April: Those leaf buds can turn into branches. Just give it more time. You can make a tree out of that. Cherries often don't branch like you'd like but in the end the tree will grow and produce. I often prune my trees like that even if they have a few branches. The trees I hate are the big caliper trees that won't push any buds down low. If the tree doesn't produce the branches you want this year head it back next spring and it will push a lot more branches.

Personally , I despise Cherry Laurels . I have many , many - way too many - old growth ones and are they ever a pain in the neck . Their wood is very brittle and limbs will snap just like glass for no reason on a clear still sunny day . They send up suckers that run for miles . These are very difficult to pull up and will get into everything including your septic tank - no matter how far away it is . The trees have small white flowers that many people are allergic to = lots of sneezing and congestion . The black berries drop every where and make a squishy mess if they drop on a hard surface . Every single stinkin' berry /seed roots ! They do not do well in hurricanes and are hard to kill . Even after chopping them down , you will battle the new growth for years . They are highly drought tolerant and seem to have few pests or diseases . They grow very , very quickly and can become large trees - if they last that long before breaking - then you are stuck with a mishapen , ugly tree . And I haven't even gotten warmed up yet !

I'm not sure it's exactly the same, it looks a little different. Spontaneous seedlings of this and other horticultural selections of English laurel can generally resemble these named forms. I have seen multiple different instances of this occurrence in my area.

We had the exact same problem due to the extreme temps, especially w/ our new ones that were planted in the fall. Looked horrible & thought they were goners, but they have finally started showing new growth within the past week. I made sure to get mine some deep watering whenever it’s been possible, kind of hard w/ all the weather fluctuations & it still being in the 30’s overnight well past our usual last frost date. Also fertilized them back in March with the spikes below. Wasn’t sure if it would help or hurt as they looked so horrible, but must not have hurt. Our existing laurels looked bad as well and those are making a rebound it seems. Some deep rain lately has helped as well as occasional warmer temps. So I’d say get them watered well at the very least. Just be careful not to overwater though as that's not good for them either.