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Bay Tree - How to prune out multi-trunks

Novice2020Novice2020 Posts: 42
edited May 2020 in Garden design
I'm a novice gardener with a Laurus nobilis - bay tree - in a large pot (I use its leaves for cooking). It has multiple trunks. I need some guidance on which trunks I should prune out to keep this tree healthy in its pot. I have taken a few photos from different angles. The black at the base of the tree is tree grease.

Posts

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited May 2020
    I wouldn’t remove any ... it’s a multi-stemmed bay. 
    The preponderance of the lollipop style gives the impression that it’s  only way to grow them. 

    I think I would repot it in fresh compost (soil based JI3 with additional grit in a ratio of 3:1) and possibly cloud-prune it. 
     😊 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • Novice2020Novice2020 Posts: 42
    edited May 2020
    Thank you for your reply. It's good to know the multi-stems are ok to have. I am a novice gardener. I've googled - soil based JI3, and just watched a YouTube video on cloud-pruning.
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    I would plait them. Eventually,they will fuse together into an attractive trunk.
    Give it a go. If you don't like the look, you can still trim the side shoots off provided you don't leave them for years!
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • Novice2020Novice2020 Posts: 42
    edited May 2020
    BEFORE AND AFTER. I also moved it to a new semi-shaded position.
  • Novice2020Novice2020 Posts: 42
    edited June 2020
    Dovefromabove said:
    I wouldn’t remove any ... it’s a multi-stemmed bay. 
    The preponderance of the lollipop style gives the impression that it’s  only way to grow them. 

    I think I would repot it in fresh compost (soil based JI3 with additional grit in a ratio of 3:1) and possibly cloud-prune it. 
     😊 
    Thank you. The bay trees survived my cloud pruning and have new leaves.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited June 2020
    Yay!  That looks happy 😃

    Well done on having the courage to take that first step ... now when you take leaves for cooking clip off a growing tip each time and soon you’ll have nipped them all and that will encourage lots of sideshoots and it'll thicken up nicely. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





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