I know how it feels one minute your Laurus Nobilis tree has beautiful glossy green leaves, then they are brown and look very unattractive.
Making sure your bay tree keeps its glossy green leaves is something everyone thrives for, not only for the appearance but for the wonderful flavors it adds to your cooking once you harvest.
After reading this you’ll know exactly what’s caused your brown leaves and how you can cure and prevent them in the future.
Quick Summary – Brown Leaves on Bay Tree
In this article, we will tackle your brown bay leaves. I will walk you through the most important steps that you should look out for when you experience brown leaves. With there being a range of issues that can cause brown leave I wanted to cover them all so you are fully knowledgeable and can prevent it going forward.
What I will cover for you :
- Adequate Watering
- Nutrition
- Dangerous Weather Conditions
- Pruning
- Disease and Cures
- Pests Management
- Soil Quality
After you have read all 7 steps you will know exactly what to look out for when experiencing brown leaves and how to cure and prevent them in the future.
We all love an award-winning bay laurel tree so let’s grab a cuppa and learn about why you’re experiencing brown bay leaves.
Common Causes of Brown Leaves on Bay Tree
The most common cause for brown leaves on a bay tree is under-watering. Ensuring you have the correct watering schedule in place will prevent any brown leaves from forming. There can also be some underlying issues like pests, diseases, and nutrition so getting a good understanding on them all safeguards your bay tree from future issues. Doing this keeps your Laurus nobilis looking full and healthy.
Step 1 – Adequate Watering and Drainage
The most common reason bay trees get brown leaves is under-watering. So to prevent brown leaves make sure you have the correct watering schedule in place to prevent this.
A newly planted Laurus nobilis needs to be taken care of, especially for the first year of its life. For this tree to become fully established and grow denser leaves you should take care of its watering needs. This will prevent any brown leaves from forming on your bay tree.
Planted in the ground – when you plant your tree in the ground you need to make sure that watering becomes part of your gardening plan. When we have hot weather you need to take on board that this tree will need constant moisture within its soil environment.
Planting in containers – When you plant in containers you will find the bay tree’s soil does dry out way faster than when it’s planted in the ground. With this being said you would just need to give your bay tree more regular watering to help the soil to stay moist.
I water my bay tree every couple of days if the soil doesn’t meet the Nobilis needs. In the colder weather watering isn’t something you have to do unless the ground is dry and lacks moisture. Just keep in mind that watering can cause more damage, so ensuring you have the correct drainage in place will help prevent any over-watering from happening and keep your bay tree thriving.
A mature Laurus only needs you to oversee its environment and to keep an eye on when the soil dries out in long dry spells, for example in summer.
Other than this the evergreen will thrive on its own without any need for constant watering in comparison to a newly planted bay tree.
Planted in the ground- A mature bay tree planted in the ground doesn’t need to be watered as much as a new bay tree as it will be fully established within its environment; they typically cope well over the winter months with the rainfall. This should mean that you would only need to water your tree in partially dry periods. Over the winter months with the rainfall, you need to make sure that you have a good drainage system in place so your soil and tree don’t get waterlogged as this can cause root rot.
Planted in containers- A mature bay tree that’s planted in a container will still need to be watered regularly but not as often as a newly planted bay tree.
What you will need to do for this is examine its climate, container size, the amount of direct sunlight it gets, and how dry its soil goes within these stages. This will then give you a good indication of how often you need to be watering it.
Personally what I do is I check my Laurus nobilis every 2 weeks. I know its location is perfect so all I need to do is check the soil moisture. I use my hands and carefully feel 1-2 inches below the soil. If it’s dry then I will give my bay tree plenty of filtered water to help with hydration. Typically this lasts for around another 2 weeks before I have to check and water again.
The bay tree is more tolerant to under-watering than it is over-watering. Under watering can cause your leaves to turn brown. While over watering can cause an issue with root rot which will result in your bay tree potentially dying.
Overwatering your bay tree can lead to a major issue when it comes to its trunk and roots. It can even lead to yellowing of leaves and a disease called leaf spot. This is something we genuinely want to avoid, to keep our leaves a beautiful forest green colour.
Making sure you don’t overwater your bay tree is pretty easy when it comes down to it. All you have to do is check on your soil every couple of days in extremely dry periods or every 1-2 weeks in dry but damp conditions.
Start by going to the soil located where your bay tree is either in the ground or in a pot. You want to use your hands and have a little feel of the soil making sure you reach about 1-2 inches below the top layer. If this is dry then it would be ideal to give your tree a drink to help with keeping the consistently green leaves. If the soil is still moist then you will be fine to leave it alone for another few days.
While overwatering causes issues so does underwatering. When your Laurus nobilis tree is under-watered you may experience wilting and dropping of leaves and branches.
The leaves may become limp and lose their strong shape, they may also look like they are curling into a spiral shape. The branches and overall structure may begin to droop which is down to lack of turgor pressure. The longer you leave your bay tree without water the more you may experience,
Leaf discoloration where they may turn yellow or brown. This starts on the edge of the leaves spreading to the Center. Leaves may fall from the branches and your tree may experience stunted growth.
The reason this may happen is because the tree needs to conserve water to keep the rest of the plant alive. Over time this will get worse and you could indeed lose the whole plant with underwatering.
Overall you can recover this plant if you catch the over or under-watering early enough. The tree is relatively resilient and will recover pretty fast. If you notice overwatering make sure you face the issue and create a better drainage system for example adding grit to your soil or broken terracotta pots to stop the drainage holes from filling with soil.
If you have underwatered your bay tree then you will need to give it good water throughout and create a watering schedule to water more frequently. This just keeps our soil moist and in the best condition for your bay tree to thrive.
When it comes to picking the correct water for your bay tree it can come with some issues. Typically tap water is considered safe to use but can sometimes create problems in the long term for your bay tree.
Mineral content– Most tap water is safe to use when it comes to watering your bay tree. Some areas, the tap water does have higher levels of chlorine, sodium, and fluoride. With this being said over time it can cause a mineral build-up that could result in mineral toxicity for your tree. This would cause issues like yellowing of leaves or stunted growth.
Rainwater is said to be the best source for watering your plants, shrubs, and trees. With it being naturally free of minerals and chemicals. The best thing you can do is make use of the winter rainfall and collect it in your water butts. I have found that they do run low quickly in the summer months. Not only by using it but with the sun causing evaporation. If you do come into a situation where you run out of your rainwater and using tap water is your only option then you will have to do this.
The tap water won’t cause any issues in the short term. So there wouldn’t be any need to worry about this. I would personally just limit it as much as you can and use the majority of the rainfall water.
A few tips I can give you for this process is to let the tap water sit overnight. This will give the chlorine a chance to evaporate and avoid using extremely cold or hot water.
Watering deeply and thoroughly does help flush out any built-up chemicals and minerals in the soil. Keep a look out for any signs of stress. This is so you can treat accordingly to prevent any sudden death of your Nobilis tree.
Overall tap water can be used in most cases. I would say it’s important to always consider alternatives if you do experience any negative effects from mineral toxicity.
Step 2 – Fortnightly Nutrition to Help Leaves Stay Green
When it comes down to nutrition and keeping your leaves a glossy green you need to make sure you use the correct fertilising method for how it’s planted. If your bay tree is planted in the ground then it doesn’t need to be fertilised as often as if your bay tree is planted in a pot.
Knowing when to fertilise your bay tree is essential when you want to keep those brown leaves away. With the bay tree, you ideally want to fertilise in the spring and summer months. Doing this will give your bay tree that extra care it needs. Keeping those glossy green leaves away from turning brown.
Planted in the ground- If you have a bay tree that’s planted in the ground. You would want to fertlise it once every month from the middle of spring until the end of summer.
Planted in a container- Having your bay tree planted in a container means it needs a little more attention. This just means you would have to feed it twice a month from mid-spring until the end of summer.
Overall I have found fertilising my potted bay tree twice a month does decrease chances of brown leaves. I hardly have to deal with them. Sticking to its watering needs also has a massive impact. Keeping its glossy dark evergreen leaves viable for all to see.
Fertilising a Laurus nobilis tree is pretty simple when it comes to it. With them being fairly low-maintenance feeders with their shallow roots. They do appreciate a well-balanced fertiliser every couple of weeks to help them in their growing season. A sign of nutrient deficiency would be the discoloration of its leaves, meaning they can turn yellow. Make sure you always read the instructions when using fertiliser.
You can use a range of different methods for fertilising your bay tree they are:
- Slow-release fertilisers- Make sure this is formulated for trees and evergreens. Placing this around the base of your bay tree allows it to slowly release its nutrition.
- Organic mulch- This method does take time to come into effect. The nutrition only goes to your tree when the mulch starts to decompose. The advantage of this is that it will keep the moisture within the soil longer. Applying a 2-3 inch layer around the base while keeping a 1-2 inch gap from the trunk would be benaficial. Sometimes you do get bay tree shoots (suckers) coming from the roots. Which can replace some of the older parts of your tree.
Overall whether it’s planted in the ground or a pot only needs to be fertilised in the growing season. If you have a potted bay tree this would require you to fertilise it more. I would personally say every 2 weeks for a potted bay tree and every month for a ground-planted bay tree.
There is a range of products that you can use to fertilise your bay tree. There are also some products that you shouldn’t use.
Below is a list of products that I advise you to use and stay away from.
- Slow-release granular fertiliser – With this slow-release fertiliser it releases nutrition gradually. This is beneficial for your bay tree as over time it gives it the nutritional needs that it requires. This also helps overfertilisation.
- Organic Compost – Organic compost is another method you can use for fertilising your bay tree. Adding a layer on top of your soil could also help with drainage for your bay tree. Meaning you will be less likely to experience root rot.
- Liquid seaweed fertiliser – The liquid fertiliser can be a good source of micronutrients for your bay tree. This fertiliser absorbs quickly meaning if you do experience nutrient deficiency. The fertiliser will act quickly and help revive your bay tree. Always make sure you only use if your bay tree needs a quick boost as there’s a chance it could damage your tree if used regularly.
Always remember it’s best to fertlise than over fertilise. Less is more in this case. always water well after using fertiliser. Make sure you only fertilise in the growing season.
- High-nitrogen fertilisers – Nitrogen is an important content for all plants when it comes to fertilising. This helps the leaves grow green and healthy. Giving the bay tree too much nitrogen can lead to the yellowing of leaves and leaf scorch. So getting the correct N-P-K ratio is essential for a thriving bay tree.
- Fast-acting liquid fertilisers – Although there’s advantages for fast-acting fertiliser with it giving your bay tree the nutrition it lacks. There are also disadvantages too. The disadvantage to this is with it being a fast-release fertiliser it can damage your roots and burn the leaves if it’s used too often. You can dilute the fertilizer when using this will weaken the solution. It won’t become too much of an issue with over fertilising.
Overall sticking with the slow-release, organic compost or diluted fertiliser will provide your bay tree to get the nutrition it needs.
Did you know?
A bay leaf can be harvested and used in the kitchen. This herb is perfect for turning your soups into the most amazing flavour. It can be used whole, dried, or fresh. Be sure to harvest in the midsummer though so the leaves are at their peak in terms of essential oils and flavors.
Step 3 – Dangerous Weather Conditions for Laurus Nobilis Leaves
There are a range of different weather conditions that will affect the health of your bay tree leaves. Making sure you know what to do and when is essential for keeping the beautiful glossy green leaves.
The bay trees are generally hardy to -5 degrees C. They can typically withstand lower temperatures if they are in a well-sheltered area of your garden. If you are in a situation where your nobilis isn’t in a sheltered location. You may need to wrap it up to keep frost away.
You could use anything that will keep the heat in and frost out. Typically I use a fleece dressing. I get this in rolls, or bubble wrap. I have found both have the same effect when it comes to protecting your bay tree from frost.
Leave a little area at the top of your lollipop tree to let any moisture escape. All I do is fold over excess fleece at the top rather than closing it shut with string.
How does frost affect your bay tree I hear you asking. Here is a list of the potential effects frost has on the bay tree:
- Discoloured leaves
- Wilting or drooping leaves
- Leaf Scorch
To help your bay tree in these conditions it is a waiting game. Keep a close eye on it and see what happens. For any dead leaves that do appear,
I recommend pruning them away so the tree isn’t wasting nutrients on them. You want your plant to put all the nutrients into the remaining live leaves.
Potted bay trees are a lot more susceptible to frost damage. If you do have a potted bay tree I would also recommend placing this indoors. Ideally next to a window with plenty of light, just until the frost sours out.
Bay trees enjoy the sun and it’s one of the qualities it needs to thrive in the growing season. You do need to however be careful as too much sun can affect your bay tree. It suffers from too much sun so ideally you want to plant it in an area of the garden that is partially sun and shade.
I would recommend evaluating the garden and making sure the bay tree is out of the sun in the peak times of the day. As long as your plant gets at least 6 hours of sun a day it will thrive and you will eliminate potential issues like:
- Leaf discoloration – turning pale yellow or bronze
- Leaf scorch – brown crispy leaves around the edges
- Leaf drop – leaves may fall prematurely
- Leaf wilting – Sunburnt leaves could wilt and droop from the stem
The cure for sun damage is making sure you prune off the damaged leaves and continue to follow the correct care procedure. Moisture in soil and nutrition will help your bay tree recover from the sun damage.
New and potted bay trees are most likely to experience this as they haven’t fully matured and the soil dries out quicker in pots than it does in the ground.
Rain can have some serious effects on your bay tree if we have excessive rain in the winter months. This can cause waterlogged soil meaning your bay tree is overwatered and will be under a lot of stress.
What happens then is your roots become deprived of oxygen which will then lead to root rot. This fungal disease can be deadly for your bay tree as this is the main entrance for nutrition.
Let’s face it, without healthy roots we wouldn’t have our beautiful thriving bay trees. Heavy rain can also lead to nutrient leaching meaning rain can leach nutrients from the soil, which decreases the healthy growth of your bay tree.
A great idea if your bay tree is potted, is to move it into your greenhouse to protect it from heavy rainfall..
There’s not much we can do in this case as we can’t stop it from raining but we can help our bay trees in some ways this is how:
- Drainage- make sure your bay tree is in a free-draining area. If your bay tree is in clay soil you ideally want to consider adding sand or compost to improve the drainage system. If you have a potted tree you need to make sure you have one with draining holes, place some grit in the bottom to stop the holes from clogging up with wet soil. I would also recommend having it stand on some blocks or plant pot feet.
- Mulching – mulching can help with drainage too just make sure you put much around the bottom of your bay tree leaving enough room near the trunk to allow airflow to circulate which then will help with drainage issues.
To help your bay tree recover once the rain has evaporated from the soil make sure you fertilise to give it the nutrition back. Also, if you want to check those roots if you do notice they have been affected by the rain then applying a fungicide could help revive them back to full health.
Step 4 – Pruning Brown and Infected Leaves
When pruning bay trees you need to make sure this is done at the correct time to enhance its healthy foliage growth.
The correct time to trim brown leaves away or even into a desired shape maybe a lollipop bay tree, is in the growing season. This is from spring to summertime. We want to avoid pruning in the winter as this could have a negative impact on your bay tree or bush.
Knowing when to prune your bay tree is key to helping it along the way to the glossy green leaves you want. You should wait out the pruning process until late spring through to mid-summer.
If you notice brown leaves in the winter it’s recommended to wait until spring growing season starts before you prune the dead leaves away. This is because the bay tree is sustainable to frost so pruning opens up the branches which then makes the tree more vulnerable if frost comes. This will cause more damage to your bay leading to a lower chance of survival.
When spring growing season comes this is when you can prune away any damaged leaves or branches. This is also when you start your shaping process. This may include a hard prune to get the shape you desire.
Keep in mind when doing a hard prune your bay tree may take around 1 year to recover. When summer hits your bay tree may need a light prune just to keep its shape.
Pruning isn’t necessary if you have singular brown leaves. The reason for this is the bay had a natural shedding process in place so the single brown leaves will eventually fall from the tree and new shoots will appear.
If your brown leaves are affecting the overall shape then pruning would be a good option to keep the tree in order and the shape neat and tidy.
You can also prune for airflow. This is recommended if you come across a lot of brown leaves inside the canopy. Doing this may mean you have to prune healthy branches but this is beneficial for your bay tree as it does keep away the risk of fungal diseases.
Always remember when you prune your tree to use sharp secateurs or shears to keep the cuts clean.
Brown bay tree leaves are easy to prune all you have to do is snip at the bud to encourage new spouts of glossy green foliage. If your bay tree has experienced a hard winter and you have a bay tree with mainly brown leaves don’t worry. There could still be a way to revive your bay tree to full health with a hard prune.
All you would need to do is cut away all the dead branches making sure you cut them down until you see green life within the branch. Doing this throughout the whole of your bay tree will give it the boost it needs to begin to rejuvenate.
Keep in mind that this process could take a year for your bay tree to recover from as it doesn’t ideally like hard prunes, but sometimes this is the only way you can save it from a harsh winter.
With the bay tree being tolerant to minor prunes this is ideal when you only need to do a tidy up to keep the shape. What you would have to do in this instance is cut the stems that are growing faster at the bud. This will then keep the tree in line with growing while keeping the shape you have trained the tree for.
Overall if you are experiencing brown leaves and pruning is your next go-to method be patient with the process, always use shape pruning shears and cut at an angle to prevent any water from sitting on the stems and causing rot.
Did you know?
Bay trees are masters of disguise! bay trees have a hidden talent: they can be easily shaped into topiary. This means they can be pruned and trained to grow in all sorts of topiary shapes, like a lollipop tree, spirals, spheres, or even cubes! This makes them a popular decorative plant for gardens and patios.
Step 5 Spotting a Disease and Curing It
Spotting a disease and curing it is something you will need to take into consideration if brown leaves become an issue. If you have everything else under control and you still notice brown bay leaves then this could be another cause for them.
Your laurel may experience yellow leaves. This can be concerning when you don’t know what is causing it. The main cause for the yellowing of your laurel leaves is lack of nitrogen within the soil.
The way you can check if this is the issue is to test your pH level with a soil testing kit. If you then realise that your soil is lacking nitrogen then you ideally need to remove some soil from around the base of your tree, then adding some compost and organic mulch around the base of your tree can correct this as it’s a slow-releasing source of nutrition.
A leaf spot on a bay tree is a fungal or bacterial disease. This does have three variations all leading to a shot hole if not treated.
While it doesn’t cause serious harm to the tree itself it does have an impact on the bay leaves. It starts with brown or burgundy and stops on the upper or underside of your bay leaves. Here I have a list of the other variations of the leaf spot and what to look out for:
- Firstly Stigminsa. This one is identified as small brown to reddish spots on the upper surface of your bay leaves. Eventually what will happen is the Center of the infected area will fall out leaving holes in your leaves.
- Secondly Eupropolella. This fungus has larger brown spots than what the Stigmina has. This can also appear on the underside of your leaves which can then lead to sometimes extreme leaf loss.
- Lastly Pseudomonas syringae. This has a water-soaked look to the leaf that eventually over time becomes bigger and turns tan in colour almost looking translucent and sometimes sunken. Eventually what will happen is the area will get a yellow halo effect around the water-soaked area which will then fall out leaving your leaves looking ragged.
Treatment for these can be quite straightforward. There are a range of things you can do to prevent and cure the leaf spot these are as follows:
- Improve air circulation – Pruning branched to increase the airflow would work to give your tree more circulation throughout its canopy
- Correct watering schedule and understanding – Avoide over and under watering always make sure the soil is moist and you have a proper drainage system in place.
- Pruning affected leaves– pruning off the affected leaves to prevent the diseases from spreading and then burning them in your fire bin would be recommended. (Always take health and safety into account when using your gardening fire bins)
- Fungicide – a copper-based fungicide would be recommended to cure any leave spot disease. I have found this to be the most popular. Always check the labels to be sure your laurel can be treated with the one you choose.
Overall leave spots can be treated and cured with the above options. To stop this happening in the future you can use prevention strategies to help.
I would recommend using:
- Organic mulch
- Getting a correct watering schedule in place, making sure you do not have waterlogged issues with your soil.
- The right amount of sunlight exposure
Shot hole is a disease that happens after a leaf spot. When the leaf spot progresses and gets worse they are left with holes within the bay tree’s leaves. This is called a shot hole.
What happens is a leaf spot appears and affects your tree. It starts with brown circle patches on your leaves then the damaged area drops out causing holes.
Europomella causes larger brown or reddish spots so when the shot hole happens this kind of leaf stops with it being a bigger infected area, it eventually does drop out creating holes, which will make your leaves look ragged which isn’t the appearance you want in your gardens.
Where the damage has happened what you can do is prune off the affected leaves but avoid a hard prune as the bay tree is already under a great deal of stress so a hard prune would only make situations worse and stress it out more resulting in a bad outcome for your tree.
After you have pruned away the affected leaves then you ideally want to spray the tree with fungicide. Make sure you always read the labels of any fungicides for instructions on use and to make sure your laurel can use that fungal treatment.
I would recommend that if you are harvesting your tree for the beautiful bay leaves to add flavor to your cooking then I would use insecticidal soap or neem oil. This is because both are very easy to rinse off your leaves and they will then be safe to use in the kitchen.
A way you could prevent this from happening is to improve your trees’ growing environment for example watering nutrition pruning and soil nutrition.
Bacterial canker is a disease that happens after a shot hole. The shot hole could be the first sign of a canker so keep an eye on this to prevent any further damage. The treatment you use for the shot hole wouldn’t work on bacterial canker.
What happens with canker is poor growth and wilting branches. Your lower leaves will turn yellow and start to shrivel. You may also witness sticky liquid on your branches and sunken dead patches of bark. There isn’t any treatment made for canker but, If you do spot them this is what you can do:
Prune away and affect parts of your laurel. If the infection is on the stem then you would need to use a serialized sharp blade to cut it away. Once this has been done it’s recommended to close through wounds with wound paint applying this like paint just to seal what’s been cut and protect it from further damage.
Root rot is an issue when it comes to over-watering and waterlogged conditions. The bay tree doesn’t deal well with waterlogged situations. This puts stress on its roots as they struggle to get their nutrition. This then leads to them rotting and causing fungi.
What happens after this if untreated the rot then spreads up to the trunk of your laurel tree which then causes crown rot.
Root rot is hard to cure once your bay tree is exposed to it. The best advice I can give to prevent this from happening is to make sure you don’t overwater.
If your soil is moist then your bay tree will love its environment and keep growing its beautiful shoots of glossy green foliage. You can make sure too in case of unexpected heavy rainfall that you have placed your bay tree in a location where water logging does not occur.
You may think less water is better but if your laurel gets too dry this can lead to the potential death of your tree, which any gardener doesn’t want to experience.
To check your roots for rot all you would need to do is gently dig around the base exposing the roots and check their colour. They should be firm and white. If they are brown and mushy then this is a concern and something you need to take action on.
The action that you would need to take if you have brown mushy to-touch roots is as follows:
- Prune the damaged roots– if you have a potted bay tree then this will be easier with the roots being exposed easily. If your bay tree is planted in the ground then you would have to try and expose some of the roots and carefully prune the rotted ones away. Be sure to always use sterile and sharp secateurs.
- Fungicide labeled for treating root rot– Although this might not be an effective solution for bays planted in the ground with it being difficult to reach all the roots and see what’s happening underground it is however effective for potted bays.
- Watering schedule – keeping a tight watering schedule for your bay tree will prevent waterlogged situations. This will then prevent any root rot from happening.
Step 6 – Pests Management
When you experience brown leaves on your bay tree and you have everything else in order like nutrition, watering, and pruning then there could be a sneaky infestation of bugs.
What these garden insects do to your bay tree is they take the nutrition away from the leaves giving you brown leaves on your bay tree. So lets take a look at pest infestations and how to cure them.
Scale insects can be quite harmful when it comes to the leaves on your bay tree. What they tend to go after from your leaves is their nutrition. Resulting in brown leaves. They also turn into a white sticky powder called honeydew. You will find these on the underside of your leaves and your stems.
What actions you can take to clear the scale insects is neem oil spray. The reason for this is that the insecticides you would usually use for pests don’t effect scale insects. With their strong shells, they are not affected by this sort of treatment.
The best treatment would be neem oil as this will suffocate the garden pests. For the honeydew a quick strong blast of water over the affected leaves. This will get rid of the majority of the honeydew, meaning your leaves can start getting their nutrition back.
The bay suckers come out around May to October time. What they do is they feed on the bay’s foliage to survive in the summer.
They suck the sap out of the young foliage which then creates issues with your bay tree. what happens to your foliage is it thickens and curls downwards at its margin. After this, they then change to a yellow colour. With this though it’s common for it to only affect half of the leave. The leaves then dry out and turn brown, it will eventually fall from your bay tree unless you prune it before.
They are usually found under your leaves right at the margins. They also have a sticky white texture to them. To remove them you would typically just pull them off while young to prevent any damage to your foliage.
You can also use neem oil to remove these pests too, and spray it over the pests. Pruning the leaves away in this instance can cause more damage than good so be skeptical on the pruning side.
If leaves are fully brown and there’s no way to revive then I would recommend cutting the leaves off ready for new shoots.
Soft scale insects can not only be unattractive with their brown apprehended but they can cause your bay tree issues if untreated. From afar it could look like your bay tree has brown leaves but with an inspection, you could find yourself dealing with these pests.
They are almost like little scabs on your leaves and around your trunk and stems. What they do with them being a sucking insect is they suck nutrition from your leaves and stems. With them doing this it can cause your bay tree to eventually weaken and grow slowly.
What you can do to get rid of the soft scale is pick them off yourself, but I know this can become a timely job if your bay tree is large or there are too many pests to remove by hand.
What I tend to do it I use an organic pest control spray. You would typically have to use this multiple times before they do eventually die and stop causing your tree issues.
In extreme cases what you would want to do is remove the soil from the roots of your tree and re-soil with fresh uninfected compost. If you have a potted bay tree then doing a complete soil change would be beneficial to give it that lifeline to get back to its strong blooming self.
Did you know?
Traditionally, bay leaves have been used as natural insect repellents. The essential oils within the leaves, particularly myrcene and eugenol, are disliked by many insects. While safe for humans, these oils can sort pests like roaches, ants, and even moths. So next time you’re battling a pantry infestation, you might consider placing a few dried bay leaves around the affected areas.
Step 7 – Improving Soil Quality
Improving soil quality is essential in making sure that your bay tree doesn’t form brown leaves. The soil has several nutrients that your Bay tree requires for its growing cycle. So we must understand and accommodate your tree and its needs.
The best soil for a bay tree needs to be fertile and well-drained. There are a range of options you could go with like garden compost but for this my recommendation would be the John Ines No.2. This is purely because this soil-based compost is enriched with potassium humate.
This is a nutrient that promotes your roots and new shoots. Not only this but it has loam sand and grit within the soil which helps with nutrients moisture levels and drainage. If you are planting into the ground then I would recommend taking away some of the soil that’s already present and replacing it with the new soil to give your bay tree a boost.
If you are growing your bay tree in a container then you would ideally need to purchase a pot that is slightly wider than your root ball. This is to give your bay tree extra space for its roots to attach itself to the new soil and become quickly established within its environment.
What could also help would be rubbing the roots before planting just to loosen them up. This will promote the roots to attach to the new soil helping it to thrive.
The soil that you would want to use would be John Innes, adding extra drainage support in the bottom of your pot like large stones or bits of broken terracotta pots with plant pot feet will decrease the chances of your soil becoming waterlogged.
Mulching around the base of your bay tree with slow-release fertiliser generates slow-releasing nutrients while keeping your soil moist. These are the best conditions for your bay tree and its growing cycle.
While bay trees are in their growing cycle from spring to summer they do become extremely hungry so I would recommend slow-releasing nutrients just to satisfy its needs throughout.
Add the organic mulch on top of your fertiliser leaving a 1- 2 inch gap from the trunk as this helps with airflow. Make sure you add around 2-3 inches in depth to enhance moisture.
The organic mulch does eventually break down as this is how it releases the nutrients so you will have to top up your mulch at the start of every spring. A yearly top-up will be enough for your bay tree.
Weeds can become problematic and cause that untidy look around your bay trees. Keeping on top of weeding is something that every garden is used to.
A way I prevent the weeds longer and stop them from causing issues is to add mulch around late spring. I do this as the weeds haven’t yet germinated so it gives me the upper hand in dealing with them.
pH testing isn’t something you need to rely on with the bay tree as it does tolerate most conditions. This includes slightly acidic and alkaline soils. If you do experience yellowing of leaves this could be down to your soil.
The yellowing of leaves is a lack of nitrogen. Nitrogen is the nutrient that keeps your leaves glossy green, what I would recommend is testing your soil if your acidity has increased then this could be. Sign your soil is lacking in nitrogen.
For this, I would then add high nitrogen fertiliser such as sulfate of ammonia. This would then just boost the nitrogen within your soil promoting glossy green leaves.
In conclusion to this article, we have been through every point that will help you and your laurel stay away from the disappointment of brown leaves.
With the correct nutrition, watering care, pest prevention, and environment you will see your bay tree thrive in its growing season. Creating those glossy green leaves that you desire.
I am always here to help so if you do have any questions be sure to head to the Contact Us page and send a message to the Beeutiful Bloom community!
Very useful for me
thanks a lot