Posted by under par on September 17, 2010, 4:52 pm
Hello all,
This is my 1st post on this forum so please no newbie bullying.
I've been given a relatively mature Bay tree (approx 1.25m high) by a
kind
customer of mine. She has had it from seed but in recent years has
let her
garden including the Bay go due to ill health.
Its in a rather large pot but the roots are protruding through the top
of the
soil. I plan to re-pot it in a larger pot adding more soil that
will hopefully
introduce more nutrition to the root structure. Is this
the right thing to do
and am I going about it the right way?
Which soil would suit a Bay tree? What should I avoid and avoid doing?
--
under par
Posted by Dan L on September 17, 2010, 11:24 pm
> Hello all,
>
> This is my 1st post on this forum so please no newbie bullying.
>
> I've been given a relatively mature Bay tree (approx 1.25m high) by a
> kind customer of mine. She has had it from seed but in recent years
> has
> let her garden including the Bay go due to ill health.
>
> Its in a rather large pot but the roots are protruding through the top
> of the soil. I plan to re-pot it in a larger pot adding more soil that
> will hopefully introduce more nutrition to the root structure. Is this
> the right thing to do and am I going about it the right way?
>
> Which soil would suit a Bay tree? What should I avoid and avoid doing?
>
I am not an expert on trees. I looked up bay trees on wikipedia those
trees can get to be 18 meters tall. Putting the tree in a larger pot
will cause the tree to get larger, if that is what you want. One can
limit the size of a tree by keeping the root ball small. If you like
the size of the tree now, trim the rootball to fit the existing pot. But
beware, trimming off too much of the root ball could make things worse.
The soil should be replaced with fresh soil every year. Potting soil
should work. Using a heavier garden soil does not do as well for indoor
pots. Could plant the tree outside in the ground if your region is in
the mediterranean.
Others here may want to know what size of pot is in it now and how big
of a pot you were planning to put it in? Is the plant outside or
inside? In the shade or sun?
The tree according to wikipedia, the tree is native to the
Mediterranean, are you from that region or a much colder climate?
I am sure others here may provide additional advice that I may have
missed or needs to be corrected.
--
Enjoy Life... Dan L (Garden in zone 5a Michigan)
Posted by Dan L on September 17, 2010, 11:26 pm
> Hello all,
>
> This is my 1st post on this forum so please no newbie bullying.
>
> I've been given a relatively mature Bay tree (approx 1.25m high) by a
> kind customer of mine. She has had it from seed but in recent years
> has
> let her garden including the Bay go due to ill health.
>
> Its in a rather large pot but the roots are protruding through the top
> of the soil. I plan to re-pot it in a larger pot adding more soil that
> will hopefully introduce more nutrition to the root structure. Is this
> the right thing to do and am I going about it the right way?
>
> Which soil would suit a Bay tree? What should I avoid and avoid doing?
>
I am not an expert on trees. I looked up bay trees on wikipedia those
trees can get to be 18 meters tall. Putting the tree in a larger pot
will cause the tree to get larger, if that is what you want. One can
limit the size of a tree by keeping the root ball small. If you like
the size of the tree now, trim the rootball to fit the existing pot. But
beware, trimming off too much of the root ball could make things worse.
The soil should be replaced with fresh soil every year. Potting soil
should work. Using a heavier garden soil does not do as well for indoor
pots. Could plant the tree outside in the ground if your region is in
the mediterranean.
Others here may want to know what size of pot is in it now and how big
of a pot you were planning to put it in? Is the plant outside or
inside? In the shade or sun?
The tree according to wikipedia, the tree is native to the
Mediterranean, are you from that region or a much colder climate?
I am sure others here may provide additional advice that I may have
missed or needs to be corrected.
--
Enjoy Life... Dan L (Garden in zone 5a Michigan)
Posted by lannerman on September 18, 2010, 3:53 pm
'Dan L[_2_ Wrote:
> ;900622']under par under.par.709cde6@gardenbanter.co.uk
wrote:-
> Hello all,
>
> This is my 1st post on this forum so please no newbie bullying.
>
> I've been given a relatively mature Bay tree (approx 1.25m high) by a
> kind customer of mine. She has had it from seed but in recent years
> has
> let her garden including the Bay go due to ill health.
>
> Its in a rather large pot but the roots are protruding through the top
> of the soil. I plan to re-pot it in a larger pot adding more soil that
> will hopefully introduce more nutrition to the root structure. Is this
> the right thing to do and am I going about it the right way?
>
> Which soil would suit a Bay tree? What should I avoid and avoid doing?
> -
> I am not an expert on trees. I looked up bay trees on wikipedia those
> trees can get to be 18 meters tall. Putting the tree in a larger pot
> will cause the tree to get larger, if that is what you want. One can
> limit the size of a tree by keeping the root ball small. If you like
> the size of the tree now, trim the rootball to fit the existing pot.
> But
> beware, trimming off too much of the root ball could make things worse.
> The soil should be replaced with fresh soil every year. Potting soil
> should work. Using a heavier garden soil does not do as well for indoor
> pots. Could plant the tree outside in the ground if your region is in
> the mediterranean.
>
> Others here may want to know what size of pot is in it now and how big
> of a pot you were planning to put it in? Is the plant outside or
> inside? In the shade or sun?
> The tree according to wikipedia, the tree is native to the
> Mediterranean, are you from that region or a much colder climate?
>
> I am sure others here may provide additional advice that I may have
> missed or needs to be corrected.
>
> --
> Enjoy Life... Dan L (Garden in zone 5a Michigan)
Hi Under Par, I grow loads of bay trees in pots, mainly for resale down
here in
Cornwall. As you are in Bournemouth, it will be fine as regards
hardiness!! I
would suggest that the best time to repot it would be in
the spring around the
end of March and depending on how it looks, that
would be the time to prune it
or shape it as well. I would use any
balanced compost, as long as its both well
drained for winter and also
that it holds the moisture in summer. One tip i can
give you is to not
fill the pot right to the brim, leave at least 2 -3 inches
between the
compost and pot rim so that in very dry weather, you can fill this
with
water to give it a good drink!! I use 'miracle grow' liquid feed on mine
and give them a feed monthly but only up until end of july as i dont
want them
going into winter still making lots of soft growth that may be
more easily
dammaged by adverse weather! In subsequent years, I would
prune them both in
March and again the first week of August, that later
trim helps to keep them
very compact. Finally, the only other problem
that you may encounter is that
they tend to send up lots of suckers from
the base, now if your growing it as a
bush, this wont be a problem but
if its on a clean stem, then these suckers can
be a nuisance.
best wishes and good luck, Lannerman
--
lannerman
Posted by under par on September 18, 2010, 6:06 pm
lannerman;900669 Wrote:
> Hi Under Par, I grow loads of bay trees in pots,
mainly for resale down
> here in Cornwall. As you are in Bournemouth, it will be
fine as regards
> hardiness!! I would suggest that the best time to repot it
would be in
> the spring around the end of March and depending on how it looks,
that
> would be the time to prune it or shape it as well. I would use any
>
balanced compost, as long as its both well drained for winter and also
> that it
holds the moisture in summer. One tip i can give you is to not
> fill the pot
right to the brim, leave at least 2 -3 inches between the
> compost and pot rim
so that in very dry weather, you can fill this with
> water to give it a good
drink!! I use 'miracle grow' liquid feed on mine
> and give them a feed monthly
but only up until end of july as i dont
> want them going into winter still
making lots of soft growth that may be
> more easily damaged by adverse weather!
In subsequent years, I would
> prune them both in March and again the first
week of August, that later
> trim helps to keep them very compact. Finally, the
only other problem
> that you may encounter is that they tend to send up lots of
suckers from
> the base, now if your growing it as a bush, this wont be a
problem but
> if its on a clean stem, then these suckers can be a nuisance.
> best wishes and good luck, Lannerman
Thank you so much for the replies That is just the info I was after
Lannerman.
The only reason I was going to re pot the tree was it don't
look to good and I
thought re poting it would help. So from what you
said I should just leave it be
for now and address it in the spring with
a feed and prune if needed, I doubt
the prune will be necessary yet as
there are not many leaves on it at present :(
.
You mentioned suckers. Sorry new to gardening so could you explain what
you
mean? The tree is on a clean stem. I will upload a pic tomorrow if I
get the
camera working.
--
under par
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>
> This is my 1st post on this forum so please no newbie bullying.
>
> I've been given a relatively mature Bay tree (approx 1.25m high) by a
> kind customer of mine. She has had it from seed but in recent years
> has
> let her garden including the Bay go due to ill health.
>
> Its in a rather large pot but the roots are protruding through the top
> of the soil. I plan to re-pot it in a larger pot adding more soil that
> will hopefully introduce more nutrition to the root structure. Is this
> the right thing to do and am I going about it the right way?
>
> Which soil would suit a Bay tree? What should I avoid and avoid doing?
>