Bay Stan Laurel , Laurus nobilis , is one of those garden marvels that serves more than one purpose .
Beyond supply evergreen decorative interest to indoor and outdoor spaces with their glossy , deep green foliage , the leaves can bring an aromatic flavor to your cookery as well .
Even if you do n’t like the mouthful of bay leaf , the camphor - similar scent when you brush past this plant is something to behold .
If you aregrowing bay laurel , there may add up a time when your Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree is no longer thriving in its current location . Or it may have outgrow its current container , and could profit from repot .
If you need to transfer your bay tree , you ’ve make out to the veracious place .
Here ’s what I ’ll cover in this clause :
What You’ll Learn
Why Transplant Bay Laurel ?
When Is the Right Time ?
How to Transplant
Repotting Container Bay
How to manage with Transplant Shock
Get your spade handy , and allow ’s get ready to dig in .
If your bay laurel is absolutely felicitous with the grow conditions in its current household , then why transplant it all ? There are a multifariousness of reasons , starting with the possibleness that it may have outgrown its existing spot .
Whether you are develop it in a container or in the ground , you might reach a point where the plant needs more room to overspread out .
How can you tell if yourL. nobilisrequires transplanting ?
determine the correct timing for transpose a container - grown plant is easy to do than it may be for one that ’s grow in the ground . You may see roots growing out of the drain maw in the bottom of a pot , for model , or protruding from the open of the soil .
notice a few yellowing leaves during the course of the growing time of year is normal , but if your tree is stressed , more leaf than usual may turn yellowish or browned , and go down off the plant .
If it ’s growing in the ground , yourL. nobilisis broadly fine to leave in place , unless it starts encroach on other plants with its spreadhead , or farm grandiloquent than you ’d like .
You might have an be industrial plant that you ’d prefer to move to a new fix – if you ’re moving to a new mansion , or undertaking a landscape gardening project in your chiliad .
Or perhaps you have a sapling thatyou’ve started from a cuttingorhave grow from seed .
In any of these instance , you do n’t have to be afraid to dig it up and give it a new home , unless it is already specially large .
A monolithic true laurel tree is n’t a ripe candidate for transplanting . If the mature tree is over five feet improbable , you will probably struggle to dig up the entirety of the extended ascendant system , and the works may suffer transplantation shock or exit after replanting .
In this case , you may dramatically trim back your plant instead of transplant it . embayment trees are robust plant and can handle a serious pruning . you may remove up to one-half of the plant life in the fall or early spring without any adverse effect .
get wind more about how and when to rationalize bay laurel here .
If you have a plant emergency – expression , moving to a new star sign , and so on – it ’s technically possible to transplant a bay laurel at any time of yr .
But if you want the greatest chance of winner , fall or winter is the best time to move your plant , so long as you could work the dirt .
During the cooler months , plants are dormant . This mean your embayment laurel is not putting any of its muscularity into new emergence , efflorescence , or setting come , which gives it an opportunity to focus on convalescence and root growth .
Cooler conditions will also give yourL. nobilisa best chance of avoiding transplant shock absorber , and since the atmospheric condition is usually wetter at this sentence of year , the roots are n’t typically threatened by drouth and heat stress like they might be in the summertime .
This , of course , calculate on where you live , and the local climate and weather .
you’re able to also choose to transplant in early spring if you have to , but you start the risk of stunting the flora ’s growth for the come season .
If you want to graft in the spring , make certain you do it early enough – before new growth has started to appear – so that the works has plenty of time to ensconce in and reclaim from the shock of being moved .
The number one goal when you transplant should be to cut into up as much of the root ball as possible . Bay etymon are shallow , but they grow wide .
You ’ll need to dig out at least as across-the-board as the plant ’s foliage , or further if you notice that you ’re hitting a mountain of compact roots .
dig up down as far as you continue to see pencil - sized roots . For computer address , at a lower limit , the base ball should be at least 14 in extensive and 12 inches deep for a three - invertebrate foot tree diagram .
It assist if your jigaboo has been saucily sharpened so that it edit out through the root cleanly . This let them to heal more chop-chop .
Gently work the industrial plant out of the soil by continually savvy and lean the industrial plant slightly , using your spade to softly wedge it out of the soil .
The finer feeder roots can be leave behind if necessary , but it helps to mildly prise them up with the rest of the base bollock as you ’re working if you may .
If you are trying to leverage the root ball out and it is nonplus in the ground , you may employ a twosome of shear to cut away any stubborn remaining roots if you are unable to dig them out .
You want to be certain to replant as soon as potential after remove it from the soil . The biggest risk when you transplant your tree is that the rootage may dry out before it is replant , which could spell disaster .
If you ca n’t set justly aside , wrap the root clump in burlap and keep it moist , in a shaded locating .
It ’s a dandy estimation to prepare the planting region before you start digging up your bay Stan Laurel , so you’re able to tease apart the dirt first and dig a trap so the Modern locating will be quick to go . But since you might not be able-bodied to guess on the button how big the root ball will be when you dig it up , a bit of extra excavation may be required before you’re able to fix the unearthed roots into position .
Whether you ’re moving your plant to a new container or a new place in the ground , you ’ll need to insure that the roots have enough way to spread out .
If you are planting in the dry land , this means digging a hole that is the same deepness and doubly as wide-cut as the ancestor clump of your existing plant .
Before you target the industrial plant into the hole , softly relax the roots and unfold them out a bit . None of the roots should be twisted together or tightly packed when they are replant .
Backfill with stain halfway , and add water . Stand back and make certain the tree diagram is level . meet the rest of the way and rob the plant with water once again . You desire to give the plant about half a gallon of water for every square foot of soil surface that you have displaced .
Make trusted that the flora does n’t sit any deeper than it was growing originally , or you start the risk of suffocate the root .
Do n’t fertilize until mid - springiness if you ’ve transplanted in the fall or winter . If you transplanted any other prison term , wait a calendar month or two until fertilize your plant .
If you aregrowing your bay in a container , it ’s time to transplant when you may see etymon turn out of the base , or if you remove the works from its container and you may see that the source are arise around in a circle along the inside of the container wall .
If you ’re growing it in aclay or terra cotta container , it ’s also time to repot if the clay seems to be dry out out rapidly , and you have to water more oft .
Do n’t transpose into a much larger container unless you desire your works to develop bigger promptly . If you desire to keep it to a more manageable size of it , use a container that is just a few inches larger than the one it was growing in before .
To remove the plant from its original container , lean the pot and grasp the plant securely around the stem as close to the stand as you’re able to . Roll the container back and away as you gently pull . It can help oneself to do this when the soil is slenderly teetotal , since potting soil expands when it ’s wet .
When you have off your plant from its pot , lightly loose the rootage ballock with your hands , and prune away any dead roots .
take the young pot with enough soil that the bay laurel will be sitting at the same height it was in its old container . rate the plant life in its new container , and backfill around the edge withpotting soil . Now is the time to give it a well soak .
Do n’t fecundate for the first two to three months , after which you could resume your regular fertilise schedule .
Transplant shock happens when your fresh replanted Laurus nobilis is n’t well-chosen about the big move , and fails to thrive . This can result from disturbing the roots , or if the plant was given a cloggy pruning before digging it up .
You should n’t give your bay Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree a heavy pruning three month before and after transplanting .
plant are more likely to experience shock when the weather is extremely dry or hot , which is why it ’s recommended to graft during the cool months . large plants run to suffer more than low ones .
If your plant life starts to flag or drop its leave-taking curtly after replanting , do n’t panic . Your works is going to need a little babying for a while , but it will probably be fine .
To begin with , give it a little more water than you normally would . When a plant life recede some of its root system , it ca n’t take up as much water as it did before , so you will need to avail it out . Ensure that the soil is well - draining , so it is not sitting in stand piddle either .
you’re able to also apply two inches oforganic mulchsuch asleaf mold , woodwind scrap , or straw . This helps to protect the origin from warmth and help moisture retention in the stain . Do n’t place mulch up against the stem at the base of the tree – leave a one- to two - in disruption around the trunk .
Give your works a few months to recuperate . If you repot or transplant it in the declension , it may not wait its good until the following spring . And as mentioned , do n’t be tempted to apply fertilizer while the plant is recovering .
It’s Time for the Big Move
It ’s not so complicated , proper ? Fortunately , bay trees are fairly exonerative . Even if you do n’t do everything absolutely , it will in all likelihood outlast the move if you give it a picayune extra care and care , and exercise some patience .
The most important matter to remember are to keep as much of the root ball intact as possible , and keep the roots moist .
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© Ask the Experts , LLC . ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.See our TOSfor more details . to begin with publish August 25th , 2020 . Last update May 15 , 2025 . Uncredited photos : Shutterstock .
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Kristine Lofgren
