These are the best alternatives to the soon-to-be banned cherry laurel

The Federal Council will ban the sale, import and donation of cherry laurel from September 2024. This decision was made for good reasons – and for many experts it even comes quite late.

The problem: the cherry laurel naturalizes easily. It therefore spreads very quickly as an invasive so-called neophyte. The plant from the rose family therefore causes ecological problems. Cherry laurel thrives particularly well in forests and their understorey compared to other native plants. In this way it displaces natural vegetation.

In addition, cherry laurel is completely useless to nature – all parts of the plant are poisonous. Consuming the ornamental shrub is not only dangerous for humans and animals, insects can also do nothing with it.

The fact that the disease can spread so quickly is just one side of the bay coin. Because the plant is one of the most popular hedge plants, also for good reasons, despite its toxicity.

Cherry laurel is a so-called evergreen shrub. This means it retains its leaves all year round. Depending on the variety, it can also tolerate low temperatures down to minus 25 degrees; Even frost hardly harms the plant. The rose family is especially popular as a hedge plant because it grows extremely densely. And: The laurel also grows well in so-called scarcity locations. It also has strong resistance to diseases and pests.

In short: In addition to its non-ecological properties, cherry laurel has many advantages. If you want to replace your hedge or purchase a new one, don’t despair: you can replace the cherry laurel – even with native plants.

In principle, there is no one best alternative. This is what Thomas Streun, gardener at the Bernese horticultural company Woodtli, explains to us. It is best to judge which plant best suits the situation – depending on the location, customer wishes and soil conditions.

The following five alternatives to cherry laurel are also evergreen, easy to care for and are therefore considered a good cherry laurel substitute.

The evergreen privet grows to about three to four meters high and wide. In June and July it produces creamy white, pleasantly sweet-smelling flowers. In autumn it produces small black berries, which are slightly poisonous to humans, but are even more popular as a small snack for birds.

The evergreen privet is extremely easy to care for and grows well in most soil types. It is also very insect-friendly. However, a disadvantage is the root suckers, which can sometimes cause the plant to spread in an undesirable way.

The native common yew is also evergreen. It has dark green needles and although it generally tolerates a good position, it does not like to be in “full sun,” explains gardener Streun. It is extremely easy to cut and can therefore be shaped and cut back very easily.

Caution: With the exception of the red pulp surrounding the seed, the yew tree is highly poisonous to humans and animals – even small amounts can be fatal. Caution is therefore advised when handling the yew tree, especially in children.

He has been seeing this variant more and more lately, says gardener Thomas Streun. The evergreen olive willow grows relatively lush and fast. The disadvantage is that it is a bit more unstable and not as compact as other hedges. The plant, also called “Limelight”, is particularly decorative and therefore more special than many others.

Just like the olive willow, the “Red Robin” also has a particularly beautiful red shoot in the spring. In May and June the hedge is also decorated with many white flowers, which contrast with the red leaves. Compared to other shrubs and hedges, the medlar must be better protected from icy cold winds, otherwise it may drop its leaves.

Attention, a cherry laurel! However, unlike the cherry laurel, which is prohibited from autumn, the Portuguese variant is not invasive. Prunus lusitanica is therefore a popular alternative. The leaves are slightly smaller than its invasive relative, but – like the berries – are also poisonous. According to the expert, the purchase is probably slightly more expensive in comparison and it also grows slightly less quickly. The Portuguese cherry laurel is basically undemanding and easy to care for.

According to the gardener, mixed hedges are also worth considering. These were compiled individually and depending on the location; gardeners often use a mixture of yew, photinia (loquat), privet and boxwood. Alternatives have also been increasingly sought for the latter, the evergreen box, for some time now. The boxwood is currently suffering from various pests, especially the boxwood borer. The butterfly imported from Asia has also been spreading rapidly in Switzerland for more than ten years. The caterpillars of the boxwood borer eat entire boxwood trees bare – and ensure that boxwood trees are becoming less and less popular as a hedge.