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Bay Trees
adeleine.odell
Posts: 3
Hi
I have a single stem Bay which I am developing to grow upwards and then shape into a conical - I think I am tackling this in the correct way. Bought it from a garden centre as a 3 ft conical.
Additionally, I bought a multi-stemmed Bay Tree. does this grow into a bush and can it be shaped into a round?
A
0
Posts
I 'plaited' the stems of my multi stemmed bay tree when they were young and whippy.
I.also rubbed off the buds at the lower levels. This gave me a lollypop shape. The bush is quite old now and the stems have fused into one trunk.
However, if you leave it alone, you'll get a bush which you can, over time, prune into a roundish shape. It depends what you want.
With the single stemmed one, just rub off the buds where you don't want branches and give the leafy bit a light prune , if necessary, when the new soft leaves come
Last edited: 17 February 2018 14:49:39
Hi
Thank you very much.
Your reply is amazingly helpful.
A
You're welcome,A.O. Remember to stand back and look as you go.
You can't stick bits back on again
I just sort of wove them and poked in any sticky - out bits. I rubbed the buds off the stem where I wanted it to be trunk. All the leaves were at the top of the stems.
I didn't bother attempting a neat job - but I suppose you could. The stems were about 2ft long when I started - if I remember right. It was a long time ago. I didn't need to do any tying. Anything that popped up from the ground, I either poked into the plant or cut off at ground level. I think its better at different lengths. I wouldn't trim the tops for a couple of years.
Well if you don't like it, you can always untangle it