"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.

Thanks, Nick! I'll wait until the new leaves have "hardened" a bit so that
they can be dried for future use.
Graham