Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. We have several native members of the genus Prunus in South Carolina. We’ve talked a good bit about the one that’s getting attention now for its unsightliness – black cherry, Prunus serotina, the favorite larval food source for the eastern tent caterpillars whose webs are highly visible.
Prunus caroliniana, with the common name cherry laurel, has a different look. It’s evergreen and has dense, shiny foliage that provides cover and shelter for wildlife. Eventually it can reach heights of thirty feet but mostly you see it as a large shrub. Right now it’s covered with racemes of white flowers attractive to pollinators. These are followed by deep purple/black fruits, hundreds of them, and they seed down like mad. This is a native tree that is somewhat of a nuisance as animals devour and deposit the seeds all over the place.
