"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message
...

In article ,
"Mary Fisher" writes:
| "Graham" wrote in message
| news:qSdxk.259806$gc5.201181@pd7urf2no...
| I have a bay laurel in a pot in the kitchen window (killer frosts are
| predicted this week and the winter her is severe) and, after a season
of
| vigorous growth, it needs cutting back and shaping.
| What is the best time for pruning?
|
| I'm not in your part of the world but my bay is in a pot outside and
in
| comparitive shade from sun and has withstood frosts, drought, wet,
rain,
| wet, damp, rain (the last five this summer) and it's never suffered.
I've
| never pruned it - except of course for removing the odd leaves for
culinary
| use.

Bay can't take hard frosts. In a pot, it can be killed by sustained
periods of below -10, and it always suffers even from short ones of
below -15.

Anyway, you can prune it whenever you like - it is a good hedging
plant and will regrow from both new and old wood.

I noticed a neighbour's today, it must be 20' high, it was a small shrub
when she planted it. It's at the bottom of her garden and never gets any sun
at its lower half.

But the OP said that the bay was on a kitchen windowsill - surely it
wouldn't get as low as -10C indoors?

Mary


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.