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Frost Protection for Bay Trees
HeatherCG
Posts: 8
Hi All - as a novice gardener, have little idea how to keep our plants alive in our garden and so would welcome some help!
We planted 3 bay trees in a small flower bed at the back of our little garden in front of an old garden wall and I understand that frost can cause them a lot of damage over winter. What is the best way to protect them from the cold? And should I be feeding them anything at the same time?
All hints and tips greatly appreciated :-)
Thank you!
Heather
0
Posts
Horticultural fleece is useful. i think you can buy fleece bags in different sizes but I imagine they will be more expensive than buying HF from a roll and wrapping it round. I bought a long length from Amazon and have cut it into the sizes I want. It comes in different thickness too, so depending on frost levels where you live buy accordingly. You could always double wrap if needed.
I have a lollipop bay in a large pot on the terrace in our back garden in Norfolk. We wrap the pot in bubble wrap, mainly to prevent frost damage to the pot, and raise it up on pot feet to ensure good drainage so the roots don't get waterlogged.
If your bays are planted in the ground and in a relatively sheltered spot they should be fine.
In the spring a sprinkling of Fish Blood and Bone will be good, but don't feed at this time of year ... trees and most plants are more or less dormant in the winter, and if it's not growing it doesn't need feeding.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
HeatherCG, you do need to protect your bay, we are in norfolk too and lost two big lollipop bays one winter, i was so disappointed, i had put them in the ground, it happened very quickly before i had time to cover them, i had grown them both from little ones i bought for £5 each, took many years. I bought a twisted lollipop bay this summer for my pation,but put it in a pot, it is now moved to a very sheltered spot until spring?
In my experience strong, cold winds can be more damaging than winter temperatures. I have bays growing in the ground and two lollipops in tubs which are moved to shelter behind a tall outbuilding during winter. They all survive but there can be some scorching and leaf drop in really bad weather.
Thanks all! Really appreciate all your hints and tips! These bays were not cheap so would be soooo gutted if they died so will make sure we give them some extra protection over the next few months ?