Cinnamomum Camphora Camphor Laurel

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Cinnamomum Camphora is a beautifully scented evergreen shrub that’s excellent for hedging. Native to Eastern Asia Cinnamomum Camphora is also known as Camphor Laurel, Camphor Tree or Camphor Wood. The camphor oil distilled from its bark and leaves are an ingredient in essential oils, herbal medicines, and are historically a component of smokeless gunpowder.

Camphor Laurel’s 10cm waxy leaves are a beautiful deep glossy green with yellow veins. When they’re crushed or cut the leaves release a spicy camphor scent. In April, May, and June new green foliage with a red tinge appears alongside masses of small white flowers. These flowers mature into small black berries during autumn which are loved by birds. During winter Camphor Laurel’s attractive foliage and pale peeling bark create a colourful focal point in a bare garden. 

Height and Spread of Cinnamomum Camphora
Camphor Laurel is fast-growing and can reach heights of 20 metres by 5 metres unless pruned.   

How Hardy Is Cinnamomum Camphora
Camphor Laurel is relatively hardy and does best in milder parts of the UK or colder areas in a sheltered microclimate. It is drought tolerant once established and rarely bothered by pests due to the scented leaves. 

How To Use Cinnamomum Camphora
Camphor Laurel can be grown as an unusual specimen tree for its pretty foliage or kept shorter as a spicy-scented hedge. If you’re a fan of scented plants you could grow Camphor Laurel in a container on your patio or near seating areas where the warm scent can be appreciated and used to deter insects. If you are looking for a fast-growing hedge or privacy screen Camphor Laurel is a good choice.

How To Care For Cinnamomum Camphora
Cinnamomum Camphora best suits milder climates but it will grow in colder areas if sheltered and frost-pocket free.  It enjoys all types of free-draining soil and can be left to grow naturally, but hedges need a yearly prune in the dormant winter season to keep their shape and height.
Water well until established and apply a thick layer of mulch once a year to provide nutrients, deter weed competition, and trap moisture.

Read our blog on Pleached Tree Care & How To Plant Pleached Trees