Prunus laurocerasus 'Flippi01' BONAPARTE® cherry laurel, common laurel, English laurel

BONAPARTE® is a German cherry laurel variety from Baumschule Straver in Emmerich, west Germany on German-Dutch border. EU plant patent No. 60081 was granted in 2022. It bears beautiful coppery orange-red new leaves when they emerge in spring before they mature to deep green. They are evergreen, broadly obovate, leathery, and glossy. BONAPARTE® forms a sturdy, well-branched, impenetrable shrub with upright branches and may resemble ETNA® variety which is much broader and more rounded in habit.

It can serve as an evergreen specimen shrub or a hedge. Just bear in mind it has large leaves which do not look good cut in half by shearers. It grows moderately making some 20-30 cm per year. Pruning can be done in early spring or after flowering to get rid of unwanted fruit.

In April or May appear compound inflorescences made of small, white, fragrant flowers opening from pale pink buds. They are followed by glossy black berries which, as recent studies confirmed, are not poisonous. Only seeds from unripe fruit if properly chewed may cause discomfort since they contain the same toxin as bitter almonds (source: Plants For A Future - pfaf.org).

Laurels need deep and fertile, acidic, moist but well-drained soil, and extra watering in frost-free periods in winter to prevent from drying out before the ground gets frozen. They love clay lower in the ground but cannot establish if put into solid clay or compacted ground. It will thrive in full sun or part shade, and will also tolerate being grown in full shade. It seldom suffers from chlorosis (leaves turning yellow owing to lack of iron in the soil) but when it does use a special liquid soil pH balancer to keep it acidic which will help the plant absorb iron. BONAPARTE® is advertised hardy to min. -23 °C (USDA zone 6) but is expected to withstand stronger frost, further trials are ongoing.

Last update 21-03-2023