Comments on: Bay Laurel Plants

By: dale

dale — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 15:01:11 +0000

i live in maryland. i planted my bay some 12 years ago. i have moved it once, what i did to have mine grow outside in the winter is i bought a string of lights ( hardware store) and in the winter i would run them around the trunk area and leave them pluged in all winter for the first 2-3 years. mine is growing great i keep it trimed back to about 5 feet.

By: Mary Saunders

Mary Saunders — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 02:28:14 +0000

What kind of light does it get and where is the light source? At what height do you want it to branch? My citrus, which are kind of similar, do not branch on a side where there’s no light. If you find a spot where light comes at it from more than one direction, maybe you would get more branching. I’m assuming it’s inside. If it’s outside and this is happening, perhaps you can let light hit it laterally, and that might encourage it to branch out toward the light. I hope you will let us know how this comes out, if you try it.

By: Kenny Point

Kenny Point — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 01:56:52 +0000

Hi Cedric, how short did you try cutting the bay plant back previously? I had a well branched tree about six feet tall that I thought died back last winter. It later started to regrow and I cut it back to about a one foot trunk and it did push out a lot of new branches from the shortened trunk. If you are not happy with the way your bay is growing and its form then you may want to take a chance and really prune it down pretty severely in the hope that that will stimulate a flush of growth without harming the plant. Good luck and let me know what you decide and how the plant does for you.

By: Cedric

Cedric — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 15:09:16 +0000

Kenny:
I have a Bay Laurel Potted in a 14″ ceramic pot. It is healthy and seems to grow very quickly. My problem is that the trunk is straight, about seven feet tall, with no branches but plenty of leaves. When I cut the top to make it branch out, it only grows one branch near the cut which grows straight up. What should I try to make it a shrub?

By: Mary Saunders

Mary Saunders — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 18:49:26 +0000

Sometimes when you prune them pretty severely, up from the base, they sucker, coming up underground near the base. You might have better luck getting a sucker to survive than trying to air layer or getting a branch to root. Mary

By: Susan O

Susan O — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 15:17:44 +0000

Has anyone had success in propagating a bay plant? I have one given to me by a old Italian neighbor lady who has since passed away. I am in MA and keep it as a houseplant in the winter and on the deck in the summer. It has done well but my daughter-in-law wants one and I hear they are hard to root.
Any suggestions?

By: Seven Of » Blog Archive » 7 Herbs for Spring

Seven Of » Blog Archive » 7 Herbs for Spring — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 17:09:25 +0000

[...] Bay Leaf The Bay Laurel plant will grow easily in your garden or a container. Use the leaves fresh or dry [...]

By: Mary Saunders

Mary Saunders — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 06:07:15 +0000

Sue, you could try taking a branch down underground, leaving it attached to the tree, to see if it will root.

If your tree is looking bad inside, I would say try putting it out, even if it’s cold. You could also try giving it a vitamin and/or a mineral tablet. I sometimes do this if a plant looks to be struggling.

My bay is taking over the world outside, but I bring dwarf citrus in. Usually worms and sometimes pill bugs stow away, where they work all winter, tilling and aerating. I took my lime tree to the permaculture booth at the Yard, Garden, and Patio show, and the worms went along. When I got home, the tree was dry and I watered it. One worm came streaking out, along the floor. I had to put him/her back in, where he/she was exhausted, but went back down below the soil after resting a while.

Cheers, Mary