Emerald King Carolina Cherry Laurel
Prunus caroliniana 'Compacta 2'
A special selection featuring especially large, bright green leaves that retain their color throughout the winter as well as an extra dense habit. A superb choice for hedges or screens - it shears easily to any size or shape. Evergreen.
| Key feature: | Dense Habit |
| Plant type: | Shrub |
| Deciduous/evergreen: | Evergreen |
| Cold hardiness zones: | 7 - 11 |
| Light needs: | Full sun |
| Water Needs: | Needs regular watering - weekly, or more often in extreme heat. |
| Average landscape size: | Moderate growth to 15 to 20 feet tall and 6 to 8 feet wide. |
| Growth rate: | Moderate |
| Special feature: | Year-round Interest |
| Landscape uses: | Barrier, Firescaping/Fire Wise, Privacy Screen |
| Flower color: | White |
| Blooms: | Spring |
| Foliage color: | Green |
| Item no.: | 1087 |
| Retailers for this plant: |
Care Information
Follow a regular watering schedule during the first growing season to establish a deep, extensive root system. Feed with a general purpose fertilizer before new growth begins in spring. For a tidy, neat appearance, shear annually to shape.
Design Ideas
This large broadleaf foliage shrub is the ideal background plant with a dozen uses. It's primary value is as a hedge reaching tall enough to provide a solid privacy barrier. Density of foliage makes this also suited for windbreaks. A problem solving sound attenuation and as a visual screen for front yards that reclaim public space and block out traffic noise. One of the best shrubs for screening off neighboring houses and unsightly land uses. Adaptability to shearing makes this an outstanding formal foliage plant sheared into cone or columnar shapes as well as the standard rectangular forms of hedges.
Companion Plants
Use as a rich background for shorter shrubs with more interesting blooms such as Ramapo Rhododendron, (Rhododendron x 'Ramapo'), Eleanor Tabor Indian Hawthorne, (Raphiolepis indica 'Conor') and Penny Mac Hydrangea, (Hydrangea macrophylla 'Penny Mac').Excellent backing for big bold perennials too: Chicago Apache, (Hemerocallis x 'Chicago Apache'), Midknight Blue Agapanthus, (Agapanthus x 'Monmid') and Mango Meadowbrite Coneflower, (Echinacea 'CBG').
History
This plant is the American cherry laurel or wild mock orange that is native to stream valleys of South Carolina westward to Texas and mostly in the coastal states. It has proven valuable to the deep south and southern California. It was for a time classified as Laurocerasus caroliniana by Max Roemer, 1763-1819 of Switzerland. The current more accurate classification was conferred by William Aiton 1731-1793, of England. This cultivar was developed and introduced by Monrovia in 2000.
Lore
The fruit of Carolina laurel is valuable wild bird forage, but seed contains high concentrations of prussic acid (cyanide) which is a hazard for grazing animals, pets and children.
A special selection featuring especially large, bright green leaves that retain their color throughout the winter as well as an extra dense habit. A superb choice for hedges or screens - it shears easily to any size or shape. Evergreen.
Care Information
Follow a regular watering schedule during the first growing season to establish a deep, extensive root system. Feed with a general purpose fertilizer before new growth begins in spring. For a tidy, neat appearance, shear annually to shape.
Design Ideas
This large broadleaf foliage shrub is the ideal background plant with a dozen uses. It's primary value is as a hedge reaching tall enough to provide a solid privacy barrier. Density of foliage makes this also suited for windbreaks. A problem solving sound attenuation and as a visual screen for front yards that reclaim public space and block out traffic noise. One of the best shrubs for screening off neighboring houses and unsightly land uses. Adaptability to shearing makes this an outstanding formal foliage plant sheared into cone or columnar shapes as well as the standard rectangular forms of hedges.
Companion Plants
Use as a rich background for shorter shrubs with more interesting blooms such as Ramapo Rhododendron, (Rhododendron x 'Ramapo'), Eleanor Tabor Indian Hawthorne, (Raphiolepis indica 'Conor') and Penny Mac Hydrangea, (Hydrangea macrophylla 'Penny Mac').Excellent backing for big bold perennials too: Chicago Apache, (Hemerocallis x 'Chicago Apache'), Midknight Blue Agapanthus, (Agapanthus x 'Monmid') and Mango Meadowbrite Coneflower, (Echinacea 'CBG').
History
This plant is the American cherry laurel or wild mock orange that is native to stream valleys of South Carolina westward to Texas and mostly in the coastal states. It has proven valuable to the deep south and southern California. It was for a time classified as Laurocerasus caroliniana by Max Roemer, 1763-1819 of Switzerland. The current more accurate classification was conferred by William Aiton 1731-1793, of England. This cultivar was developed and introduced by Monrovia in 2000.
Lore
The fruit of Carolina laurel is valuable wild bird forage, but seed contains high concentrations of prussic acid (cyanide) which is a hazard for grazing animals, pets and children.
| Key feature: | Dense Habit |
| Plant type: | Shrub |
| Deciduous/evergreen: | Evergreen |
| Cold hardiness zones: | 7 - 11 |
| Light needs: | Full sun |
| Water Needs: | Needs regular watering - weekly, or more often in extreme heat. |
| Average landscape size: | Moderate growth to 15 to 20 feet tall and 6 to 8 feet wide. |
| Growth rate: | Moderate |
| Special feature: | Year-round Interest |
| Landscape uses: | Barrier, Firescaping/Fire Wise, Privacy Screen |
| Flower color: | White |
| Blooms: | Spring |
| Foliage color: | Green |
| Item no.: | 1087 |
