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Lollipop Bay Tree Brown Leaves Help Please

kirstie.stevens09895kirstie.stevens09895 Posts: 4
in Problem solving
Hi all, 

I have 2 lollipop bay tress that have suddenly turned brown.

There has been no change to watering habits or the position of the trees. Also, i have checked for any pests and cannot see any. 

Is there anyway i can check if it saveable? Do i need to remove the brown leaves? 

Any help would be great thanks. 


Posts

  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    @kirstie.stevens09895 Try rubbing the bark a little for signs of life, I wonder if it could be pot bound too and if that is the case it has dried out. 
    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
  • kirstie.stevens09895kirstie.stevens09895 Posts: 4
    edited October 2023
    @GardenerSuze

    Thanks, what am i looking for with the bark? 

    We have had the tree's for around 3 years.
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    Starting toward the top of the tree use a fingernail to scrape a tiny bit of 'skin' from the bark.
    If you can see any sign of green then it's still alive.
    If there's no sign of green it means that bit is dead.
    So try the scrape test again a bit farther down and keep going until you can see some green.
    If there's no green even toward the bottom of the trunk then I'm afraid it's a gonner

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • amancalledgeorgeamancalledgeorge Posts: 2,736
    It does look like a tiny pot for such a big plant...I have a few of them and are in much larger pots and really need minimal care except when you get the dreaded months showing up. If it's alive I would make sure it stays watered over the winter and maybe put it somewhere to protect it from the weather and repot in the spring.

    Nurseries and garden centres do tend to sell them in the smallest possible pots but they have a drip systems or staff watering daily so they keep the looking great. For most of us at home that's not viable long term and they eventually run out of nutrients. 
    To Plant a Garden is to Believe in Tomorrow
  • kirstie.stevens09895kirstie.stevens09895 Posts: 4
    Ok, so this is what i have on both trees. 

    Seems brown at the top and green at the bottom, any advise on next steps? 


  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    Good news is it's still alive then.
    It will re-sprout new shoots on the part of the tree lower down that is still alive.
    If it were mine, I'd leave it until next Spring and see where the new shoots come from. Then you can remove the dead growth above that.
    Bad news is that it won't look like a lollipop any more, but you could prune the new growth to make it look similar.

    I agree with @amancalledgeorge that the pot looks too small and that is the cause of the problem alongside insufficient water during hot periods.

    If those stones on the top of the pot are Cotswold chippings, then they're best removed as they will change the pH of the compost.


    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • kirstie.stevens09895kirstie.stevens09895 Posts: 4
    Thanks all!
  • amancalledgeorgeamancalledgeorge Posts: 2,736
    Good luck, so glad it's alive 
    To Plant a Garden is to Believe in Tomorrow
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