)

Again, all sizes will depend on how bushy your plants are.

3. How far apart do I plant 4-5ft Cherry Laurel Hedging

7.5l cherry laurel 140cm height

4-5ft Laurels are an excellent size to get your hedge started from. They generally have a large, well established root system which is ready to plant right into the ground. We recommend prepping the ground first with a good, soft compost that will allow young roots to establish.

You will want to be planting these roughly 80cm - 90cm apart

Size	Planting Distance
4-5ft Tall	1 every 80cm - 90cm apart

4. How far apart do I plant 5-6ft Cherry Laurel Hedging

30L (5-6ft) | Cherry Laurel Hedging (Rotundifolia)

Now, these 5-6ft Cherry Laurel are very established, bushy plants which will give you instant coverage and height. Usually they aren't the most cost effective way of growing a Laurel hedge, but if you need instant coverage, then this will be the size you'd want to plant.

You will want to be planting these roughly 100cm apart

Size	Planting Distance
5-6ft Tall	1 every 100cm apart

Laurel Planting Cheat Sheet

Planting right now? Take a look at our handy, Laurel-planting cheat sheet to get the answers you need instantly!

Size	Planting Distance
1ft - 2ft tall	1 every 30cm - 40cm apart (Or 3 per metre)
3ft - 4ft tall	1 every 50cm - 60cm apart (Or 2 per metre)
4ft - 5ft tall	1 every 80cm - 90cm apart
5ft - 6ft tall	1 every 100cm apart

6ft+ you are looking at a totally different size of hedging plant, which will generally depend on the actual size of the plant. We would need to take into account the bushiness, and size of the roots before considering how far apart to plant.

If you need help to calculate this for any trees over 6ft tall, get in touch with us today and we can help with any planting advice you need: