Why can't I keep bay alive?

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shokkyy

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Why can't I keep bay alive?
« on: April 15, 2012, 01:09 »
In 2010 I bought a nice bay pot plant from a garden centre, decent size. I potted it on into a nice big pot in a very sheltered spot on the patio, and in the winter it didn't quite die but lost all its leaves and the following spring/summer limped along for a while with a single stem still green until I gave up on it. In 2011 I bought 2 smaller bay pot plants, which I repotted and left in the polytunnel over winter. And guess what, they didn't quite die but all the leaves are dead and there's just a tiny bit of green stem left on both plants. Now, it isn't local weather conditions because my next door neighbour has a thriving bay in their garden that stands about 12 feet tall and wide, definitely a proper culinary bay. What on earth am I doing wrong?

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chriscross1966

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Re: Why can't I keep bay alive?
« Reply #1 on: April 15, 2012, 02:09 »
Ditto... mine was fine until about a week before the frost, then upped adn died on me....

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New shoot

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Re: Why can't I keep bay alive?
« Reply #2 on: April 15, 2012, 06:45 »
Bay can be damaged by any temperatures below -5 but it does seem to harden up as it gets more mature.

I have several large bay bushes in my garden - originally from one of the small square pots you can get from garden centres which look like a small shrub, but are usually a pot full of rooted cuttings.  They came through OK with just a few damaged leaves and once separated and potted on, grow very fast.  Maybe try these  :)

The little shaped ones are softer - probably because they are grown soft before they are shipped to the UK.  We have lost a fair few over winter at work, despite them being under cover. 

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goodtogrow

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Re: Why can't I keep bay alive?
« Reply #3 on: April 15, 2012, 09:04 »
I think the problem lies in the pot, probably pests attacking the (young) root system.

Container-grown trees have been a problem for me too.  Water, aeration and nutrition are all more difficult to control in a pot, compared with in the open ground.

I've taken to planting my young trees in the open ground for the first two years, and under-cutting the root system with a spade at the end of the first year, so as to stop tap-rooting and encourage a fibrous root system suitable for growing on in a container.

Tom
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sunshineband

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Re: Why can't I keep bay alive?
« Reply #4 on: April 15, 2012, 09:08 »
I have a lollipop that comes through evryhting just fine, and one in an old plastic pot, ditto

The large one in the ground bought it last winter (2010/11).... no rhyme or reason.

New Shoot knows her stuff so I'd follow her advice if t'were me  :)
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Hobnails

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Re: Why can't I keep bay alive?
« Reply #5 on: April 15, 2012, 18:33 »
Mine has also been devastated by the February freeze.
It's planted in the ground, thirty feet tall and been there for a good many years, but all the leaves are browned off and the plant is looking dead.
That arctic blast has taken its toll on most of the bays- all mature and planted in the ground and we're sitting with fingers and toes crossed that they will show some signs of life.
Little by little a bird makes its nest!

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strangerachael

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Re: Why can't I keep bay alive?
« Reply #6 on: April 15, 2012, 18:49 »
I have exactly the same problem Shokkyy - just can't keep them alive no matter what I do or what the conditions are.  :(
Rachael

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heloise

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Re: Why can't I keep bay alive?
« Reply #7 on: April 15, 2012, 20:12 »
Me too, never been able to keep it.

I thought it was just me...


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