My customer says his Portuguese laurel which is now a 5 foot tree won’t be growing any bigger. It is in the shade, but don’t these get 15 feet in height?
SelecTree, the website of the Urban Forest Ecosystems Institute, says that Portugal Laurel (Prunus lusitanica)will do well in sun to partial shade, and may grow up to 35 feet tall, at a rate of two feet a year.
The Sunset Western Garden Book (2001) says that a multi-trunked tree can get as large as 30 feet high and 30 feet wide. Perhaps your customer is expressing wishful thinking, and aspires to grow a shrub rather than a tree. Some people do grow it as a hedge, and clip it frequently to control its size.
I bought a Lysimachia punctata ‘Alexander’ (variegated) at a plant sale last weekend. I can’t find anything about it in my books. Can you tell me more about it? How tall, invasive or not, best place to plant, anything else you think I should know.
I found information on the website of a local gardener, Paghat, with a detailed description of this form of loosestrife. Although it is not supposed to be as aggressive as the species (L. punctata) or as invasive as L. vulgaris (a noxious weed in King County), I recommend keeping an eye on it. Paghat says:
“‘Alexander’ has variegated leaves, sage-green with cream borders, and sunny yellow flowers. It purports to be a more restrained version of a flower that in the species form is notoriously invasive and often too aggressive for neighboring perennials. Even ‘Alexander,’ though comparatively slow growing, eventually becomes a large two-foot by two-foot clump with a big root system that can threaten nearby delicate flowers, so take care what you plant around it.”