By Alissa MacMillan
Q: I heard that cherry laurel is an invasive species in Ireland but is still being sold in shops. Is that true?
A: You heard right. Cherry laurel is “still the most common hedging plant used in new builds across the island”, explains Oisin Ó Néill, Director of the Gaelic Woodlands Project, because it “grows fast and makes dense, thick hedges”. It’s also, according to a 2022 survey of native woodlands, the second most common non-native shrub found in Irish woodlands, after Rhododendron Ponticum.
Cherry laurel has infiltrated every county “in dark, dense thickets, where the sunlight cant penetrate the native flowers, and no saplings can get through”, says Ó Néill. Youve probably seen it around, with its long, thick, green leaves, and it operates much like rhododendron, suppressing growth of other plants, impacting soil health, and it’s also an evergreen.
“It is unpalatable to herbivores, so nothing can eat or control them, and its spread by wind quite easily, similar to rhododendron”, he says. Some people mix them up, he adds, but there is one key difference: “you can’t buy rhododendron in shops”.
Despite the fact that cherry laurel is considered invasive by a laundry-list of organisations, including the National Parks of Ireland, National Biodiversity Data Centre, Coillte, ecologists, scientists, biodiversity experts, and “a whole body of organisations and academics”, they are not being listened to or included in the conversation, and the plant is still allowed to fly off the selves.
POSSIBLE LEGAL ROUTE
Cherry laurel was first brought to Ireland in 1690, says Ó Néill, part of the “garden mania” of the Victorian era, when plants were brought in from all over the British Empire. This is one reason some of those old, sprawling, aristocratic estates are epicenters for outbreaks here and ground zero for a lot of invasive species.
“Of all the plants they brought back, some weren’t suited to the environment and would have died, others had a negligible impact, but some, because they were highly adaptable to the Irish environment, escaped out of the garden and became invasive”, like rhododendron and cherry laurel.
Times have since changed and now, cherry laurel is proving difficult to ban.
“Ireland actually grows cherry laurel on farms and exports it to the EU and UK market”, he says. Because of this, there are “some concerns that banning cherry laurel will impinge on free movement of trade between states in the European Union. Some believe banning of cherry laurel will be against EU law”. But The Gaelic Woodlands Project issued a report last year outlining a way out of this claim, pointing to cases including Denmark’s ban on importing non-native bees which were breeding with native bees – the successful restriction on free trade was based on the protection of biodiversity, Ó Néill explains.
While a legal route may come at some point down the line, at the moment the Gaelic Woodlands Project is focusing on advocacy, education, and the scientific evidence, wondering why the invasive species list, which is supposed to be dynamic, isn’t leading to responsiveness.
CITIZENS CAN HELP ‘MORE THAN TDS’
According to Ó Néill, some garden centres have pledged to not carry cherry laurel, even though it’s a big seller. The Gaelic Woodlands Project has reached out to “some of the big offenders”, he adds, but not much will change without a change in regulation.
As for removing it, “It’s a very virulent plant and quite hard to fully remove”. The Gaelic Woodlands Project, a non-profit which also does tree-planting and rewilding, has its own cherry laurel removal guide. If you deal with it the wrong way, Ó Néill explains, it could make matters worse.
“Even if you cut off a branch, if you left that branch on the ground, it will root. It’s a crazy plant”, he adds, much like rhododendron.
While they don’t use herbicide, they know that other groups do; instead, they cut or chop away foliage and dig out the stump or cover it, blocking out the light and peeling off bark. Those who do use herbicide hammer it down into the stump, where it eventually kills the tree, “but herbicide can leech into the soil and water streams”, Ó Néill explains.
The Gaelic Woodlands Project aren’t contractors but teach about invasive species, reconnect us with nature, host community talks, rewild and plant trees, bring people into woodlands, and “help the woodlands where we can”. Their work is entirely voluntary, passing on good cherry-laurel removal practices, and they’ve harvested about 30 tons of cherry laurel wood, Ó Néill says, “drying it and turning this invasive problem into biofuel”, some evidence that a ban would still lead to benefits.
Success in raising awareness about cherry laurel “ebbs and flows”, Ó Néill says. “The big success, which would be to regulate the plant, isn’t there yet. There are conversations, there is dialogue, but there will never be success unless we can get it regulated”.
At this stage, its citizens who can help more than TDs. Because rhododendron is illegal, there is a duty on the TD to act, but this isn’t the case with cherry laurel, which is still legal.
“People who can make a difference are the everyday person and garden centres”, Ó Néill says, encouraging us to write local councillors and the Minister for Heritage. “If it is for sale in your local supermarket, get a report to them, share the statistics, say, ‘Hey, by the way, I don’t know if you know…’”
Their published report encourages the Irish government to ban cherry laurel, just as it does rhododendron, balsam, Japanese knotweed, and other invasive plants, for Ireland to “protect its natural heritage, honour its EU legal obligations, and meet the expectations of citizens and the international community”.
As with rhododendron, “in theory it could be eradicated if the government allocated enough money and manpower”. But reality looks somewhat different. As with so much, Ó Néill says, it’s a matter of “doing what you can where you can”. And if you do need to put up a hedge, for goodness’ sake, opt for one that’s not on the invasive species list.
