Portugal Laurel hedging plants, Prunus lusitanica ‘Angustifolia’ are one of our most popular evergreen hedging species, this versatile plant offers year-round privacy and is suitable for hedges of most sizes – from around 90cm up to several metres. This indispensable hedging laurel has received the Royal Horticultural Society award of garden merit (AGM) having been judged as an outstanding plant for garden use.
Portuguese laurel is the toughest and hardiest variety of Laurel, more so than Cherry Laurels and so we often recommend this variety for hedges in colder and more exposed situations. (Even then providing a little extra protection using windbreak netting is a good idea to begin with in harsh conditions).
Portugal laurel hedging plants have deep green polished evergreen leaves that are oval shaped with attractive reddish leaf stalks, we grow and sell the ‘Angustifolia’ variety that has smaller, neater leaves (quite like the Bay Laurel) and is the most suitable Portuguese Laurel variety for a formal evergreen hedge. It trims beautifully with a hedge trimmer or shears to give a neat tidy finish. Untrimmed plants will produce candle-like clusters of small white scented flowers that rise up from the foliage in early summer. These will develop into small red fruits, eventually ripen to dark purple and are very popular with the birds.
Portuguese laurels are easy to grow, they will succeed in both full sun and partial or full shade. They are suitable for any soil type provided it doesn’t become waterlogged in wet spells, (if you have a wet site we have a list of plants that are more suitable) this plant is the only member of the Prunus hedging laurel family that grow perfectly well in thin chalky soils (where cherry laurels tend to become pale and unhealthy).
We stock a complete range of Portugal Laurel hedging plants.
Potted hedging plants are delivered to you fresh from our growing beds in the pots that they have been grown in and there is therefore no root disturbance. These Portugal Laurels can be planted all year round and we usually have a great selection of sizes from small starter plants in 9cm pots right through to large bushy hedging plants up to 150cm or more to suit all hedging requirements and budgets.
Root ball hedging plants are larger and older plants that have been grown at an extra wide spacing in our fields for several years while being regularly trimmed to keep them bushy. These Portugal Laurel hedging plants are lifted and delivered fresh to you during the dormant season from October until early May, the correct time for planting. They will arrive complete with the immediate soil and root system which is wrapped in hessian mesh to protect it, the hessian should be left on when you plant.
Our instant hedging is an excellent solution where instant effect is the primary consideration, we have a variety of options starting with younger trough hedges that have been trimmed at the sides and are fairly inexpensive, they will bring immediate landscape impact at a lower cost. Our larger trough hedges will bring a greater degree of privacy from day one and because they are all grown here on our own nursery they are great value for money.
For the greatest impact take a look at our Portuguese Laurel hedge elements, they are grown skilfully from younger plants for up to six years with a disciplined programme of formative trimming (the roots as well as the tops!) to produce a superior grade of instant hedging for a real ‘show garden’ look in heights up to 200cm.
How many plants do I need?
The number of Portugal Laurel hedging plants needed depends on your budget, the size of the plants that you choose and how patient you are. As with all hedges, those planted closer will grow together more quickly and will be less prone to having the occasional gap at the base. You can plant further apart and still get excellent results, but it will take longer.
For smaller sizes of potted plants (up to 90cm), three plants per metre in a single row will give excellent results, for a denser hedge that develops more quickly you could use 5 plants per metre in a double row.
Larger potted and root ball hedging plants up to 150cm can be planted at 2 per metre in a single row (50cm apart), for a denser hedge plant a double row using 3 per metre (setting them 66cm apart in each row)
The largest plants over 150cm can be set at 1.5 or even 1 per metre (66-100cm apart) although at the widest spacing there will be gaps between the plants to begin with until they grow and fill out. Planting these sizes at 2 per metre is possible but it can be a squeeze!
Planting a new hedge can be a very satisfying garden project, if you aren’t sure where to start we have a useful guide that you can read on our How to plant a hedge page with easy to follow guidance on preparing the site and planting your new hedge. (We also will send you a printed copy with the plants when they are delivered).
We recommend using bonemeal and rootgrow when planting to give the plants the very best start.
If you have any further questions about our Portugal Laurel hedging plants or would like a special quote for a large quantity of plants please do give our experienced team a call on 01580 765600 or send a message through our contact page.
Delivery is free for most orders above our free delivery thresholds, these are displayed above our prices in the product listings and summarized below. If you don’t need that many plants it’s not a problem, you can choose to pay our delivery charge and only order what you need.
Delivery is convenient – no signature is required so you don’t need to wait in, we will leave your parcel in the safe place that you nominate.
Delivery is fast – because we pick orders daily from our own growing beds your plants only travel the small hop to our packing shed before being sent to you, they are usually delivered within 3-7 days.
Delivery is reliable – we have been selling and delivering Hedging Plants to our customers nationwide since 1992. We have a lot of experience in packing them safely and only use tried and tested delivery partners.
Smaller Plants (Parcel Delivery)
| Location | Order Value | Price |
| UK Mainland excluding Highlands | Up to £90 | £15.00 |
| UK Mainland excluding Highlands | Over £90 | Free |
| Scottish Highlands and Isle of Wight | All orders | £24.00 |
Heavy Plants (Pallet Delivery)
| Location | Order Value | Price |
| UK Mainland excluding Highlands | Up to £420 | £72.00 |
| UK Mainland excluding Highlands | Over £420 | Free |
| Scottish Highlands and Isle of Wight | All orders | £72.00 |
Tall Plants 2.5m+ (Specialist Delivery)
| Location | Order Value | Price |
| UK Mainland excluding Highlands | Under £1800 | Please call us |
| UK Mainland excluding Highlands | Over £1800 | Free |
| Scottish Highlands and Isle of Wight | All orders | Not available |
Exceptions to our delivery charges are Scottish Highland and Isle of Wight delivery areas where we need to charge a little extra to cover the cost of deliveries to these outlying areas. We don’t currently delivery to other offshore addresses including Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland.
Tall plants over 2.5 metres have to be delivered by our own specialised transport, our delivery area is limited to mainland England and Wales only.
Please note there is a minimum order value of £50 for orders containing smaller plants and £250 for orders containing heavier plants
Complete delivery information can be viewed on our Delivery Information page
