Comments on: Distressed Bay Laurel Plants in Need of Assistance

By: donna

donna — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 23:15:10 +0000

Great, hope it holds up until it is warm enough to put outside, I applied its first soap spray last night to get rid of the aphids. Thanks for your help

By: Cynthia

Cynthia — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 22:03:50 +0000

I agree with Kenny. My 15 year old bay, either from neglect, overwatering, or bugs, looked dead one year. I pruned it, added compost tea, put it out in a partial sun/shade area for the summer, (zone 6), and it came back fantastic.

By: Kenny Point

Kenny Point — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 13:05:57 +0000

Hi Donna, is it a flying insect? You might try a soap spray or use yellow sticky traps “if” they are causing a problem or stressing the bay plant. DON”T give up on the plant, I had one that totally dried out and turned brown. Gave it up as dead and sat it out on the patio in the spring until I could get rid of it. Lo and behold it later began sprouting out from the base. I pruned back all of the dead wood and the bay laurel plant is doing great and looks even better today! I think that you should water them a little less but it will partly depend on the specific growing conditions in your home.

By: donna

donna — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 12:59:13 +0000

I have a bay leaf plant indoors in a clay pot the leaves have dried up and it seems to be dead. There has been a whitish bug on the plant which I try to remove every so often with a q-tip but it keeps coming back. Does anyone know how to get rid of this bug? It may be too late for this plant but any information will help in the future.
Should a bay leaf plant housed indoors for the winter be watered less? I water it once a week.

By: joe

joe — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 23:40:27 +0000

Gillian I share your problem. There are a lot of bull stories out there, some say keep in sunny place others say keep in shade. So which is it. And how often should you water and how much water? Someone has to know I do not wish mine to die. Good luck with yours.

By: Jane Green

Jane Green — Mon, 04 May 2009 21:19:07 +0000

Bay trees can grow very big, in excess of 40ft high and 30ft wide. This is what they want to be able to do. They seem to be much happier in the ground because they are not so stressed.I don’t think they like being in pots, especially terracotta ones, frying in the sun with their roots getting bigger and bigger as the years pass. I would put them into larger pots and try a position which gets some shade during the day. Try it for a while and see if it helps.

By: Karens Garden Tips

Karens Garden Tips — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 23:34:39 +0000

I really sympathize with your bay tree problem. I can’t offer a fix but I can relate my own experience with a beloved bay tree so that you may feel better about your care of yours. We went away for three months this winter (Dec-Feb) and had my niece come in and water it and many other plants in our garage. She is over zaelous in watering and we came home to find many plants in standing in water including the bay tree. My point is, you do the best you can and sometimes (like ours) it is very poor and you luck out, other times you don’t. Believe me, I could relate a dozen or more failures in this regard.

By: Chiot's Run

Chiot's Run — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 14:07:18 +0000

Perhaps the plants just need some soil refreshing, or a good dose of organic matter. I find that when the leaves on my citrus tree do similar things a little bit of ironite does the trick. I have also found that adding some worm casting to my potted plants several times a year keeps them much healthier & happier.