When youâ€re deciding on the perfect plant that you can use to grow a hedge, you want to find something thatâ€s fast-growing with lustrous evergreen foliage. But you also want a tough plant that can handle harsh environmental conditions and still look beautiful without requiring a lot of maintenance from you. Skip Laurel (Prunus laurocerasus 'Schipkaensis') is that plant. Itâ€s a trouble-free plant that stands up to poor soil, heat, cold, and drought while remaining one of the prettiest evergreens youâ€ve ever seen! Luxuriant and Glossy Foliage The outstanding feature of any hedge is the appearance of its foliage. Skip Laurel is a type of cherry laurel, which isnâ€t a true laurel at all. This common name hints at the resemblance of its foliage to laurel leaves, which are beautifully oblong and glossy green. Think of bay leaves that you use for cooking; theyâ€re from the â€œtrueâ€ laurel tree â€“ the bay laurel. Skip Laurel leaves are similar, but they are more elongated and shiny. This is no dull evergreen plant; its leaves are so shiny that theyâ€ll look as if you polished them! But theyâ€re not delicate â€“ theyâ€re as durable as the plants themselves. And if youâ€re wondering why itâ€s called â€œSkipâ€ Laurel, this cultivar was discovered growing in Bulgariaâ€s Shipka Mountain Pass. Over the years, â€œShipkaâ€ was simply shortened to a more-easily remembered nickname â€“ â€œSkip!â€Top-Performing Hedge for Sun or Part ShadeShady landscape spots canâ€t always support the healthy growth of many landscape plants that are used to form hedges. The consequences of shade include stunted growth (or leggy growth) and thinning or sparse foliage. Shady locations can also increase a plantâ€s susceptibility to because the moist conditions that often accompany shaded areas provide the perfect breeding ground for plant diseases that actually need moisture to grow. But Skip Laurel overcomes both these challenges with ease â€“ itâ€s a shade-tole