Hi Zeather. Many thanks for watching and taking the time to message. Glad to be of help to you. Bay trees really do need a good prune and feed from time to time to keep them in their best condition. Happy gardening 🌸🌼
@@bevhales6951 Hi Bev. Many thanks for watching and for taking the time to message, much appreciated. Glad the video was of use to you. All the best with your bay tree 🪴🌼
I inherited a huge bay shrub when I moved into my new house, it was way too big but over time Ive got it down to a nice size, its dense, bushy, lovely lush green glossy leaves, its in full sun one side (south facing) shaded on north side, my soil is on the acidic side, in my opinion they grow better in the ground, but they do respond well to annual pruning. The more you prune, the bushier they get.
Many thanks for watching and taking the time to message. Bay trees really do enjoy a prune and acidic soil greens them up so quickly. At a previous place I worked at, there was a bay bush that we kept clipped into a cylinder shape. It was about 18-20 feet in height and positioned to one side of the cottage entrance. It just worked so well to provide structure for the herb garden. Happy growing and thanks for sharing 🌼🌸
I just got a bay tree from the garden centre, price tag £59.00 reduced to £10! Yellowing leaves and done with holes but looks like it’s very much alive, just needs some tlc. Fingers crossed I keep it alive and got a bargain!
Hi. Thanks for watching and the message. Sounds like a potential bargain. If required you can still give the plant a light prune to improve shape, whilst removing any dead stems that there may be. Keep the plant watered and give it an Ericaceous feed. Whilst bay trees don’t need acidic growing conditions the feed will green it up better. Are the holes in the leaves holes or ‘U’ shaped notches around the edges of the leaves? If they are the U shaped notches then that is from Vine Weevil beetle so you will need to treat the plant promptly. If holes in the leaves then just look for obviously ‘rolled up’ leaves where you will either find caterpillars or the aphid that is ‘Bay Leaf Sucker’. Again treat accordingly. If you apply any pesticides to the plant you won’t be able to use the leaves for cooking for a few weeks so pick a few leaves first. Enjoy your new purchase Chris 🌴
@@diyhomeandgardening yes definitely U shaped bite mark type holes around the edges, seems to be mostly the top half of the plant so have pruned it a bit and removed any dead or ‘holey’ leaves. I’ll have a trip to the garden centre for some feed and weevil treatment tomorrow! Thank you for your response!!
Your timing is perfect, thank you. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 My Bay is due for a trim & you’ve reminded me; mine is a bush top to bottom, about 7ft high & very full & shaped like a pear drop - rounded at the bottom & tapering at the top; I really love the look of your ‘standard style’ though so want to have a go on another, smaller bay. Can you strike the prunings as their evergreen habit is great at blocking up gaps in my boundaries?
I always like to get them pruned about now so as to minimise issues with Bay leaf sucker. At my last place of work we had a bay that we clipped into a conical shape and it was around 20 feet high. They do make a great evergreen hedge too. If you want to propagate more, the easiest way is through layering.
@@diyhomeandgardening Brilliant thank you; I used to layer loads of plants & would buy packets of hair grips from the chemist for the job but recently I’ve neglected that method of propagation in favour of cuttings, so it’s high time I bought some more hairgrips. 👍🏻👍🏻
Hi. Many thanks for watching and for the question. The plants went into a plastic container that was 65cm wide and tall. Planted up using a mix of John Innes Number 3 soil and multi purpose compost, roughly 50:50 mixture. A slow release fertiliser also gets applied twice a year. Hope that helps 🪴
Just what I needed to see - my back trees are massive but now getting out of hand and I was unsure how far to cut them back. What fertiliser do you give the bay trees?
@@dwjudd Hi David. Many thanks for watching the video and for your questions. I would always aim to stick to the rule of only removing a maximum of 1 third by way of volume of the plant. Start by removing the dead, diseased or damaged stems and then look to see where pruning would best serve you. When pruning, if you prune side growth then that will encourage more rapid growth to the top of the plant. Equally, if you remove the top then the plant will bush out more quickly and develop more growth to the base of the plant. If the plant has foliage that looks washed out green or pale yellow then I would suggest giving the plant a liquid feed using an Ericaceous feed. Whilst bay trees do not need acidic conditions they respond quickly to an acidic feed from time to time. Ordinarily though I would use a more balanced feed of something like fish, blood and bone or Growmore and ensure that the plant is kept on the moist side. I hope this helps you with your trees 🪴🌻
Thanks for watching and your message. It’s always difficult to get the balance right between showing exactly what I’m trying to do and the overall effect. Enjoy your pruning and summer of gardening 🌸🪴
Hello and thanks for the good tips! I have a question about my tree... Its new leaves started to dry out. Old leaves look same as always. At first they developed lighter spots on them. Looks like discoloration and then the lighter spots started to dry. May that be because of not enough light? Looked closely - no bugs or mold can be seen.
Hi. Many thanks for watching and for your questions. Is you plant in a container or in the ground, and where are you based? What has the weather been doing? From your description it does sound as though you have leaf spot which is normally induced by the plant sitting too wet. Are you on Instagram? If so you can look me up, under my same name, to send a picture of the plant for a better idea on the issue. All the best 🪴
My bay tree has never really been a ball shape and I'm looking at it now wondering how to get it back to the ball shape. It looks very sparce and even at the moment. Any tips?
Thanks for the message. I assume the bay is in a pot. How often do you feed it? How much water do you give it? Do you trim it at all? Even the lightest of pruning will encourage new side shoots to form so it’s worth just pinching out the top tips of the growing shoots. Keep the plants on the he moist side throughout the year, so check and/or water daily during the summer. Most of the time watering well twice a week is sufficient. If the plants are pot bound, have out grown the pot they are in, then re pot using a soil based potting medium like John innes. Apply a slow release fertiliser in April and then again at the start of July. Also apply a liquid feed during the summer, just once a month. Hope this helps. All the best.
@@diyhomeandgardening Thank you so much. When I bought it 3 years ago I put it in a bigger pot but it has stayed there since. I probably feed it once a fortnight throughout the summer and water it weekly unless it’s very hot then I water daily. I have been too scared to trim it too much as it already looks sparce. I’ll get it re potted and follow your advice on pruning, watering and feeding. Thank you!
Can you please confirm that the months mentioned refer to the northern hemisphere? My bay tree is planted in the ground, tropical summer rainfall area in the southern hemisphere. Would a light pruning now (early winter) be ok? Thanks for the great video!
Hi Shaun. Thanks for the question. I would recommend a few types of feeds as the season changes. Starting in April/May apply an application of Seaweed extract as that will promote improved plant health, following the harsher winter period. At the same time a slow release granular feed can also be applied as that will break down over a period of a few months. In summer months you can add supplementary liquid feeds each month just to promote improvements in growth and vigour. Make you last feeds in September so as to avoid promoting too much soft growth forming as frost start to occur. I hope this helps you. All the best, Ian🌳
Thanks for the message. Sounds like you have a system all worked out. Have you tried using a slow release fertiliser to save some of your liquid feeding?
HELP ! My bay bush doesn’t have just one singular ‘ trunk ‘ coming from the soil but seven thin branch-like saplings, although they’re the same plant. Is this a different variety or is it because it’s been ignored? And how do I prune it? Any input would be grateful Thanks for the video 👍
Bay naturally grows as a bush so what you have is perfectly normal. To get a standard, at growers stage just one stem is retained and grown straight up. If your plant started as just one clear stem and has subsequently produced lots of base growth then this growth can be removed at the base.
The leaves on my bay tree all turned brown. I have cut them all off, but the branches seem to be brown, not green inside. Does this mean the tree is dead and won’t recover?
Hi David. Thanks for watching and the message. Unfortunately if the stem is brown beneath the surface then that part is dead. I would start at the top of the plant, working my way down to the base, gently scraping the bark to determine if the stem is alive at any point. If the stem is brown all the way to the base of the plant then dig out and throw away. If there are decent stems still showing green beneath the surface then it’s worth pruning and see if it recovers. If it’s in the ground then there is a good chance it has got too wet if you have had a winter and spring as wet as ours. If in a container then it could be vine weevil damage to the roots, so worth checking if you remove the plant. Hope this helps 🌼🌸
Hi. Thanks for watching and your message. Bay trees need to be kept on the moist side for good healthy growth. They also require a fair amount of feed too so as to prevent the leaves from becoming more yellow in colour. Bay plants don’t tend to suffer with leaf issues but can get black marks on the leaves if you have aphid or scale insects, with their excreted waste creating sooty mould on the leaves below. Hope this helps. All the best 🌻
@@diyhomeandgardening Sorry, I mistyped. I've not got black spot, I have brown spot. The leaves have lots of brown dots on, the central veins are going brown and the growth tips have all turned black. Reading up on it, it suggests ill health due to too much water. Repotted earlier this year.
@@Melusine-Ohara How big are the plants, how much water are you giving them, how frequently and what size pot are the plants in. Also, does the pot that the plants are in have drainage holes to the base. What compost did you use to plant? Blackening leaves is normally overwatering but we can narrow it down if there is a reason why.
😂😂 Thanks for watching and the message. These Bay trees belong to a customer and I started them for her about 20 years ago. They are easy to look after though so you should definitely grow some for yourself.
Thank you so much! I was so afraid of cutting mine back as the leaves were so sparse but now I realise it’ll do the tree a huge favour!
Hi Zeather.
Many thanks for watching and taking the time to message.
Glad to be of help to you.
Bay trees really do need a good prune and feed from time to time to keep them in their best condition.
Happy gardening 🌸🌼
Good timing - mine are well neglected - you’ve given me hope
Thanks for watching and your message. Bay trees are so tough so you can almost butcher them and they will come back for more.
Really useful,thankyou
@@bevhales6951 Hi Bev. Many thanks for watching and for taking the time to message, much appreciated.
Glad the video was of use to you.
All the best with your bay tree 🪴🌼
I inherited a huge bay shrub when I moved into my new house, it was way too big but over time Ive got it down to a nice size, its dense, bushy, lovely lush green glossy leaves, its in full sun one side (south facing) shaded on north side, my soil is on the acidic side, in my opinion they grow better in the ground, but they do respond well to annual pruning. The more you prune, the bushier they get.
Many thanks for watching and taking the time to message.
Bay trees really do enjoy a prune and acidic soil greens them up so quickly.
At a previous place I worked at, there was a bay bush that we kept clipped into a cylinder shape. It was about 18-20 feet in height and positioned to one side of the cottage entrance. It just worked so well to provide structure for the herb garden.
Happy growing and thanks for sharing 🌼🌸
I just got a bay tree from the garden centre, price tag £59.00 reduced to £10! Yellowing leaves and done with holes but looks like it’s very much alive, just needs some tlc. Fingers crossed I keep it alive and got a bargain!
Hi. Thanks for watching and the message. Sounds like a potential bargain.
If required you can still give the plant a light prune to improve shape, whilst removing any dead stems that there may be.
Keep the plant watered and give it an Ericaceous feed. Whilst bay trees don’t need acidic growing conditions the feed will green it up better.
Are the holes in the leaves holes or ‘U’ shaped notches around the edges of the leaves? If they are the U shaped notches then that is from Vine Weevil beetle so you will need to treat the plant promptly.
If holes in the leaves then just look for obviously ‘rolled up’ leaves where you will either find caterpillars or the aphid that is ‘Bay Leaf Sucker’. Again treat accordingly.
If you apply any pesticides to the plant you won’t be able to use the leaves for cooking for a few weeks so pick a few leaves first.
Enjoy your new purchase Chris 🌴
@@diyhomeandgardening yes definitely U shaped bite mark type holes around the edges, seems to be mostly the top half of the plant so have pruned it a bit and removed any dead or ‘holey’ leaves. I’ll have a trip to the garden centre for some feed and weevil treatment tomorrow! Thank you for your response!!
@@ChrisInScotland No problem at all. Enjoy your new plant
How did it go?
Your timing is perfect, thank you. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 My Bay is due for a trim & you’ve reminded me; mine is a bush top to bottom, about 7ft high & very full & shaped like a pear drop - rounded at the bottom & tapering at the top; I really love the look of your ‘standard style’ though so want to have a go on another, smaller bay. Can you strike the prunings as their evergreen habit is great at blocking up gaps in my boundaries?
I always like to get them pruned about now so as to minimise issues with Bay leaf sucker.
At my last place of work we had a bay that we clipped into a conical shape and it was around 20 feet high. They do make a great evergreen hedge too.
If you want to propagate more, the easiest way is through layering.
@@diyhomeandgardening Brilliant thank you; I used to layer loads of plants & would buy packets of hair grips from the chemist for the job but recently I’ve neglected that method of propagation in favour of cuttings, so it’s high time I bought some more hairgrips. 👍🏻👍🏻
@@pennyhoward5753 😂😂
Nice bay trees what size are the pots do you have them in
Hi. Many thanks for watching and for the question.
The plants went into a plastic container that was 65cm wide and tall.
Planted up using a mix of John Innes Number 3 soil and multi purpose compost, roughly 50:50 mixture.
A slow release fertiliser also gets applied twice a year.
Hope that helps 🪴
Just what I needed to see - my back trees are massive but now getting out of hand and I was unsure how far to cut them back. What fertiliser do you give the bay trees?
@@dwjudd Hi David.
Many thanks for watching the video and for your questions.
I would always aim to stick to the rule of only removing a maximum of 1 third by way of volume of the plant.
Start by removing the dead, diseased or damaged stems and then look to see where pruning would best serve you.
When pruning, if you prune side growth then that will encourage more rapid growth to the top of the plant. Equally, if you remove the top then the plant will bush out more quickly and develop more growth to the base of the plant.
If the plant has foliage that looks washed out green or pale yellow then I would suggest giving the plant a liquid feed using an Ericaceous feed. Whilst bay trees do not need acidic conditions they respond quickly to an acidic feed from time to time.
Ordinarily though I would use a more balanced feed of something like fish, blood and bone or Growmore and ensure that the plant is kept on the moist side.
I hope this helps you with your trees 🪴🌻
Thanks - but can I suggest keeping the camera further away so that we can actually SEE the shapes you are making! 😊
Thanks for watching and your message. It’s always difficult to get the balance right between showing exactly what I’m trying to do and the overall effect.
Enjoy your pruning and summer of gardening 🌸🪴
Hello and thanks for the good tips! I have a question about my tree... Its new leaves started to dry out. Old leaves look same as always. At first they developed lighter spots on them. Looks like discoloration and then the lighter spots started to dry. May that be because of not enough light? Looked closely - no bugs or mold can be seen.
Hi. Many thanks for watching and for your questions.
Is you plant in a container or in the ground, and where are you based?
What has the weather been doing?
From your description it does sound as though you have leaf spot which is normally induced by the plant sitting too wet.
Are you on Instagram? If so you can look me up, under my same name, to send a picture of the plant for a better idea on the issue.
All the best 🪴
Very nice video
Thank you, glad you liked it. 👍
Welcome
My bay tree has never really been a ball shape and I'm looking at it now wondering how to get it back to the ball shape. It looks very sparce and even at the moment. Any tips?
Thanks for the message.
I assume the bay is in a pot.
How often do you feed it?
How much water do you give it?
Do you trim it at all?
Even the lightest of pruning will encourage new side shoots to form so it’s worth just pinching out the top tips of the growing shoots.
Keep the plants on the he moist side throughout the year, so check and/or water daily during the summer. Most of the time watering well twice a week is sufficient.
If the plants are pot bound, have out grown the pot they are in, then re pot using a soil based potting medium like John innes.
Apply a slow release fertiliser in April and then again at the start of July. Also apply a liquid feed during the summer, just once a month.
Hope this helps. All the best.
@@diyhomeandgardening Thank you so much. When I bought it 3 years ago I put it in a bigger pot but it has stayed there since. I probably feed it once a fortnight throughout the summer and water it weekly unless it’s very hot then I water daily. I have been too scared to trim it too much as it already looks sparce. I’ll get it re potted and follow your advice on pruning, watering and feeding. Thank you!
@@sadiek82. No problem. It should do well this year.
Can you please confirm that the months mentioned refer to the northern hemisphere? My bay tree is planted in the ground, tropical summer rainfall area in the southern hemisphere. Would a light pruning now (early winter) be ok? Thanks for the great video!
What do you feed a potted standard bay tree with ?
Hi Shaun. Thanks for the question.
I would recommend a few types of feeds as the season changes.
Starting in April/May apply an application of Seaweed extract as that will promote improved plant health, following the harsher winter period.
At the same time a slow release granular feed can also be applied as that will break down over a period of a few months.
In summer months you can add supplementary liquid feeds each month just to promote improvements in growth and vigour.
Make you last feeds in September so as to avoid promoting too much soft growth forming as frost start to occur.
I hope this helps you. All the best, Ian🌳
Thanks for the message. Sounds like you have a system all worked out.
Have you tried using a slow release fertiliser to save some of your liquid feeding?
HELP ! My bay bush doesn’t have just one singular ‘ trunk ‘ coming from the soil but seven thin branch-like saplings, although they’re the same plant. Is this a different variety or is it because it’s been ignored? And how do I prune it? Any input would be grateful Thanks for the video 👍
Bay naturally grows as a bush so what you have is perfectly normal. To get a standard, at growers stage just one stem is retained and grown straight up.
If your plant started as just one clear stem and has subsequently produced lots of base growth then this growth can be removed at the base.
@@diyhomeandgardening Thank you, happy gardening 😎
No problem, glad to help you.
The leaves on my bay tree all turned brown. I have cut them all off, but the branches seem to be brown, not green inside. Does this mean the tree is dead and won’t recover?
Hi David.
Thanks for watching and the message.
Unfortunately if the stem is brown beneath the surface then that part is dead.
I would start at the top of the plant, working my way down to the base, gently scraping the bark to determine if the stem is alive at any point.
If the stem is brown all the way to the base of the plant then dig out and throw away.
If there are decent stems still showing green beneath the surface then it’s worth pruning and see if it recovers.
If it’s in the ground then there is a good chance it has got too wet if you have had a winter and spring as wet as ours.
If in a container then it could be vine weevil damage to the roots, so worth checking if you remove the plant.
Hope this helps 🌼🌸
I thought that you needed to he careful of how much water you give potted bay trees because of black spot formation?
Hi. Thanks for watching and your message.
Bay trees need to be kept on the moist side for good healthy growth. They also require a fair amount of feed too so as to prevent the leaves from becoming more yellow in colour.
Bay plants don’t tend to suffer with leaf issues but can get black marks on the leaves if you have aphid or scale insects, with their excreted waste creating sooty mould on the leaves below.
Hope this helps. All the best 🌻
@@diyhomeandgardening
Sorry, I mistyped. I've not got black spot, I have brown spot.
The leaves have lots of brown dots on, the central veins are going brown and the growth tips have all turned black. Reading up on it, it suggests ill health due to too much water.
Repotted earlier this year.
@@Melusine-Ohara
How big are the plants, how much water are you giving them, how frequently and what size pot are the plants in.
Also, does the pot that the plants are in have drainage holes to the base.
What compost did you use to plant?
Blackening leaves is normally overwatering but we can narrow it down if there is a reason why.
can you sell it to me
😂😂
Thanks for watching and the message. These Bay trees belong to a customer and I started them for her about 20 years ago.
They are easy to look after though so you should definitely grow some for yourself.