British Columbia: Hedge shopping at nurseries in Greater Victoria and GVRD

After considerable thought I have decided to plant Portuguese Laurels. I'm now in the process of trying to source them as this project is a DIY job. One question I have is whether it would be a good idea to hire a gardener or landscaper for the sole purpose of sourcing the hedges as they presumably have access to more and better inventory.

One of the nurseries I've been in contact with has P Laurels (Lolita) in 15gln containers ranging from 5 to 6 feet tall, but only about 18" wide. The grower explained that he has trimmed them this way to maximize height over width. Should I be at all concerned that these have been raised to be tall and skinny? They look healthy to me, the grower is local which is less expensive than sourcing from further away, i.e., GVRD, and they are container grown which means they'll be lighter and therefore easier to handle.

Another grower in the GVRD has field-grown P Laurels, for about the same price as above. They are still in the ground but he plans to remove and wrap them in early October. The downsides to this grower are: he's on the Mainland so considerable transport costs, and they are B&B so will be much heavier to deal with when planted. I'm also not sure about the logistics of planting freshly-extracted trees in early October.

From lack of experience, I don't have a good feel for whether the options above are reasonable. Would I be better off hiring a pro to do the purchasing for me? As to the two nurseries above, anything I should bear in mind?

Thanks in advance for any advice, which is always greatly appreciated.

 

"Lolita" = they are a named selection 'Lolita'? If so you should find out what the characteristics of that one are. Otherwise the pruning of the sides did not make this stock taller than otherwise, that was a misapprehension - pruning always reduces the rate of size increase, because there are fewer leaves and stems present to support the production of new growth.

Are you going to prune this planting on an annual basis? Otherwise Portugal laurel grows into a tubby small tree of some width. Also birds take the cherries and spread them around, so that new laurels popping up in garden areas as well as any nearby green belts or other undeveloped wooded property is likely.

 

Hi Ron, thanks for the response. Yes at least some growers here in BC differentiate between prunus lusitanica versus prunus lusitanica lolita. The Lolitas have a smaller leaf size and apparently they are more common than people realize as the distinction is subtle and often missed. I am told the only relevant distinction is leaf size. I pasted a couple of links below with a bit more information on them.

Yes, I will be pruning annually - a fate I was determined to avoid months ago when I first posted here but have come to accept as an acceptable trade off all things considered...although I had assumed that annual pruning wouldn't be necessary or even desirable in the first few years of aggressive growth(?).

A bit of info on Lolitas here:

Prunus lusitanica Lolita at Arts Nursery

What's Growing On

In the Garden: Patio privacy in your personal paradise

 

I think laurels are pretty indestructible so go and look at them and make your choices.

I had good intentions of planting Laurel to match what was already visible on the city size lot back in spring 2018

It was very confusing trying to match existing old laurel to current names in the nursery catalogue (ie what they could order for me)

Some stores call it English Laurel ... others Portuguese ... anyway I reluctantly spent 25$ plus per plant (not very large either) and then gave to my neighbor who loves power tools and spending their days off doing loud machine yard maintenance (looks nice tho!)

In a previous lot size property we had what thé garden helper called Portuguese Laurel as well - but the leaves were long and thinner (same leathery texture) ...

And Ron is 100% correct and wise in pointing out the berry mess and birds spread little laurels everywhere - which is fine if the birds enjoy the fruit but you have to keep weeding them ( or selling them on your front steps!) I don’t mind the weeds so much but the purple mess of berries on sidewalks and cars and patios etc is a seasonal daily chore.

And at certain time each year you have to shear and make it all smooth and level - if me - I’d look around your neighbourhood to see who has a great looking hedge and look at the name of the truck and get on their list ASAP ... it’s often quicker for the every day pros with the tools and ladders. Plus they take the trim away with them.

For sure thé regular annual trimming is key because chopping a laurel back to size is a true « plant amnesty » eyesore.

I think this trim is important as soon as the width is approaching what you want ... assuming height takes longer for the tall height you seek. To get a laurel hedge back to decent stature makes it look like an urban clearcut and it takes a long time to get it nice and leafy in my experience.