BAY TREE
HI.
First cold day down south. In T-shirt yesterday Brrrr to cold today.
Quick question. Can you take cuttings/propergate from a very old tall bay tree. If yes when and how please. The allotment plot close to us has one on his plot. Which we can take from at any time his permission. I love bay and use alot in cooking.
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I would take some heel cuttings now. If you're not sure about heel cuttings watch this video - the bit about heel cuttings is half-way through http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-propagate-semi-ripe-stem-cuttings Bays are quite difficult to root from cuttings but I've managed a few successfully.
But the way I've found to be most successful is, if you're lucky enough to find that the old bay tree has little suckers growing around it's base then dig some of them up and pot them, they almost always work.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Yep, suckers are the way to go.
Not my post but thanks for info Dovefromabove.I have an old tree killed over last years cold winter, but suckers from base , will give it a go now.should they be over wintered in cold greenhouse.
I keep them in a cold frame outside but if a cold greenhouse is available I'd use it while they're small. Use a loam-based seed/cutting compost with added grit, water when you pot and then don't water through the winter unless they really dry out.
Make sure the pots are raised up a bit or on gravel so they can drain properly - if I can I use terracotta pots for bay and other mediterranean herbs as they are porous so not only do they drain better but air passes through them to the roots. Most can cope with quite low temperatures if their roots aren't waterlogged.
My big lollipop bay (from a cutting taken in 2000) is now in a pot too big for me to move, so the pot will be wrapped with bubblewrap in a week or so to help it survive the winter - but it's survived so far so I'm not too worried.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
EVENING
Thank you so much Dove. I shall have a go at heel cuttings. And I shall look at bass of the tree for suckers. I am going to look at video after posting this.