Carolina Cherry Laurel (Prunus caroliniana)

When you need a green wall and you need it soon, Carolina cherry laurel is the workhorse. Dense, dark, glossy, and fast, it fills in to a solid evergreen screen without much fuss. Deer tend to leave it alone, which matters where browsing is heavy.

Plant in full sun to part shade and water steadily while it roots in. After that it asks for little. Shear it once or twice a year for a formal hedge, or let it run looser. It responds either way.

Evergreen. Full sun to part shade. Moderate water to establish, low after. Matures 10 to 20 feet unpruned, held at any height. In a 5-gallon pot, ready to go in the ground.