Bay tree - dead or alive

doh777

Hello.

I’ve had a potted bay tree on my balcony for a year and a bit. A good while go the leaves turned brown. One branch grew back green, the rest remain brown.

See pictures.

Is it a lost cause?

Thanks in advance

looksee

Looks like a lost cause. Is that a heating grill under the pot? Has it been on? That might be your answer. Does that window face south? It could be too warm. Has it dried out completely in the pot? Bay trees are half hardy but will mostly grow outdoors in a sheltered spot. They are often kept indoors but they can be unhappy about it if they don't get ideal conditions.

I would doubt you will revive it, but scrape a bit of bark with your fingernail on one of the dead leaf branches, if it is green it is still basically alive.

Edit - what kind of pot is it in? I have just realised it does not have a tray under it, is there a tray built into the pot? How have you been watering it?

doh777

Hello. Thanks for the reply. That’s a drain underneath. There is a water reservoir built into the pot. Water is poured into the orange pipe in the soil. A marker stick attached to a float indicates when it’s empty. I water the soil directly too. I think if anything I may have overwatered it at some point. I’ve tried scraping the bark at the trunk before and it did look lifeless. Little or no green visible.

con747

doh777 wrote: »

Hello. Thanks for the reply. That’s a drain underneath. There is a water reservoir built into the pot. Water is poured into the orange pipe in the soil. A marker stick attached to a float indicates when it’s empty. I water the soil directly too. I think if anything I may have overwatered it at some point. I’ve tried scraping the bark at the trunk before and it did look lifeless. Little or no green visible.

Start with the brown dead crispy leaves and keep cutting back bit by bit until you see life in the branches, there is green leaves so it's not dead. Then sort out the water issue and feed it. Try keep it indoors over this winter. I'm not an expert but that is what I would do. The built in water reservoir could be the problem if it's sitting in a pool of water.

salamiii

needs nutrients

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/herbs/bay/bay-laurel-turning-yellow.htm

RachelsCousin

Yes, over watering and the water reservoir are probably the issue. Bay trees don't like sitting in water at all. I'd lift it out of pot, and repot with new compost in a normal pot. Raise it out of saucer with a couple of sticks so it's free draining. Check for any signs of mould / fungus in roots. And cut off all the dead leaves / branches. I've never rescued one gone this far, but worth a shot when there's still some green.

doh777

Thanks for all replies. It was in a normal pot previously and when I changed it into the one it’s presently in the soil did seem overly damp. I think the pot it’s in now should be ok. The stick on the float indicates the water level and I do watch that. So if I’m to trim off all the brown leaves will the life in the branches be evident or will I have to wait to see that? And I don’t think having it indoors this winter will be an option I’m afraid.

Thanks again for all replies

looksee

Yes, you will be able to see if it is alive. Snip off a bit of twig at the end, if the inside of the twig is dry looking its dead, if there is any sort of green/white inside its probably alive. Keep cutting down the same twig till you hit the green/white. If you get all the way down you can probably assume the whole lot (apart from the one green leaf bit) is dead, but try a few of them.

You should not need to water it more than once a week (max) I water my houseplants by how heavy the pot is and they are pretty light before they get watered. If the automatic watering effect is keeping the compost obviously damp all the time its probably getting too much water.

doh777

Ok. Thanks again for the reply. I’ll give it a good trim all round and will look out for signs of green or health.

Thanks for all replies, helped a lot and very informative.

Probably ok to close thread now.