[Help] Bay tree (Laurus nobilis)

Tony Towner's Fridge · Dec 28, 2018

Got given a nice wee (1ft tall in a small pot) Bay Tree for Christmas and will plant outside in the Spring.
However a bit of horticultural advise wanted please.

i)Where best to keep indoors in the interim
ii)Do they need/like acid soil?

any advise graciously received

TNBA

TTF

wehatepalace · Dec 28, 2018

Can’t answer your questions, but we’ve had two reasonably large bay trees in pots for the past decade, they’ve lived outside since we had them and this year all the leaves have turned brown, we’ve not done anything different to previous years but they’re all brown but not dead.....very strange !

knocky1 · Dec 28, 2018

wehatepalace said:
Can’t answer your questions, but we’ve had two reasonably large bay trees in pots for the past decade, they’ve lived outside since we had them and this year all the leaves have turned brown, we’ve not done anything different to previous years but they’re all brown but not dead.....very strange !

Have you repotted them in 10 years? Do you feed them?

Jack Straw · Dec 28, 2018

Put it out doors. It won't like it in doors. They are as tough as old boots.
Soil can be any type. Why wait to plant it in the spring unless it's really wet and cold where you are?
Water once a week from April to September, then forget about it.
Once it gets going, it will grow like wild-fire.
When you plant it, allow it enough room to breath when matured.

Weststander · Dec 28, 2018

Jack Straw said:
Put it out doors. It won't like it in doors. They are as tough as old boots.
Soil can be any type. Why wait to plant it in the spring unless it's really wet and cold where you are?
Water once a week from April to September, then forget about it.
Once it gets going, it will grow like wild-fire.

This. Being in a house will kill it.

Jack Straw · Dec 28, 2018

knocky1 said:
Have you repotted them in 10 years? Do you feed them?

Any photos of leaves (close up), and the soil surface in the pot? If they've both gone like this at the same time, should be easy to solve the mystery.
Could be pot-bound or perhaps someone has poured some contaminated water in to them. Bleach or detergent?

Lincolnshire Seagull · Dec 28, 2018

Jack Straw said:
Put it out doors. It won't like it in doors. They are as tough as old boots.
Soil can be any type. Why wait to plant it in the spring unless it's really wet and cold where you are?
Water once a week from April to September, then forget about it.
Once it gets going, it will grow like wild-fire.

My mrs confirms this is correct. She knows

The Large One · Dec 28, 2018

Jack Straw said:
Put it out doors. It won't like it in doors. They are as tough as old boots.
Soil can be any type. Why wait to plant it in the spring unless it's really wet and cold where you are?
Water once a week from April to September, then forget about it.
Once it gets going, it will grow like wild-fire.
When you plant it, allow it enough room to breath when matures.

This. Bay trees will grow anywhere outside, and are virtually unkillable.

A few years ago we had one - about eight feet tall - where the leaves basically appeared to die and turn to gunk (technical term). I chopped all the branches back and cut the trunk down to the stem. A year later it was back flourishing and producing healthy leaves.

Tony Towner's Fridge · Dec 28, 2018

Jack Straw said:
Put it out doors. It won't like it in doors. They are as tough as old boots.
Soil can be any type. Why wait to plant it in the spring unless it's really wet and cold where you are?
Water once a week from April to September, then forget about it.
Once it gets going, it will grow like wild-fire.
When you plant it, allow it enough room to breath when matured.

Thanks Jack and all.

I will plant it next week and look out for the cold weather.......

HNY

TNBA

TTF

Me and my Monkey · Dec 28, 2018

We just plonked our tree straight into the soil (chalky) in our front garden once it got too big for its pot. Not fussy at all, and grows like crazy, so does need annual, severe pruning if you don’t want it to take over your garden. Great for casseroles, curries, etc.

jevs · Dec 28, 2018

I have one that's at least 30 foot tall....they can get huge. Luckily, they don't mind being cut back very hard.

Thunder Bolt · Dec 28, 2018

Tony Towner's Fridge said:
Thanks Jack and all.

I will plant it next week and look out for the cold weather.......

HNY

TNBA

TTF

It won't mind the cold weather one bit. It does hate drying out, so be sure to water it during a hot dry spell in summer.

Sussexscots · Dec 28, 2018

We've got one in the garden, been there since we moved in twenty years ago.

Not done anything to it apart from trimming and pruning it (except when a bird decides to nest in it). Soil here is rubbish so I'm guessing they are pretty tolerant.

Nitram · Dec 28, 2018

Got one outdoors planted in chalk soil. Needs pruning twice a year, they can grown really big. Next door has one that’s totally out of control, ours is pegged to about eight foot tall. If anyone needs bay leaves they are very welcome!

Coldeanseagull · Dec 28, 2018

When I used to do gardens, had to prune a lot with wind burn....quite localised on each plant as well.
On the plus side, they have a pleasant smell whilst pruning

wehatepalace · Dec 28, 2018

knocky1 said:
Have you repotted them in 10 years? Do you feed them?

I am the least green fingered chap you’ll ever meet.....never repotted but I water them and did give them some plant food during the summer....but just about given up on them now !
Having said that we’ve moved to a new house with a much bigger garden, do you think it’s worth planting them in the ground now ?

jakarta · Dec 28, 2018

I would certainly take it outside but leave it in the pot for a while unless it is massively pot bound. Our four footer is still (10 years later after being given to us) living in an uprated large pot just outside the Kitchen Door where it can be easily harvested. We are on Wealden Greensand as opposed to Chalk so don't know how it would fare if we dug it in. Really can't be arsed to do anything with it for now as it seems quite happy...

Dolph Ins · Dec 28, 2018

All above is good advice but I would be a bit careful about putting it out now as it has probably been grown in a greenhouse so is not hardened off. If you plant it get some fleece and cover it when frost is forecast otherwise leave the pot out on patio and bring into cold room/ shed/greenhouse if frost is forecast and then plant out March/April. A bit of a faff I admit and I'm not sure it is worth it for a small plant which is easily replaceable.

MattBackHome · Dec 28, 2018

Ours is the most labour intensive bit of our garden. The ****er grows like I can't tell you. I hate it but we have to keep it because it offers summer shelter for the tortoise

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WATFORD zero · Dec 28, 2018

I have one in the south of my garden, against a fence stuck between a monster Philadelphus and a Big tiger striped Acer tree (so very little direct sunlight, even in summer).

I couldn't get anything else to grow there and put a 2ft bay in about 6 years ago. Every year I have to prune it really hard to keep it at a 4-5 foot roundish bush.

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