Bay Laurel Too Big
Answered by: Inge Poot
Question from: Linda
Posted on: August 29, 2012

I bought bay laurel seeds from you about two years ago, I planted them and got 3 seeds to sprout and these three are growing, each differently. One is about 6 foot high and I do not know what to do with it. It has big leaves too. The other two are small about 10 inches high. I dont know if i should cut the top off the high one or what to do.

If you want a bushy plant then cut off one third of the stem of the tall plant and hopefully it will sprout from several lower buds rather than just one. If it again produces just a single shoot nip out the top bud of it and hope for more branches lower down. If possible give the tree more light so that it does not try to just elongate to reach better light. Summering it out of doors in a semi-shaded spot then after a month in full sun may do the trick. Bay Laurel trees vary in the amount of bud suppressing hormone the uppermost bud produces.

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