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Frost damage on Bay

justflowersjustflowers Posts: 143
in Plants
I have a bay bush which was badly damaged by frost a couple of weeks ago - should I remove the brown leaves or let them fall naturally?  What is causing me more concern is that I also have a standard bay which I keep as ornamental which has been badly damaged and has little to no green leaves left - once again, should I remove the brown leaves?  If I am left with virtually no leaves, can the plant survive? I've never had bay affected by frost before and I really didn't think it was that cold!! Advice would be welcome!! :)

Posts

  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    I would leave it until new leaves appear. If you want to see if it's alive, scrape the bark of a few branches with your thumbnail. If it's green underneath, it's alive. You can stop when you come across a live one😊
    Any branch that's brown after you scrape it is dead.
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • justflowersjustflowers Posts: 143
    Thank you - that's what I'll do.  Fingers crossed it's not dead!! :)
  • Simone_in_WiltshireSimone_in_Wiltshire Posts: 1,073
    There have been a lot of posts this winter about brown bay leaves. My neighbour also was affected and since his bay tree was just 20 meters far from my bay tree, and we both had the same frost, there seems to be something else going on. He took his bay tree out.
    My one looks normal.

    I ♥ my garden.

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Yes - as @Simone_in_Wiltshire says, there's been lots of threads about bay, and other plants, which have had damage this winter - more than usual as there's been a particular set of conditions.
     Leave until you see new green growth before removing anything - the damaged stuff will offer protection just now in case you get more frosty/icy weather.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • justflowersjustflowers Posts: 143
    I'll leave alone for now then and hope for the best.  Thanks for the advice. :)
  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    edited March 2023
    If you are happy looking at dead brown leaves, leave it alone.  If you want something that looks better, take them off.  Or better still, cut back branches until you are iinto live wood.

    First check that the main stem is not frost damaged.

    Simone's neighbour was a bit hasty.
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
  • justflowersjustflowers Posts: 143
    Well, my husband has resolved this by cutting the dead leaves off the large bush while I was out.  This was a surprise as he never normally touches that bed.  I am leaving the standard alone as it is in a more exposed position, though hopefully we won't be getting too many more hard frosts.
    Thanks everyone!!
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