Can I plant trees in woodland?

rafuk73

Hi, 

I have a dozen of young cherry laurels and want to get rid of them to give way for less invasive plants. I asked people around and no one wants my cherry laurels. Can I plant them in the wood nearby, I think it's a council property, or do I need a permission? I just don't want to threw away these beautiful plants

Fairygirl

You'd need permission. You can plant anything in a site you don't own. 
Cherry laurel could easily be a menace in a woodland, if it thrived. 

pansyface

You do need permission to plant things on land that isn’t yours. However, if you ask the council whether they want them they may have ideas. Maybe a local school would like them?

Pete.8

Please don't
The fields where I walk with my dog are edged with native shrubs.
But there's one area that some bungalows back onto - they all have gates that lead to the field and various non-native shrubs have been planted on the edge of the field by the home owners.
In particular a group of cherry laurel - they are now smothering out sloes, elderberry and other native plants.
Nearby are silver coloured firs and all sorts of cultivated garden shrubs that people have planted there - it just looks wrong.

rafuk73

Thank you. I will a give a call to council tomorrow. But tend to throw them away as they are pretty invasive plants.

Uff

Suggest you offer them free of charge to social media sites, Freecycle, Gumtree, Facecloth etc. You might fine someone who would be very grateful for them.

Pete.8

rafuk73 said:

 But tend to throw them away as they are pretty invasive plants.

Yes, that's the best plan - cherry laurel is one plant that we certainly don't need more of.
The leaves also contain cyanide.

Fairygirl

They make great windbreak hedges - in the right location, and correctly maintained, but as seen in @Pete.8 description, they shouldn't just be planted anywhere.
They become huge monsters when left to their own devices. 
 

Dovefromabove

You definitely mustn't plant anything on land that you don't own.  It may cause a problem with how the habitat is being managed for wildlife etc.  Years ago people did that with rhododendron and now it's a real real problem.  And we don't want you getting into trouble either do we? 

What about advertising them free or to give away on Gumtree or Ebay or similar ... do you know the Nextdoor website?  It's split into local areas and you can offer stuff you don't need ... lots of gardeners use it.    

https://nextdoor.co.uk/for_sale_and_free/?init_source=more_menu

thevictorian

Our local woods has spent the last decade trying to remove cherry laurel, so I don't think they would be welcome. Offering them free locally is the way to go.

fidgetbones

You don't want them because they are invasive. Why would you want to inflict them on someone else, including the local authority  who would then have to pay to get rid? Just dig them up, chop them up and put them in the green waste recycling bin.