Carolina Cherry Laurel

Does anyone within about 75 miles of Temecula 92591 have this growing in their yard? We would like to see it in our local before planting...Read More several around our yard for pool privacy.
Thank you
Don & Tamara
Our email is same as our screen name at Yahoo

We live near the coast in southern ca and homes here are built very close to one another. The Prunus caroliniana has provided us with a ...Read Morenice privacy screen from our nosy neighbors and there is very little maintenance involved in the trees upkeep, in our opinion. In fact we are planning to remove several of our deciduous trees because it has become time consuming for us with pruning and raking leaves. The prunus caroliniana grows very fast and although it does drop berries and send off shoots it is a lot less work for us and really looks attractive as a backdrop to the colorful plants we put in front of it.

I've been wanting one or two or more of these on my place for a long time! 6 acres, some swampy, some dry piney. I finally ordered one ...Read Moreand it's growing well. I would be pleased if it proved a little invasive as it is loved by the pollinators, birds, and this human. It is gorgeous in spring, seems well mannered in NE Florida and I like the leaves, bark, all. It is another charmer---I see nothing to dislike.

Hello to all,

I absolutely disagree with all the negatives posted about this lovely native large shrub. There are thousan...Read Moreds of species of plants that spread by runners, suckers, rhizomes etc. which is a good thing due to habitat destruction by humans to develop areas with more buildings and parking lots and new roads. My small lot is wildlife certified, and if you want to cut back spending money on birdseed (fyi bird seed can shoot up seedlings too, so be ready if any seed gets dropped) plant a carolina cherry laurel for wildlife. So to all who enjoy butterfly gardening, birding, and creating wildlife havens, please I encourage you all to plant carolina cherry laurel. It is a must-have for birds. Ooh-rah! lets get more natives like this planted, fellow Americans. Lets go, "carolina cherry laurel, lets go", I could cheer all day about this plant : )

Douglasville, GA

Nasty, Nasty, Nasty….Weed Tree!!! They will certainly TAKE OVER!!!! You'll be pulling little seedlings up until the end of time!

I thought I was blessed because I had these trees grow as volunteers in my yard. Instant free shade! They grew incredibly fast - 3 to 5...Read More feet a year, if not more. Then I noticed that they were growing up all over the yard; and I mean EVERYWHERE! They have choked out azaleas, flowers, oaks, you name it. I have spent weeks now trying to rid my yard of them. The roots meander all over and shoot up new plants yards away from the parent. I never planted a single one, but there is a house a block away that has a mature specimen and I have no doubt it's the original culprit. These should be considered a class I invasive IMHO!!

I have a wildlife garden in zone 8b and my acre plot came with plenty of these, which are trouble free. I am favoring them over the trul...Read Morey invasive Chinese privet ... and the birds do love those berries and the butterflies love the flowers. The foliage is attractive and evergreen.

This is an easy-to-grow bush that can reach about 30 feet tall. It's evergreen, so it provides excellent shade, and birds are fond of th...Read Moree berries.

Unfortunately, if you no longer want it you're out-of-luck. It's horrendously invasive. I planted two, and had another volunteer that I allowed to grow. Am I sorry! I've completely removed the stump of one, and am working on the other two. I don't think I'll ever get rid of it totally. It sends shooters out throughout the yard, which go deep into the lawn and wrap themselves around the roots of other plants. Even destroying the stump doesnt kill the shooters, and they'll rapidly multiply, choking out other, more desirable plants. I've lost several flowers due to those stupid suckers, and despite my best efforts, expect to lose more. Do NOT plant this if you think you'll ever want it gone!!!

This plant might be valuable for wildlife on a very very large lot. Each year a large loud group of robins comes buy and strips the trees...Read More of the fruit. Seeds will find their way to every corner of the yard and seem to prefer garden areas and pots. The worst are the suckers. Cut one sucker, get 10 more back. They spread pretty far away from the trees and dont seem to depend on mechanical damage to spur their growth. They can easily form a dense grove pretty quickly if the suckers arent kept in check. Unfortunately dealing with suckers is pretty much a constant thing. About the only thing I like about this tree is the scent of its wood being sawed through.

Interestingly, my hort professor suggested maintaining this plant as a hedge.

I love this small tree--its absolutely gorgeous with its green, glossy, evergreen foliage, lovely dark berries and nice growth habit. Ho...Read Morewever.....

its EXTREMELY prolific in my area. Reseeds like crazy--I'm constantly pulling seedlings out of flower beds--very invasive. Having said that, though, as a privacy screen between myself and neighbors, which I didn't have to plant and don't have to water, prune etc, its the best.

There does seem to be some wildlife value, as it provides cover in winter and I have seen some birds eating the berries, though they last most of the winter, so don't seem to be extremely tasty. Sorta've a food of last resort, eaten just before Spring.

So, I have TONS of Carolina Cherry Laurel growing wild in my yard. It's a recommended native plant on a bunch of people's "best" lists. B...Read Moreut I hate it!

1)Extremely toxic: berries, leaves, flowers, bark, everything.
2) It seems invasive to me, it grows quickly, and it's everywhere in my yard, it grows into spindly trees in the shade and denser shrubs / trees in the sun. Little sprouts come up everywhere.
3) And, MOST annoying, the flowers are extremely potent and smell like dirty underwear. I seriously thought I had a BO problem the first time I passed one in bloom.

Why do people like this plant? I have seen it suggested as a native, non-invasive alternative to the nasty chinese privet - but the two plants seem equally offensive to me, and carolina cherry laurel causes the same problems that the chinese privet causes in my yard.

Carolina Cherry Laurel grows 20-30' tall in a columnar fashion, making three of them perfect to shade the west corner of our house from F...Read Morelorida's sun. I pruned the potted young trees slightly to encourage upright growth, and after 3 years in the ground, have mostly positive comments: they are already providing the shade we wanted, their foliage is glossy and evergreen, their blossoms are sweet, and they provide nesting sites and berries for birds. The seeds that germinate into seedling trees are easier to pull out than oak seedlings. See my uploaded picture for color and form of these delightful native trees.

My back yard is informal woods with deep shade and tough clay soil. After neighbors cut some trees and brush, and a couple of fences were...Read More removed, I needed a lot of fast, tall, bulletproof screening. These fit that need perfectly with a quick 2 foot per year growth rate while store-bought species such as wax myrtle and little gem magnolias slowly took hold. Older ones planted before my time are about 20 ft tall, dense enough for some privacy, and receive no attention whatsoever.

It has a rather ordinary appearance that caused me to underrate it at first, but a neighbor advised me to take a second look, and they are really not much different from the photinias and ligustrums. New growth has a bit of a coppery tinge.

I don't think anyone ever buys these, as it is easy to find and relocate seedlings to wherever they are needed. The seedlings are far less frequent than hackberry, mimosa, redbud or sweet gum, and easier to pull than oak or pecan. Neither have we seen any sign of suckering.

The squirrels reach out as far as they can to get still-green berries. I have never seen fruit on the ground, maybe it is eaten or it slips under the leaves.

I'm now cautiously using these at a second house, again as a quick backup layer nearest the property line.

Beautiful shade tree but VERY invasive in my area. The purple berries drop and new trees sprout everywhere! I purchased one small tree ...Read Morein the early 1980's and these things took over our property. Finally, much to my delight two very large ones came down in the 2004 hurricanes! Unfortunately they are still all over the neighborhood and little seedlings are always sprouting all over the lawn. Easy enough to mow the teensy ones down each week ... it's the ones that sprout up in my flower beds and on adjacent property outside my fence that drive me crazy!

If you plant these trees you want to keep them away from walkways, and driveways or you will have those messy purple berries all over the place ... no fun when you have to clean up the mess they make when tracked in the house!

About 20 years ago we planted this thinking it was a small shrub, but it insisted on growing straight up and there was no stopping it. W...Read Moree have never had problems with the seeds sending up more plants although our pecans and oaks sure send up dozens of new trees each year.

We did notice this year after a day of really bad wind, that it was leaning lightly against the fence. My husband cut off some of the heavier branches on the fence side and that brought it more to an upright position.

We have never watered nor fertilized this tree and the birds enjoy the fruit while the bees are very happy with its flowers.

I have noticed over the past few years that it is bulging around the base of the trunk and I cannot imagine what might be causing that so I came here in case someone else had the same problem. Rather than discover too late that the tree is weak and will fall and take out a fence or the neighbor's car or part of my roof, I thought we might be forced to remove it entirely. Guess I should call the county agent.

Although this tree is evergreen and has berries for birds and butterflies it is very invasive. I have nothing but sand at my house and it...Read More grows very fast.
If you own any livestock it is very poisonous to them. It can kill them. Do not plant or allow this tree to grow if you own horses,cattle,etc.

We inherited one of these with the house. It was kind of spindly & leggy. Pruning didn't improve it and it kept sending up runners so we ...Read Morecut it down. Could not get it dug out no matter what we did. We still are just cutting back the shoots as they come up again and again. This is in clay soil. It may not be invasive, but it's been impossible to get it gone. So be sure you want it before you plant it.

This tree/shrub is native to the southeastern coastal plain and is NOT an invasive species. While it is true that it can be weedy, it is ...Read Moreno more of a problem than maple seedlings poping up everywhere. I planted about eight of them around my property line and they make a good privacy screen. They also provide food for migrating birds in the winter.

This tree, from what I have seen is extremely invasive, and not terribly stable or strong. I have removed this tree whenever I could. It ...Read Moreis quite difficult to kill. The small six inch seedlings are difficult to pull, they root deeply and will send up a new seedling when pulled. Every year each mature tree will send out hundreds of suckers in a ten meter range about the tree, even with mowing you are left with hard twigs protruding from the ground, which will happily enter the soles of your bare feet.
The wood is worth nothing except for perhaps outdoor burning.
Contrary to published information my opinion is this tree grows very quickly, I treat as a pest and invasive species.

My father planted one of these trees many years ago. Now, they are all over the yard and neighborhood. They are impossible to kill. I ...Read Morehave tried every kind of weed killer and stump killer I can find. Roots go everywhere and new trees grow from these roots. Everyplace a berry drops a new tree grows. I could go in my back yard right now and pull up about a hundred seedlings in about 20 minutes. Mowing over them doesn't stop them.

I can't imagine why anyone would want this tree in their yard. It is nothing more than a giant weed!

Some people complain about certain trees or plants because they either drop leaves or fruits and they are labeled undesirable.
I ...Read Morehave had nothing but good things happen with this tree. The flowers are lovely and the birds love the fruits. Some do come up here and there but just as with any other tree there is allways something that either drops or sprouts. Should we not plant oaks because they drop acorns and make seedlings? Should we not plant pecans? I rest my case,all plants just like us humans create some waste, but if handled properly all so called waste becomes food for plants and animals.

It may be somewhat invasive, but it is drought tolerant, and disease resistant. The flowers attract bees, and the berries attract birds. ...Read MorePersonally I think the flowers and berries are quite attractive.

Know where you want this tree BEFORE you plant it in your landscape. It does spread, but lawnmowing can control the up-starts, like unde...Read Morer an Oak Tree where small Oaks are sprouting. The berries are dark and messy, so keep away from your automobiles, sidewalks, and clothes lines!! Once planted it can spread through the neighborhood!

This is a very attractive evergreen tree, but birds love the seeds and as a result seedlings appear everywhere! I spend a great deal of ...Read Moremy time outside pulling up seedlings. Do not plant this tree unless you want to keep it inside, and I've never thought of it as an indoor plant....perhaps in Minnesota. It must grow all over the south.

This tree is very attractive with shiny evergreen foliage and lovely white blossoms, providing a feast for our eyes, butterflies and bird...Read Mores. Unfortunately, the fruit crop is usually quite heavy and it is very messy underneath the tree. The seedlings come up EVERYWHERE. It makes a dense shade and is fast growing.

This tree will grow anywhere here in south Georgia. It is VERY invasive. Once seedlings are established you can't hardly kill them. T...Read Morehe VERY SMALL flowers in spring STINK and fall all over everything. Will post picture soon. If you cut the tree down it will still send up limbs from the root.....and the roots run deep and wide. Very hard to dig up. They will come up all over your yard if you get one of these trees. My fence row had many young trees growing along it when I purchased this home ......... Still fighting those same young trees and the family that has grown since. I have only one tree that is a nice size and in a good location. I think it is the one that started it all!

Having had problems with this plant I have researched several sources for information regarding its characteristics. The following best ...Read Moredescribes them and relates well to my personal experience.

Habitat: Deep, well-drained rich moist soil
Mature Height: 12 to 30 feet
Habit: Shrub or Tree
Landscaping and Planting:

Cannot be successfully grown in areas where the soil quality does not have sufficient nutrients. It does not tolerate heavy clay soils. It is preferable to plant it in a well drained soil. When planted under the right conditions, this plant can have a fast growth rate. It can be planted in semi shade to full sun position.