Kitchen Garden Forum

Hi guys. Another daft one from me

I've recently been gifted a bay tree, thats been growing nicely in a pot, but really needs repotting, as the last owner put it in a too small pot (its a year or so old, so according to google if i want to repot it, its now or never. Well kinda...)

However, I also remember reading somewhere that bay is only 1/2 hardy, and needs to be shielded from frost... So I was wondering would it be better to pot it into a large pot (open bottom) in my greenhouse, and let it grow in there, or should I use a smaller pot, keep it outside, but move it inside when the frosts start?

Thanks

Dan

You don't say where you are Dan, if you put it on your profile it will help you get more specific answers. I'm down in Dorset right near the coast so mine stays out & is fine, but I do move it to the corner beside the house for a bit of protection.

Westi

Dan, we are considerably further north (and higher up?) than Westi, and I can't overwinter our bay tree outside. I bring it into the unheated greenhouse when temperatures reach freezing point outside and wrap up the pot and lower part of the stem with double bubble plastic.
Our plant is about four or five years old, bought after I lost the last one in an especially cold winter.

I believe when the plant is older, planted IN THE GROUND and sheltered from cold winds, It is much less tender and could survive outside in most UK places.

We have two growing in the ground at 600' in the frozen North and I have had to take the chain saw to each of them in the last two years, one to reshape it after wind damage and one to stop it blocking a path. They do get the some leaf damage with frosty winds but are hardy enough.

Westi wrote:You don't say where you are Dan, if you put it on your profile it will help you get more specific answers. I'm down in Dorset right near the coast so mine stays out & is fine, but I do move it to the corner beside the house for a bit of protection.

... I forgot that crucial bit of information... I'm in sheffield, literally the dead center of the UK.

Westi, Monika and Geoff, thanks for the tips and advice thats really helpful, I'll move it in the greenhouse the next few winters and see how it grows

Thanks

We are in st.helens which is outside of liverpool our tree did well until the first serve winter it's now no more

Dear Dan,
a bay tree in a pot is not considered to be hardy, it should be brought into a frost free location for overwintering, preferably before the first frosts. If the weather is mild (above 5c) then the tree can be put outside during the winter months whenever the weather is good enough if you are short of space.

A shaped tree with bare stems (lollipops etc) grown in the soil outdoors may be cut down to the ground in temperatures below about minus 5c, the bare stem is the tender part. If you have such a tree it would be wise to bubble wrap the stem and cover the top with a couple of layers of fleece if cold weather is forecast.

A multi-stem bush is the hardiest version of bay to have in northern climes growing outdoors. Yes it may get cut back in really vile weather but it will grow back reasonably quickly (a year or two at most). In Sheffield I think I would recommend fleece if nasty weather is forecast.

A final note is to remember to knock off snow from all evergreen shrubs and hedges as the weight of the snow can deform them really badly and if the snow is really heavy the branches can actually be broken off.

Regards Sally Wright.

Hi Dan, I live in North Sheffield and would recommend growing your bay tree in the ground in a sheltered place if possible. I lost a large tree I had trained as a lollipop in the very cold winter about three years ago but it has sent up a few new shoots from the base.

I've got another grown from a cutting of the original and have kept this as a small clipped bush. I tie bubble plastic or other bit of insulation material round the base before the bad weather and that has survived several bad winters.

My neighbour has one growing near a wall and that's made a huge bushy tree - so good drainage, South facing aspect and a bit of warmth from the wall have worked wonders for theirs. Mine aren't in quite as good a position so are a bit more vulnerable.

Hi Dan

Have look at this thread. Four more years on and the bay is even bigger. The best advice would be: if in a pot, take care. If planted in the ground when a good size, no worries.

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=7747

https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=251

Thanks for that Alan

Plum, will have to arrange to meet one time Its nice to know i'm not the only sheffielder here