Ruscus racemosus
Alexander's laurel, poet's laurel
Ruscus racemosus is a beautiful evergreen shrub that makes a great addition to any garden. It has glossy, dark green foliage and produces small, white flowers in the spring.
It is a low-maintenance shrub that is easy to care for and can be used as a hedge or as a specimen plant. It is drought-tolerant and can tolerate a wide range of soil types.
It is a great choice for a low-maintenance garden or landscape.
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Plant Biography
Ruscus racemosus, is an evergreen perennial shrub reaching about a metre and a half in height and is native to southern Turkey, north-west Syria and northern Iran. Its leaves are small, leathery, and dark green, and its flowers are small, greenish-white, and clustered in a raceme (a cluster of flowers arranged along a stem).
The Alexander’s Laurel is often used as an ornamental plant in gardens, and its leaves and stems are used in traditional medicine to treat a variety of ailments.
Alongside the bay tree (Laurus nobilis), the Romans and Greek were using in antiquity this spineless plant to create the laurel wreaths representing praise for a victory or great achievement.
Care & Size Guidance
The Ruscus racemosus loves a good rich soil, moist most of the time in a sheltered from cold winds location. It can grow in most types of soil but would thrive in a slightly acidic soil.
Prune in mid-late spring after the risk of frost has passed and immediately after flowering. Pruning at this time will avoid frost damage to new shoots, and any pruning scars will be concealed by new growth.
Fertilise with a balanced fertiliser as soon as the new growth starts coming through.
Divide the clumps every 3 – 5 years, by digging them and dividing the rhizomes. This is the main method of propagation as growing these plants from seeds can take forever and a day.
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