Cherry Laurels - prunus laurocerasus

Discussion in 'General Gardening Discussion' started by Patricia31, Apr 3, 2010.

  1. Patricia31

    Patricia31 Apprentice Gardener

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    :help: I have just realised that the cherry laurels that I have had planted on some of the borders of the garden are poisonous ! All parts of the plant contain hydrogen cyanide!! Last night on the television thay said the plant give off a poisonous gas ! Do you think I should have them removed, and plant something else? Please let me know. Many thanks.
     
  2. Marley Farley

    Marley Farley Affable Admin! Staff Member

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    :thumb: Hi Patricia, the leaves do give off a poisonous gas - cyanide! It's probably not enough to hurt in the care on the way to the tip - unless it's a very long journey! So just leave a window open if you are concerned.. The berries are poisonous if eaten and I've always understood that the cyanide given off by burning laurel can be very dangerous - so better to risk the trip to the tip.:wink:

    Otherwise I have a large Laurel hedge that I love. I prune it laboriously by hand once a year & you can smell it as you are snipping, but it isn't enough to hurt us.. :wink: I just never never burn the leaves as then it can be dangerous..!! :scratch: So my answer is leave them in & enjoy them & don't let them get big, then you won't have much of a pruning problem.. :thumb:
     
  3. pete

    pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

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    Usual scaremongering, a definite NO.:)

    And it burns very well Marley, just the kind of stuff required to heat up a good bonfire.:D

    Makes a nice change from tyres or polystyrene, thats the norm around here
     
  4. Marley Farley

    Marley Farley Affable Admin! Staff Member

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    :dh::wink: I know it burns well Pete, but I made a pact with my neighbour years ago not to burn it in the garden.. They were not impressed with it's burning & smoking properties... :hehe: :dh: So I take it up to the huge compost area up at the farm where we put all the leaves etc for mulch... :thmb:
     
  5. pete

    pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

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    Yeah, OK Marley, just think everyone is scared of there own shadow these days.

    Its probably been burnt by gardeners for years with no one suffering ill effects, but these days someone mentions " poisonous", and its a case of shock and horror.
    If we only grew or burnt non poisonous plants. we would have some very sad looking gardens.

    BTW, peach stones also contain cyanide, as far as I know, wonder if the supermarkets have considered the problem.

    I'm no chemist, but does the cyanide break down in the composting process?
     
  6. daitheplant

    daitheplant Total Gardener

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    Tanalised timber also gives off cyanide gas when burnt, but people still burn it.:old:
     
  7. Marley Farley

    Marley Farley Affable Admin! Staff Member

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    :lollol: Oh Pete what would we do without you....?? You are right the scare mongers are always hovering there.. I don't worry myself, but.. My neighbours were upset by it years ago it was easier to do this & as my SiL has a huge huge compost area for leaves & grass cuttings for his acidic mulch heap, but it is so big as he fills it from his business as well he turns it with a tractor..!! :dh: Yes the Cyanide does break down as there is so much heat in there from the grass mowings & he ends up with some beautiful well rotted mulch I can tell you... :wink:
     
  8. pete

    pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

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    OK Marley.
    Just looking at it from a common sense point of view.:)

    Well at least my idea of common sense.:D
     
  9. Marley Farley

    Marley Farley Affable Admin! Staff Member

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    :gnthb::D Well of course Pete... :D
     
  10. shiney

    shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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    Pete is right. There is also cyanide in many other things - e.g. the pips of apples and a by-product of producing sugar from beet. Although laurel contains cyanide there is no danger in having it as a hedge - unless you decide to cut off the leaves and crush them inside a box with your head stuck inside there.

    Burning laurel on a bonfire is also no problem - I burn it all the time. The small amount of cyanide in each leaf is burnt and/or dissipated during the burning process. Fresh laurel leaves do produce smoke when burning (as do all leaves) but normally the smoke dissapears quickly as the leaves burn at a fast rate because of the volatile oils in the leaves.

    Laurel leaves left to dry (or the old ones collected from under the bushes) are good to help get a bonfire going but a word of warning - if you have a very large amount of dry laurel leaves you should add them to the fire in batches otherwise your fire can become uncontrollable.

    A neighbour once had a bonfire heap that was about 5ft in diameter and 5ft high with most of it dry laurel. He set light to it and didn't step back quick enough. Not only did his hair get singed but within 20 seconds the flames were 40ft high and his fence started to look unhappy. I had warned him in advance but he didn't realise how volatile laurel is. Fortunately I saw that he was going to light his bonfire and had already started to get my hose ready. He only lost one fence panel.
     
  11. Sussexgardener

    Sussexgardener Gardener

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    There are many, many plants that we grow in the garden that are poisonous. I presume the programme you saw on TV was Countryfile, with a visit to Alnwick Castle and the new Poison Garden that has been planted there.

    Personally, I love the sound of it and if I had more room, I would have a whole section of the garden dedicated to poisonous plants. As it is, I have a few already...Aconite, Digitalis, Hellebore spring to mind. Must remember to tell my partner's nephew that when he comes to visit later this year. He has a habit of trying flowers to see if they're edible of not....
     
  12. Marley Farley

    Marley Farley Affable Admin! Staff Member

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    :scratch: Well I didn't see it & I wondered what made Patricia ask the question... Yes many things are poisonous in our gardens I know & I am quite happy about them myself, but I know other people are not so happy so do try to respect that & especially when they are your neighbours of 40 odd yrs.. We all have our quirks & foibles as is a gardeners want I think... Oh well I just love gardening whatever... :thumb:
     
  13. Patricia31

    Patricia31 Apprentice Gardener

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    Yes, you are correct, I was watching 'Countryfile', the poison garden at Alnwick Castle.
    I grew up with a large garden full of laurel hedges, rhodedendrons and azalias,planted by my father, which are all poisonous apparently, I never realised.
    Perhaps I shall replace the laurels with some ornamental bamboo or something. Many thanks for your comments.

    Patricia.:)
     
  14. shiney

    shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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    I wouldn't worry at all about laurel being poisonous :flag:. A large percentage of garden plants have some poison in them and I don't think you would want to eat them anyway.

    Some bamboos contain Taxiphyllin which is a cyanogenic glycoside which is the same as in yew. Some bamboo shoots are eaten (popular in chinese food) but these are usually the non-poisonous ones. Cyanide in one form or another is known to be contained in a few thousand plants. It (linamarin and lotaustralin) is contained in high amounts in cassava but that is still a staple food in some countries. In the quantities that we would consume in cassava chips, for instance, it is unlikely to have any effect on our health and the way they are processed removes most of the poison.

    Some bamboo leaves are quite poisonous to pets but most animals know not to eat them and most of the poisonous ones are generally not sold in garden centres.

    A good rule of thumb is:- if it is sold in a garden centre or similar place then you shouldn't really be to bothered. The only danger in most cases is if a baby chews on 'poisonous' plants.
     
  15. Patricia31

    Patricia31 Apprentice Gardener

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    :doh:Thank you for the information and advice, much appreciated. I have just planted three new bamboos in a back corner of the garden where one of my huge trees fell down in the gales last November, demolishing my neighbour's summerhouse in so doing. I replaced the summerhouse for them, and made good all the damage.
    So the bamboos are suspect too!
    Just my luck, at this rate I shall have to replace half the garden!
    I have planted Phyllostachys aurea ( golden bamboo ), and Fargesia murieliae ( umbrella bamboo ), are these ok do you think?
    I am quite obviously hopeless at choosing plants, and should go back to bed, or alternatively, perhaps I should open my own 'Poison Garden', since everything I have currently chosen to plant is suspect! :(
     
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