Cherry Laurel - JUST WHY?!

[Whaleadthesnail]

This is just a rant really but I'm baffled why anyone would choose to have one of these and any tips on how to manage this?!

Moved 9 months ago

Neighbors have a large Cherry Laurel on their boundary most of which hangs over our side and covers about 25% of our garden (terraces)

In March it started dropping it's frondy seedy things, then came the leaves, big thick ones which don't seem to break down and now we're onto the cherries which have all fallen, are rotting, smell like they're fermenting, staining the kids play stuff, and are squished all in their shoes.

I know the obvious answer is to rake it all up but it's been non stop dropping since spring, we have full time jobs and a 1 & 3 year old, can't be out there raking everyday...

The amount we'd have to chop back would probably damage the tree

I'm worried about every putting patio or deck down as it would be wrecked by this tree

Grrrrr!

Is cherry laurel not a hedge rather than a tree?
Might it be a rowan tree?

just googled this plant and i was shocked at how big it can grow..poor you....have you talked to your neighbour ? x

Ask them to cut it down? Or at least cut it back and control it to grow over their garden not yours?

No just googled that and the berries are dark like cherries not bright red...Google Lens told me Cherry Laurel but whatever it is it's bloody annoying!

Through the process of writing this post I realized next year we could try chopping off the developing cherry branches so they won't have a chance to appear

We have loads of cherry laurel and it grows like billy-o and needs keeping in check. Even worse than the plant itself is the fact that fecking wood pigeons love the bloody fruit!

Cherry laurel is poisonous, containing cyanogenic glycosides which release cyanide when chewed or digested. While ripe berries are generally considered safe, the leaves and particularly the crushed seeds are most toxic. Ingesting cherry laurel can cause symptoms of cyanide poisoning in both humans and pets, including difficulty breathing, stomach pain, and muscle tremors, and can be fatal in severe cases.

What makes it poisonous?

• Cyanogenic Glycosides: Cherry laurel contains a compound called prunasin. When plant material is damaged (chewed or crushed), this compound releases hydrogen cyanide.

Which parts are poisonous?

• Leaves and Seeds: The leaves and seeds contain the highest concentrations of these harmful compounds.
• Ripe Berries: While the flesh of ripe fruits is not considered toxic in some regions, the seeds within the berries still contain the toxin and should not be ingested.

Have you tried to talk to your neighbours and show them how it affects your garden? They probably cannot tell how much it has grown over the fence.

The time to cut cherry laurel is basically now before winter so if you want it sorted talk to them now. You are allowed to cut back all branches overhanging the boundary.

We have a really good relationship with our neighbour. We don't see them as they are on a different street but our house backs onto their side. We have a tree they wanted a crown reduction on. We were invited into their garden so we could see it from their side. When we hired our usual tree surgeon, we took him round to their side, he heard it directly from them, we all had a grown up conversation about it and the tree was cut back. We paid as it is our tree and we want our neighbours to be happy.

Go and talk to them, or put a note through saying you want to talk to them about the laurel overhanging your garden and dropping cherries.

You need to talk to your neighbour about this. I have various overhanging fruit trees from my neighbours. It's not a problem mostly because we have a big garden, but I tend to cut them back quite a bit during the winter when the leaves aren't there. I also pick up dropped fruit before it starts rotting and put it back over the fence because that is what's convenient for me (neighbours know I do this and are fine with it). It's a slight pain for a few weeks during the fruit season but much easier than trying to get up rotting stuff.

Ah thanks for the advice - I assumed because it was growing on our side then it's our problem. Will speak to them.

Similar to @sixeightfive I've never met or seen them as they are on a different street, our gardens sort of overlap at the side otherwise would have mentioned it in passing!

Fwiw cherry laurels are pretty much impossible to kill so don’t worry about cutting it back

@Whaleadthesnail well technically it is for you to deal with but I personally wouldn't anybody just hacking away at any branches of bushes I had overhanging. That is why we took care of it and I have a tree surgeon with a degree in horticulture not some random person who can declare they are a gardener.

This is why for both sets of neighbours I have I say if anything starts getting in the way, let me know and we can talk and I will deal with it.

Best to just go all positive, smiling and saying can we have a chat about the buses and no one has to make a decision on the spot. You can say let's have an initial chat and then we can have a think, come back together and see if we can agree. They may be happy for you to cut back what you don't want or they may offer to pay for someone to come and do it or come into your garden and do it themselves.

We are planning on replacing our (dead) privet hedge with Portuguese laurel! Because it’s resistant to honey fungus, and most things aren’t. You do need to keep them pruned or the end up massive, but it’s perfectly possible to keep them under 1.5m.

Could be worse, it could be a conifer.