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Unhappy Bay Tree

victoria.rose79victoria.rose79 Posts: 5
in Problem solving
Can anyone offer any advice on how I can help this poor bay? I have recently repotted and am feeding but it is looking sadder than ever. Any help very welcome. 
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Posts

  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    Photo? 
    Where is the container situated?
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • victoria.rose79victoria.rose79 Posts: 5

    Apologies I thought I had attached pictures. 
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    Can we see the container?
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • victoria.rose79victoria.rose79 Posts: 5

    Here’s the pot it’s in. Not it’s permanent spot but it does live at the front of the house which faces North. It’s been there for around 7 years and has always been happy from a young tree. We repotted last spring as the leaves were starting to look a little sparse, it really picked up after the repotting but this year seems worse, even after repotting.
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    The container looks big enough.  How often have you been watering it? Can the water drain out?
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    Did it put on new growth this spring, during the warm weather in April/early May? We had a couple of frosts mid-May which could have nipped the new growth.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    What sort of compost is it in?  Mine is in JI3 loambased with the addition of a lot of grit ... a ratio of about 4:1 ish. And in an unglazed terracotta pot so the compost doesn’t get ‘claggy’. 

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





  • victoria.rose79victoria.rose79 Posts: 5
    It’s in a multi purpose John Ines compost as recommended by our local garden centre. The pot has good drainage. I’m probably watering/feeding weekly. Would I be completely mad to trim it right back? Can you tell I’m a total novice?! 
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Some garden centres really know their stuff ... some don’t ☹️

    But we’ve all been beginners so you’ve nothing to blame yourself for. 

    Multipurpose composts are usually much too fibrous and lightweight for permanent planting ... fine for bedding plants and veg but shrubs and trees need a loam/soil-based compost. 

    John Innes No 3 with the addition of grit as I said. 

    I water every day in this weather, but the really sharp drainage means that the roots are never sitting in cold wet compost. 

    I feed with Fish, Blood & Bone in March and again in July and give the leaves a spray with a diluted seaweed feed roughly once a month. 

    I would repot as I suggested ... making sure that the tree isn’t any deeper in the soil than it was originally as that can cause problems. 

    Hope that helps 😊 

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





  • victoria.rose79victoria.rose79 Posts: 5
    That’s really helpful. Usually our local garden centre are great, they are a small independent but maybe I just spoke to the wrong person.
    Thank you. Do you think I can get it back? It looks so sad 😞 
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