Bay is one of those plant that attracts ornamental cultivator and herb nurseryman likewise .
That ’s because it serve as a beautiful addition to the garden , and it ’s also one of those plants that ’s essential for any serious home plate cook .
You might be wondering if you could grow bay ( also known as fresh bay or bay laurel ) in a container as an addition to your patio vegetable garden .
Photo by Kristine Lofgren.
Or perhaps you want a set of graceful topiaries to compose your doorway .
Perhaps you have limited quad , and want to make the most of it with a works that can do double obligation .
Regardless , bay is the answer . It ’s so versatile that you’re able to grow it as a bonsai on a windowsill , or let it sprawl out into a tree for your patio in a half - bbl planter .
Photo by Kristine Lofgren.
No one even has to know that you’re able to alsoharvest the leavesfrom this gorgeous ornamental plant to make your meals extra tasty .
If you ’re ready to get your potted bay started , here ’s what I ’ll cover in this article :
What You’ll Learn
I ’m a sports fan of container growing because it lets you move your plant around as necessitate , and the tasty herbs are easy to access when it ’s clip to get wangle .
Laurus nobilis , in particular , is one of those container plants that I ’m never without .
Whether I have one growing on my windowsill in a downtown condo , or outdoors on my patio , I always have a daub for beautiful alcove .
That way , no matter where I am , I always have something green around that I can cook with , or I can just enjoy its beauty and redolence if I ’m not in the humor for stew .
quick to get started ?
Choosing a Container
The range of available option is extremely wide when it comes to choose a container to grow this plant life .
Bay laurel can handle cramped feet , but it utterly ca n’t manage wet ones . Whatever container you select , it must have a drain hole for every 12 straightforward inches of surface area .
The container materialdoesn’t topic as much as the availability of adequate drainage , but if you typically get a lot of rainwater in your area , you might need to go with unglazed terra - cotta .
These type of pots dry out faster than sealed containers like glazed ceramic , credit card , or cement .
More frequent watering might be necessary as a result , but this will also avail to ascertain that your flora are n’t overly concentrated .
The size of container you should choose varies , depending on how large you want to let your tree grow . Yes , that ’s right . I said tree .
A 24 - in pot is adequate if you want a fledged tree that is about five or six feet grandiloquent . But you could take a tiny six - inch bonsai pot instead , and keep your plant pruned to under a fundament marvellous .
Another important factor to consider is whether or not you will postulate to take your container indoors in the winter .
If you live in a cooler growing zone , make certain you may either lift the container , or place it on a pushcart that ’s on wheel so you may maneuver it inwardly .
I find a seven - gallon green goddess that ’s 14 inches in diameter to be about proper . At this size , I can move the works around easily , and I still get enough leaves off my two - foot - tall shrub to satisfy all my cookery needs for a crime syndicate of two . You really only take a mates of leafage at a time .
Keep weight and symmetry in thinker . You do n’t need to rent your tree grow larger than the container can manage , or you start the risk of it tipping over in a strong wind .
A six - understructure tree in a skinny , 12 - column inch - marvelous container is probable to tap . So is a six - animal foot tree in a five - gallon charge plate bath .
If you want to expend a small container for aesthetic reasons , be trusted that it is heavy . opt cement or something similar .
Varieties to Select
One of my favored thing about true laurel is that it ’s a ho-hum cultivator and lends itself nicely to pruning .
You ’ll often see it used in topiary . And you may even prune a bay laurel into abonsai Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree .
The reason I mention this is that bay ’s outgrowth wont imply you may plant any variety in a container , so long as you are willing to commit to pruning .
Laurus nobilis
you may obtain stock bay laurel plantsavailable at Burpee .
There are a few other option out there in term of cultivar . Here are a few of my favorites :
Angustifolia
Willow leaf bay , as this cultivar is also known , continue quite thick for a bay industrial plant . It rarely reach taller than 20 feet , and has minute leave that resemble those of awillow tree .
Aurea
This cultivar stay put a snatch short than the usual specie plant , topping out at 30 foot grandiloquent .
Also known as golden bay , It makes a particularly attractive container option to keep on a patio or near a doorway because of its bright golden - chicken leaves .
Crispa
This is one of the most summary bay laurel varieties , growing only 15 feet tall at most .
It has leave that are undulating and wavy at the edge ( hence its common name , wavy bay ) , which tally a overnice touch of texture to apotted herbaceous plant garden .
Planting
Whether youstart your true laurel from seed , purchase a transplant , orstart a sprout from a cutting , the homework piece of work is the same .
First things first , ensure you start up with a clean container . I like to apply a 1:10 mixed bag of bleach and water to pass over down the container , and then rent it dry out .
If you are plant in a large container , place it in its permanent blot . embayment needs full Sunday or partial sun for a minimum of five hr of unmediated sunlight each twenty-four hour period .
If you are grow it indoors , locate it by a promising window with a south or southwestern exposure .
It can withstand some wind , so long as you ’ve break up the correct size container , and one that is heavy enough to forestall tipping .
Next , fulfil the container with potting grunge . I care to use a combination of one part cactus mix combined with four partsall - purpose potting grime .
This provide a well - draining soil that can still keep enough water to keep your flora happy .
Work in somebone mealor all - intent fertilizer made specifically for container plants to commence , following the manufacturer ’s guidepost for novel plantings .
Next , plant your seedlings oryour transplantin the container and water well .
I usually start each plant in a container expectant enough to accommodate it for several year . When my bay is untested , I like to plant it next to another herb that has standardized growing requisite , such as salvia or rosemary .
That way , I can delight the nip of a combination of tasty companion herb , and I ’m not languish a net ton of space throughout the years it takes for the bay works to mature .
This also helps prevent oversaturation of the land and root rot , which can happen when a small plant life is develop alone in a turgid container .
After a yr or two , I re - home the fellow traveller flora and allow the bay do its thing .
Container Care
Give your industrial plant water supply on a regular schedule , but not too much . You desire to allow the top in or two of the land to dry out out in between watering .
I ca n’t stress enough that you do n’t require to overwater your bay industrial plant ! It ’s a small harder to overwater outside , but it ’s still possible .
You want to err on the side of not enough body of water , rather than providing too much . This plant is sensible to wet foot and it will choke if the roots quell moist for too long .
fecundate your industrial plant every two months during the bounce , summertime , and fall . You want to apply a fertilizer that ’s high in nitrogen and made for use in container .
Neptune ’s harvesting Pisces and Seaweed Fertilizer
I like to use a Pisces and seaweed fertiliser likethis one , usable at Terrain , but this can be a bit too stinky for habit indoors .
If you want to avoid the smell and you ’re grow indoor plants , opt for a slow - liberation , high atomic number 7 fertilizer pellet rather .
During the wintertime months , you wo n’t necessitate to fertilize your works .
If you are growing indoors year - round and design to keep your works powder compact , opt for a bonsai fertilizer , which has a sluggish vent expression made for plants with contained roots .
If you endure inUSDA Hardiness Zones6 and lower , you ’ll require to bring your true laurel indoors during the wintertime .
Before impart it deep down , step by step acclimatize the plant to its new surroundings by placing it in a shady part of the garden , or hatch lightly with a fabric for a few hours per day .
Over the course of two to three weeks , increase the amount of time the tree spend in the subtlety .
It ’s also a good idea to prune off any bushed or discolored leaf , and remove any plague from the industrial plant .
Once indoors , your industrial plant will go abeyant if you put it in a cool spot with only a few hours of indirect sunshine . If you do this , do n’t fertilize it and water only once every other week . The soil should be completely dry between watering .
If you put the plant life in a warm country where it gets direct sunshine , plow it as you would outdoors , watering regularly .
In the leaping , check your flora over for any winter damage and prune away any offset that await numb or unhealthy . check that you clean yourpruning shearsor clippers with a bleach solution to avoid introduce bacteria to the plants .
You ’ll also desire to prune your plant on a regular basis .
For more elaborate info on how to prune your bay tree , see our template .
Here are the basics :
At the end of summer , tidy your industrial plant andset them up for the winter . Simply use a pair of shear and shape them , not removing more than 1/4 of the leafage at a time .
Do n’t flip those pruned leaves ! cling them and let them dry to use in cookery .
Bay can handle being a bit solution bind , so you do n’t need to repot it often , especially if you keep up with the pruning .
Every few year , you may trade up to a slightly orotund container , but keep in mind that many hoi polloi keep their laurels pruned back to stay in the same potty for up to a decade .
Troubleshooting Tips
Container plants front many of the same issue that embed produce in the ground do . Ourguide to develop baycan walk you through some of the thing to wait out for .
One of the most common problems for container - get plants is a want of food . L. nobilisis a heavy tributary , and if it does n’t get the nutrient it involve , you ’ll start to see excessive leaf yellowing and browned speckle .
Another potential trouble , as I mentioned antecedently , is poor drainage . parting will sour chickenhearted , they may develop position , and the whole works may start to wait stunt and droopy .
If this happens , remove the plant from its pot , work in some grit or sand , and repot in a larger container with plenty of drainage holes .
Before repotting , check for signs of beginning rot , and remove any damaged portions . You may want to replace the stain completely if it ’s oversaturated .
Do n’t vex if you see a few leave turning white-livered and falling off . This is normal .
But if more than five to 10 parting fall off of a two - foot - tall George W. Bush at the same time , it ’s time to check the drainage and make certain you ’re feed your plant enough .
Indoor Plant Problems
Most plants that are growing indoors are susceptible to aphids and spider mites , and mellisonant bay laurel is no exception . Keep an eye out for signs of these plague .
Aphids , from the mob Aphididae , are lilliputian sap - sucking insects that originate to about 1/8 column inch long .
You ’ll usually see abstemious green aphid if they infest a potted plant indoors , but they can be pink , white , grayish , black , or tan as well . These insects can do aerobatics or foliage drib .
You ’ll often pick out these bug on the undersurface of leaves , or you may see honeydew , the sticky residue that they leave behind .
Put your bay in the sink or a tub and spray it with pee to strike hard them loose . you’re able to also apply neem oil following the label instructions .
You may postulate to repeat both of these steps to tackle an infestation .
You canlearn more about managing aphids here .
For wanderer mite , you ’ll often see the ok webbing that they produce on your plants before you spot the flyspeck arachnids .
If you await closer , you ’ll see the teeny tiny red , black , tan , or white mites running around on the leaves and ground .
The two - spot wanderer speck ( Tetranychus urticae ) , which is black and tan , is one of the most common types launch indoors .
These cat will suck on your plants , and can wreak serious havoc in a light amount of time if the universe gets large enough .
leave will shrivel up and come down off the plant . They may also arise speckles or brown place .
Neem oil is in force for use on spider mites just as it is on aphid . Prune aside any leaves that are cover in web .
Since the mites prefer dry conditions , keep your plants water , and becloud them every few days while the microbe are present to discourage these small arachnoid .
Bay Is the Perfect Container Plant
Bay bestow itself absolutely to life in a container .
It does n’t mind if you forget to irrigate it for a few days , and it wo n’t complain if it capture a routine origin bound .
you may shave it into all variety of Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe , lending an architectural constituent to your herb garden that you ca n’t achieve with something like marjoram or mint .
Then , of track , there ’s the relish of those glossy elliptical leaves . There ’s something to be said for throw well-off access to a plant that can lend a floral , peppery menthol smell to kick up your recipes .
Are you planning to give potted bay a spot in your plate or yard ? If so , allow us recognise how it go !
If you ca n’t get enough ofcontainer gardening , we have even more guides that you may discover useful , start up with these :
photo by Kristine Lofgren © need the Experts , LLC . ALL right RESERVED.See our TOSfor more detail . Product photos via Burpee . Uncredited photograph : Shutterstock . With additional writing and editing by Allison Sidhu .
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Kristine Lofgren
