The Skip Laurel (Prunus laurocerasus ‘Schipkaensis’) is an evergreen shrub frequently used to create dense, fast-growing hedges and privacy screens. Its appeal lies in its glossy, dark green leaves and vigorous growth rate, typically adding about 2 feet of height annually. To maintain the plant’s health, attractive shape, and dense foliage, proper pruning is necessary. Understanding the correct timing for different types of cuts is the most important factor in a successful pruning regimen.
Routine Maintenance: Timing for Shaping and Size Control
The most common reason for pruning Skip Laurel is to maintain a desired shape and size, which involves light, annual trimming. The optimal time for this routine maintenance is right after the spring flowering period has concluded, generally in late spring or early summer. This timing allows the plant to fully enjoy its seasonal bloom before any cuts are made.
Pruning at this point encourages the shrub to produce a flush of new growth that quickly covers the cuts, resulting in a dense, lush appearance. Since the growing season is just beginning, the plant has several months to recover and harden off the new stems before the onset of winter temperatures.
Rejuvenation Pruning: Addressing Overgrown Shrubs
When a Skip Laurel has become severely overgrown, leggy, or woody, it requires a heavier, corrective process known as rejuvenation pruning. This aggressive cutting should be reserved for the dormant season, typically late winter or very early spring before new growth begins. Working during dormancy minimizes the physiological shock to the plant.
Pruning in late winter reduces sap loss and allows the shrub to direct its energy toward healing the large cuts and pushing out vigorous new shoots when the weather warms. This drastic reduction encourages growth from the old, thick wood, effectively resetting the plant’s structure. For extremely overgrown specimens, perform the rejuvenation in stages over two or three years to avoid removing too much foliage at once.
Essential Techniques for Quality Cuts
Regardless of whether the pruning is light or severe, the mechanical technique of the cut dictates the plant’s response. Pruning cuts fall into two main categories: heading cuts and thinning cuts, and the Skip Laurel benefits from a combination of both.
Thinning Cuts
Thinning cuts involve removing an entire branch or stem back to its point of origin, a main branch, or a lateral side shoot. These cuts are crucial for improving air circulation and light penetration into the shrub’s interior, which helps maintain foliage density deep within the plant.
Heading Cuts and Tool Use
A heading cut involves shortening a branch back to a bud or a node along the stem. Heading cuts stimulate the development of multiple new shoots just below the cut, making them ideal for encouraging a thick, bushy exterior on a hedge.
Use sharp, clean bypass pruners for all cuts, especially during routine shaping. Unlike hedge shears, bypass pruners allow for precise cuts just above a leaf or node. When making a heading cut, angle the cut at about 45 degrees, slanting away from the bud, to promote proper water runoff and prevent disease entry.
Seasonal Don’ts and Post-Pruning Care
Knowing when to avoid pruning is important. Pruning should be stopped by mid-to-late summer, typically no later than mid-August. Cutting the shrub later in the fall can stimulate a final burst of tender, vulnerable new growth that will not have enough time to sufficiently harden before the first severe frost.
This soft new growth is extremely susceptible to cold damage, which can stress the entire plant and create easy entry points for disease.
Post-Pruning Care
Following any pruning, particularly rejuvenation cuts, the plant needs immediate support to recover efficiently. Ensure the Skip Laurel receives adequate water, especially during dry periods, to aid in healing and new shoot development. Applying a balanced, slow-release fertilizer in the spring after pruning can also provide the necessary nutrients for vigorous regrowth.