Hello all. My tree is several years old, in a pot. Despite my neglect, it
has survived hot GA summers and frosts in the winter. I can't remember
ever cutting it back.

How would you experienced bay tree growers go about cleaning this guy up.
The main trunk of it is about 4-5 feet high, with a couple of shorter
pieces coming up from the root. It just looks really leggy and rough. Can
I safely just whack this tree down to a foot or so (or even more) and
count on it restarting itself in the spring?

--
"Because all you of Earth are idiots!"
¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·- freemont© -·´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯

Do you mean BayBerry? If so, yes, but wait until spring. It does well
as a trimmed shrub. Smells good too!

John!



freemont wrote:
Hello all. My tree is several years old, in a pot. Despite my neglect, it
has survived hot GA summers and frosts in the winter. I can't remember
ever cutting it back.

How would you experienced bay tree growers go about cleaning this guy up.
The main trunk of it is about 4-5 feet high, with a couple of shorter
pieces coming up from the root. It just looks really leggy and rough. Can
I safely just whack this tree down to a foot or so (or even more) and
count on it restarting itself in the spring?

On Tue, 22 Nov 2005 20:54:41 -0500, GA Pinhead wrote:

Do you mean BayBerry? If so, yes, but wait until spring. It does well as
a trimmed shrub. Smells good too!

heh... no, this is a Sweet Bay tree, you know, you throw the leaves into
sauces and stock. Yummy.

I've uploaded a pic he

http://www.freewebs.com/freemont/bay.jpg

That is one ugly plant. What can I do to help him?

--
"Because all you of Earth are idiots!"
¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·- freemont© -·´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯

Ah, yes, also trim it during the growing season. I'd leave it a couple
of feet tall at least until it starts growing in the spring. Then you
can cut back as needed for height.

Looks like you'll have lots of bay leaves to give away!

John!

freemont wrote:
On Tue, 22 Nov 2005 20:54:41 -0500, GA Pinhead wrote:


Do you mean BayBerry? If so, yes, but wait until spring. It does well as
a trimmed shrub. Smells good too!


heh... no, this is a Sweet Bay tree, you know, you throw the leaves into
sauces and stock. Yummy.

I've uploaded a pic he

http://www.freewebs.com/freemont/bay.jpg

That is one ugly plant. What can I do to help him?

On Tue, 22 Nov 2005 21:26:00 -0500, GA Pinhead wrote:

Ah, yes, also trim it during the growing season. I'd leave it a couple of
feet tall at least until it starts growing in the spring. Then you can cut
back as needed for height.

Looks like you'll have lots of bay leaves to give away!

So you think I can go ahead NOW and cut down to a couple feet on both
those big parts and it'll be fine? I hate to hurt this fella, he's been
real patient with me.

Also- say I cut off a 2-3 foot piece of bay tree. Will it make roots in a
glass of water? Or is that a waste of time? Mama might like a bay tree. :-)

Thanks for your time.

--
"Because all you of Earth are idiots!"
¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·- freemont© -·´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯

freemont wrote:
On Tue, 22 Nov 2005 21:26:00 -0500, GA Pinhead wrote:


Ah, yes, also trim it during the growing season. I'd leave it a couple of
feet tall at least until it starts growing in the spring. Then you can cut
back as needed for height.

Looks like you'll have lots of bay leaves to give away!


So you think I can go ahead NOW and cut down to a couple feet on both
those big parts and it'll be fine? I hate to hurt this fella, he's been
real patient with me.

Yes, it should be ok. You might want to wait a couple more weeks for
full dormancy to be safer.


Also- say I cut off a 2-3 foot piece of bay tree. Will it make roots in a
glass of water? Or is that a waste of time? Mama might like a bay tree. :-)


I would doubt it. Probably soft wood cuttings would be best, but that
is a pure guess. Layering would be your best bet next year when it
starts to grow tall again. Bend a branch over, pin it down and cover
with soil. Bet that would work. Google would probably yield some
"real" propagation tips.

Thanks for your time.


More than welcome from NE GA!

John!

On Tue, 22 Nov 2005 22:39:03 -0500, GA Pinhead wrote:

freemont wrote:
On Tue, 22 Nov 2005 21:26:00 -0500, GA Pinhead wrote:


Ah, yes, also trim it during the growing season. I'd leave it a couple
of feet tall at least until it starts growing in the spring. Then you
can cut back as needed for height.

Looks like you'll have lots of bay leaves to give away!


So you think I can go ahead NOW and cut down to a couple feet on both
those big parts and it'll be fine? I hate to hurt this fella, he's been
real patient with me.

Yes, it should be ok. You might want to wait a couple more weeks for full
dormancy to be safer.


Also- say I cut off a 2-3 foot piece of bay tree. Will it make roots in
a glass of water? Or is that a waste of time? Mama might like a bay
tree. :-)


I would doubt it. Probably soft wood cuttings would be best, but that is
a pure guess. Layering would be your best bet next year when it starts to
grow tall again. Bend a branch over, pin it down and cover with soil.
Bet that would work. Google would probably yield some "real" propagation
tips.

Thanks for your time.


More than welcome from NE GA!

John!

I've got family up there, on Mama's side. Around Buchanan and Cedartown.
Small world, eh?

--
"Because all you of Earth are idiots!"
¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·- freemont© -·´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯

Well, that is NW GA, we are near Gainesville, the other side of the state.

John!



More than welcome from NE GA!

John!


I've got family up there, on Mama's side. Around Buchanan and Cedartown.
Small world, eh?

On Wed, 23 Nov 2005 09:33:56 -0500, GA Pinhead wrote:

Well, that is NW GA, we are near Gainesville, the other side of the state.

D'oh!!

ummm... not enough coffee this a.m. obviously.

Ok, thanks again!

--
"Because all you of Earth are idiots!"
¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·- freemont© -·´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯

Well,
Why if you live in Georgia would you punish a bay tree for so long in a
pot? Why not plant that baby and let her grow big and strong? We are in
Dallas (TX) and have grown bay trees for over 15 years. The ones in pots
will do alright, but the ones in the ground do great and over- winter with
no problem. Our biggest one is over 12 feet tall. Cutting them back is no
problem either. You can be brutal in cutting them back without feeling bad
about it. We had one that was about 5 feet tall and had suffered some
drought damage as a result of being in a pot and not getting enough water.
In my experience, they love water, but can't handle getting dry. At any
rate, we cut the 1" stalks all back to within 6" of the ground and watered
heavily. Soon we had a flourishing bay tree, as it is today.
Now, regarding the cuttings. That is a different story. My wife was quite
proud of herself (rightly so) after she did some cuttings and propagated
them to full trees. Her best results came from cuttings no larger in
diameter than about 1/4" to 3/8" simply stuck into some nice compost laden
soil and kept moist, and kept in a warm environment. I suggest keeping them
covered with some sort of "tent" to retain the moisture. Be very patient,
as bays are slow growers, but it's not rocket surgery. Once you see new
shoots, and hopefully new shoots from the roots, just transplant them. They
don't need babying, just good water and a nice organic fertilizing now and
then.
Enjoy them and good luck.
Thomas
"freemont" wrote in message
news
Hello all. My tree is several years old, in a pot. Despite my neglect, it
has survived hot GA summers and frosts in the winter. I can't remember
ever cutting it back.

How would you experienced bay tree growers go about cleaning this guy up.
The main trunk of it is about 4-5 feet high, with a couple of shorter
pieces coming up from the root. It just looks really leggy and rough. Can
I safely just whack this tree down to a foot or so (or even more) and
count on it restarting itself in the spring?

--
"Because all you of Earth are idiots!"
¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·- freemont© -·´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯

freemontm On Wed, 23 Nov 2005 09:33:56 -0500, GA Pinhead wrote:

Well, that is NW GA, we are near Gainesville, the other side of the state.

D'oh!!

ummm... not enough coffee this a.m. obviously.

Ok, thanks again!

--
"Because all you of Earth are idiots!"
¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·- freemont© -·´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯



http://www.gardenaction.co.uk/fruit_...ber_3_bay2.asp
hope this helps u some with your bay leaf tree. good luck, sockiescat.

On Sun, 27 Nov 2005 21:49:58 -0600, Thomas wrote:

Well,
Why if you live in Georgia would you punish a bay tree for so long in
a
pot? Why not plant that baby and let her grow big and strong? We are in
Dallas (TX) and have grown bay trees for over 15 years. The ones in pots
will do alright, but the ones in the ground do great and over- winter with
no problem. Our biggest one is over 12 feet tall. Cutting them back is
no problem either. You can be brutal in cutting them back without feeling
bad about it. We had one that was about 5 feet tall and had suffered some
drought damage as a result of being in a pot and not getting enough water.
In my experience, they love water, but can't handle getting dry. At any
rate, we cut the 1" stalks all back to within 6" of the ground and watered
heavily. Soon we had a flourishing bay tree, as it is today. Now,
regarding the cuttings. That is a different story. My wife was quite
proud of herself (rightly so) after she did some cuttings and propagated
them to full trees. Her best results came from cuttings no larger in
diameter than about 1/4" to 3/8" simply stuck into some nice compost laden
soil and kept moist, and kept in a warm environment. I suggest keeping
them covered with some sort of "tent" to retain the moisture. Be very
patient, as bays are slow growers, but it's not rocket surgery. Once you
see new shoots, and hopefully new shoots from the roots, just transplant
them. They don't need babying, just good water and a nice organic
fertilizing now and then.
Enjoy them and good luck.
Thomas

Thanks, good stuff there. I'm keeping this one in a pot just because I
don't intend to live here forever and I'd like to take him with me
wherever I may go. He and my asparagus fern are the only plants I've had
to survive this long in a pot; all the others died due to negligence.
(mostly herbs)

"rocket surgery"... heheh

--
"Because all you of Earth are idiots!"
¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·- freemont© -·´¯`·.¸¸.·´¯