Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat

Growing => General Gardening => Topic started by: Spana on May 03, 2010, 20:59

Title: Bay flowers
Post by: Spana on May 03, 2010, 20:59: My bay tree is covered in these lovely little cream and yellow flowers. I've never noticed them before in past years. Do Bay trees flower like this every year and I've just not noticed or is it unusual.
Thanks
(http://i44.tinypic.com/254yaub.jpg)
Title: Re: Bay flowers
Post by: Carrotcake on May 04, 2010, 07:16: Ours flowers and produces fruit that looks like dark green olives every year. I think you might have just missed it before.

Lovely picture, BTW :)
Title: Re: Bay flowers
Post by: JayG on May 04, 2010, 08:15: Mine is flowering now and as far as I can remember it does so every year. Don't recall ever seeing fruits on it; apparently Bay plants are either male or female so mine is presumably either male or looking for lurv! :unsure:
Title: Re: Bay flowers
Post by: Spana on May 04, 2010, 09:50: Quote from: JayG on May 04, 2010, 08:15
Bay plants are either male or female so mine is presumably either male or looking for lurv! :unsure:

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Thats awful, I've been in this house 10years and never noticed it before :blush: and i thought i knew my garden :nowink:

Carrotcake, are the little fruits used for anything?
Title: Re: Bay flowers
Post by: diggerjoe on May 04, 2010, 09:50: One of mine is flowering and the other obviously is far too butch to sport a flower or is it the other way round :wacko: the one that flowers is the one I trim the other is rampant and will be taken in hand this year. I wouldn't be without one in the garden or myrtle the scent of that blossom and the leaves are really addictive.
Title: Re: Bay flowers
Post by: Carrotcake on May 04, 2010, 09:55: Have you tried burning the prunings.They really fill the air with their aroma then!
Title: Re: Bay flowers
Post by: JayG on May 04, 2010, 12:50: A link HERE (http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Laurus+nobilis) about the bay which answers the question about why my tree may be lovesick and also what the fruits (and other parts of the plant) can be used for. :)
Title: Re: Bay flowers
Post by: Carrotcake on May 04, 2010, 15:23: Interesting link JayG. Looks as if it can cure practically anything. I've only ever used the odd leaf in cooking!
Title: Re: Bay flowers
Post by: JayG on May 04, 2010, 15:31: Looking closely, I can see that the flowers on mine have stamens, and the ones on Spana's have ovaries and pistils (hope that's the right terminology!)

So, mine's a boy, and Spana's is a girl! (Still possible to learn something new every day!)

I live in Sheffield and Spana lives in Cornwall so no love match possible, but Bertie Bay (as I will now have to call him!) blows Bessie Bay a kiss anyway!! :)
Title: Re: Bay flowers
Post by: diggerjoe on May 04, 2010, 15:36: Interesting that bit on the link about keeping pests at bay. My mum used to keep sprigs of dried bay on the cupboard where she stored her flour as she said it kept the flour weevils out. I wonder how many many ended up in the baking - all nutrition I suppose :D
Title: Re: Bay flowers
Post by: Spana on May 04, 2010, 16:15: Quote from: JayG on May 04, 2010, 15:31
Bertie Bay blows Bessie Bay a kiss anyway!! :)

Carried on the wind and Bessie's gone all coy ::)
Title: Re: Bay flowers
Post by: JayG on May 04, 2010, 18:33: Quote from: Spana on May 04, 2010, 16:15
Quote from: JayG on May 04, 2010, 15:31
Bertie Bay blows Bessie Bay a kiss anyway!! :)

Carried on the wind and Bessie's gone all coy ::)

Let's just hope that Bertie doesn't fall into a long, deep sleep and Bessie doesn't lie down and think of England!!!! :wacko: :lol:
Title: Re: Bay flowers
Post by: sunshineband on May 04, 2010, 19:16: When you start reading a thread from the end backwards you can get a strange idea about what it is actually about :lol: :lol: :lol: