Plant library · Conifers & Evergreens
Prunus lusitanica
Portuguese laurel is a substantial evergreen shrub that can also take on the presence of a small tree. Its dark, glossy foliage gives a hedge or boundary planting a solid year-round backdrop, while fragrant white flower spikes bring an early-summer highlight. At up to 25 feet tall and 20 feet wide, it belongs in plans with enough depth to accommodate a long-lived woody structure rather than a narrow foundation strip.
Use Portuguese laurel to define a property edge, screen a service area, or build a formal green wall behind lower planting. Its dense, bushy habit also suits clipped hedges, but allow a maintenance strip on the garden side so every face can be reached for shaping. Keep it clear of doors, gates, and tight path corners: a mature planting can create a strong visual boundary, but should not crowd circulation or sightlines.[1][2]
Set individual plants 15 feet apart, center to center, for a screening or hedge line with room for each plant to develop. That interval is tighter than the potential 20-foot mature width, so adjoining plants can read as a continuous mass over time. For an unclipped specimen, reserve a broad 20-foot-wide zone and avoid placing permanent seating, narrow walks, or sun-dependent beds within its eventual spread.
Place this shrub in full sun and provide moderate water, especially while it is becoming established. A well-drained planting area helps keep the root zone suitable for long-term growth. In a mixed border, position it where its evergreen canopy will not overtake smaller plants that need open light and regular access for care.[1][2]
Fragrant white flower clusters arrive in early summer against the evergreen foliage, giving a hedge line a brief lighter season without losing its screening role. Plan flowering perennials and spring bulbs in front only where they can still be reached after the shrub fills out. Late spring or early summer clipping can keep a formal hedge’s outline legible after the flowering display.[1]
This is not a set-and-forget narrow hedge plant. Its eventual height and width call for a deep planting bed, a reachable pruning side, and enough setback from walls and paths to prevent repeated hard cutting. Where a lower or narrower boundary is needed, plan on regular clipping from the beginning rather than allowing a full-sized plant to occupy the space first.[1][3]
Editorial content updated 2026-07-20.