2 yr old bay tree in pot has leaves looking uniformly paler than when new

martin.hamblett · April 2023

Is it just needing general fertiliser or something specific?

Dovefromabove · April 2023

New bay leaves are usually a different (brighter) green than the previous year’s dark green leaves … can you show us a photo?

martin.hamblett · April 2023

Dovefromabove · April 2023

Can you tell us more about it please? What sort of compost is it in? When was it last repotted?
what is the feeding regime?

martin.hamblett · April 2023

Compost is as received from garden centre. Not yet repotted. Not sure if I fertilised it last year.

Dovefromabove · April 2023

So it’s still in the pot it was in when you bought it, so yes it’s probably hungry.

I grow bay in John Innes No 3 loambased compost mixed with some horticultural grit in ratio of
approx 3:1 . I repot adding fresh compost every two years, and then every other March when not repotting I’ll feed with a general slow-acting fertilizer like Fish, Blood and Bone.

During the spring and summer the leaves are sprayed with a solution of liquid seaweed feed every four to six weeks or so.

I would repot yours as above and then use some seaweed foliar feed.

martin.hamblett · April 2023

Many thanks.

Dovefromabove · April 2023

I’d go up a size with the pot … not too big, just a couple of inches bigger in diameter.

It’s also good to stand the pot on some feet or bits of broken tile or whatever … it helps with the drainage of the compost and stops it getting sour and wet.

Bay like plenty of water but free-draining soil so that it doesn’t stay wet and claggy.

2 yr old bay tree in pot has leaves looking uniformly paler than when new

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