Is my bay tree dead?

mrsprit

Hi all,

I am looking for some advice on my bay tree, which has taken a turn for the worse in the last few months.  The leaves have gone brown and spotty and they are really difficult/tough to pull off the stems and it looks like there is something going on with the bark...

I think we should have probably done something long before now, but does anyone know what is wrong with it and is there any thing that can be done/tried?

We are based in cornwall so it didn't have a totally horrendous winter in terms of freezes/snow, but it was a long one and the ground it sits in did get quite wet.  We also have quite acidic soil so not sure if that hinders?

I am a total novice gardener and this may be a really stupid idea (!!) but I was wondering whether digging it up and putting it in a big half barrel with the correct soil conditons would help?

Any suggestions greatly appreciated!

thanks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

mrsprit

 

nutcutlet

sorry  mrsprit but the state of the bark in the last but one pic says this bay has had it. 

Could the bark have been damaged by rabbits/deer/mower/strimmer at any time to let the rot set in?

mrsprit

oh dear....had a feeling that might have been the case!

Defo no deer, but we do have rabbits in the lane and hubby gets a bit strimmer happy sometimes!!!!! so i suppose it could have been either...

the only other thing we did last year was dig out some sucker roots things that were really deep so i suppose we may have damaged it then

I am gutted as it was given to us as a 4ft tree and we have kept it going for nearly 10 years now!!! kicking myself for not doing something sooner!

Woodgreen wonderboy

Wrap a pair of tights around the wound as tight as you can to "replace" the bark. Water well and cross your fingers. May not work but worth a try, and can't harm it if it is still alive.

nutcutlet

You can see the wood in the middle WW. The parts that transport the water and nutrients have gone.

I doubt if taking suckers off did any harm mrsprit. I do that to make new bay trees and it doesn't harm the original.

Woodgreen wonderboy

I agree chances of success are low but a loved tree is worth one more go, and this method saved a "rubbed" tree of mine.

mrsprit

Thanks for the advice nutcutlet and ww - I will give the tights thing ago - i suppose if its dying anyway it won't hurt to try!!!!

Woodgreen wonderboy

Wrap a pair of tights around the wound as tight as you can to "replace" the bark. Water well and cross your fingers. May not work but worth a try, and can't harm it if it is still alive.

Dovefromabove

I'm afraid that to me that damage looks too old to be repaired http://www.arborday.org/treeGuide/anatomy.cfm 

sterelitza

Sorry to hear this mrsprit, I grow these from cuttings and they grow like weeds for me. I have chopped suckers away from the base of loads and they still throw up more. If yours is ready for the chop them perhaps that might be the answer, if the tights plan fail then saw it off very low down but leave the stump and the roots, it may throw up some suckers in the future and you could grow those on. Good luck with it anyway.