When to repot a bay tree - Ask Extension
Hi - We bought a small bay plant in May 2013. We have moved it indoors into a sun room during the winter.
Two questions:
1) When is it time to repot...
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When to repot a bay tree #259075
Asked July 03, 2015, 4:16 PM EDT
Hi - We bought a small bay plant in May 2013. We have moved it indoors into a sun room during the winter.
Two questions:
1) When is it time to repot and how? See picture. Pot is 10" wide at top and a foot high. The plant is 52 inches tall.
2) It is now starting to branch out at the top. When can we harvest leaves and how? From the top (new branches), bottom (main trunk)? Do we need to do any pruning? Basically we have not touched it yet.
Thanks!
District of Columbia County District of Columbia
Expert Response
The best time to repot Bay is in the spring. Carefully roll the pot on it's side and ease the plant out, and pot it up into the next larger size, which would be one about 12" across the top. Fill in soil to sit it at the same level as in the previous pot, and around the edges, gently patting down. A potting soil mix is appropriate.
They love it outdoors in the summer sun, and continue to take it in in the fall.
You can make it more pushy by pinching out the terminal buds. These are sometimes used for topiaries, so where you take the cuttings/leaves from depends on what you hope to do with it. (Some might grow it as a globe on a stick, in which case you'd definitely remove the ones on the stem.) The leaves can be used fresh or dried for seasoning.
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They love it outdoors in the summer sun, and continue to take it in in the fall.
You can make it more pushy by pinching out the terminal buds. These are sometimes used for topiaries, so where you take the cuttings/leaves from depends on what you hope to do with it. (Some might grow it as a globe on a stick, in which case you'd definitely remove the ones on the stem.) The leaves can be used fresh or dried for seasoning.
cm
