Half dead bay

whistler-alison

Hi - I have a bushy bay tree which looks half dead - especially the top half (it about 3ft) I bought it last year and never repotted it and I think the hot weather we had last month took its toil. I repotted it on Sunday and gave it a good water. Should I cut the dead stuff off or just leave it be and hope for the best? Thanks

Jillinoz

Hello

I was wondering if there was an MSE - and chemical free - way to tackle the 'sticky' blight that is suddenly affecting my bay tree? I've had the tree for about three years now and it seemed to thrive on my south-facing roof terrace, but in the last couple of weeks it's become sick. I can't see any sign of any mites affecting the tree, but the leaves are sticky to the touch, so much so that the tree is now attracting wasps by the dozen. Any advice?

Thanks

Jillinoz

artha

Jillinoz wrote: »

Hello

I was wondering if there was an MSE - and chemical free - way to tackle the 'sticky' blight that is suddenly affecting my bay tree? I've had the tree for about three years now and it seemed to thrive on my south-facing roof terrace, but in the last couple of weeks it's become sick. I can't see any sign of any mites affecting the tree, but the leaves are sticky to the touch, so much so that the tree is now attracting wasps by the dozen. Any advice?

Thanks

Jillinoz

Sounds like scale insect to me...it's a common pest on bay trees. Have a look at the undersides of the leaves and you should see brown scales. These are insects in a protective shell and produce excretia that is known as "honeydew". This is attractive to wasps but also encourages dark sooty mould to grow. If you don't want to use pesticide then try physically removing the scales and washing the leaves with soapy water applied as a spray

Lord_Gardener

I agree with artha - I find using a bucket of hot water/washing up liquid and a sponge to wipe the leaves - top and bottom - is most effective (you'll need the physical action of the sponge to remove the little blighters!). You will need to repeat the process a number of times to break the egg cycle.

daisymaisy123

Hi there I just spotted my bay tree in the conservatory and the leaves are all curled and crumbly and brown.
The soil is fine and is watered once a week or so.
Any ideas what's wrong with it.

Mr_Warren_2

The tree is hungry and you should feed it with a general plant food stuff. My Bay tree is sited next to my compost bin.....cant stop it growing.

Gebo26

It's dead.

If it has been in the conservatory for some time and only been watered once a week or so then it may have dried out during a hot spell. This could have been several weeks ago even though it has only recently shown any symptoms. Bay trees don't like to be dry even for a short time, but they don't like to be waterlogged either.

I would chuck it out and get a new one.

As Mr Warren says, they do need regular feeding as well as watering, but I wouldn't start feeding now until the early spring.

Good luck!

Lord_Gardener

Check that the branches are still flexible. If so, then put it outside and give it a good watering and leave until spring when new growth should appear.

Debt_Free_Chick

Find a branch near the main stem. Gently scrape the bark with your fingernail (or a sharp knife).

If it's moist underneath, then it's still alive - otherwise, it's a gonner

Our village pub has a beautiful bay tree, as big as the building, so they definitely do well outside. You can see it in the top left hand corner of this page.

p.s. No, I'm not the artist whose work is displayed in the Gallery, with a link so you can buy. But I did commission the Sussex Landscape in the bottom left corner

ampersand

I have 2 bays in large pots.
When I returned after time away a few months back, one looked brown/dead.
I pruned back to nodules and within a fortnight new leaves had sprouted. It's fine now.
The other one dates back over 10 years and was snowed to 'death'. The same cutback procedure restored it and all continues well.
Have no fear - just start with secaturs at a dead-looking stem and descend a few inches with each cut until you hit green bark and whitish middle. Then look for an outward-facing bud/nodule. Cut about an inch/2.5cms above this, then go to the next 'dead' stem/twig and repeat.
Also - has it outgrown its pot?

lolarentt

I start small bays in pots, but they need moving to bigger pots as they grow, otherwise they'll get root bound. Unless you're trying to train it into something like a 'standard' I'd plant it outside once it gets big - they'll carry on forever in the open, unless you're in a very high frost area when you could get parts that die off. These can be cut back as detailed in earlier replies