Skip Cherry Laurel Prunus laurocerasus 'Schipkaensis'

A popular Laurel cultivar, 'Schipkaensis' is an upright evergreen shrub or small tree that is goblet-shaped and grows 10 to 15 feet tall and 5 to 7 feet wide maintaining its proportions of being roughly twice as tall as they are wide. This cultivar is named for a location ("-ensis" is a suffix added to a place, meaning "from" that place), the Schipka pass in the mountains separating India from Nepal. In the nursery trade, it is often misspelled as 'Skipensis' and and called the "skip cherry laurel."

Glossy green leaves are dense and bear several teeth near the apex as the leaf narrows. This plant blooms in spring and has denser flowering racemes than 'Otto Luyken'. The leaves tend to be more perpendicular to the stem or slightly drooping, whereas those of 'Otto Luyken' are angled upward at a 45-60 degree angle to the stem.

This plant is tolerant of alkaline soils, dry and poor soils, pollution, and heavy pruning. It is moderately tolerant to salt but is intolerant of heavy fertilization. It has a rapid growth rate with competitive roots. This plant tolerates pruning and shade well but will need to be watered regularly especially in hot summers.

The dense canopy of this shrub provides cover and nesting sites for songbirds. It would make an excellent specimen or plant in small groups or even mass plant for screen or privacy hedge. The growth tends to be toward the top of this vase-shaped shrub so planting it at the back of a border with other smaller evergreen shrubs in front of it will help mask the more open bottom branches if a thick screen is required.

Quick ID Hints:

• 2 glands present at leaf base below next to midrib
• Leaves narrowly lanceolate, entire, serrate at apex 
• Evergreen shrub, broad and vase or goblet-shaped to 15 feet

Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems:  No serious problems.

More information on Prunus laurocerasus.