Stefan says: You have two bay trees at the front of your house in what amount to brick containers. The house is north-facing but receives early morning and some evening sun. You go on to say the trees suffered badly in a cold snap last winter. One of them has new shoots arising from the base while the other has leaves on the branches which are now looking rather sickly. You’ve been nursing them with regular watering and feeding, but need advice on what to do next, particularly with the new shoots.
First things first. The situation is not ideal because early morning sun in cold winter weather can be very bad for plants that have frozen tissues. It causes them to thaw quickly, and this can be really damaging. In fact, rapid thawing is much more harmful than severe frost.
I suggest you cut out the stem that is obviously dead but don’t do any pruning of the new leafy shoots. In saying this, bays do have amazing powers of recovery. I remember during one bitterly cold winter many years ago and a truly intense frost, one of our trees that had been about 3.5-4.5m high was browned to a crisp. We cut it back to the stump and glory be; it’s now 3.5m-4.5m high again.
I would add something else, however. Your trees are sharing their containers with a mass of other plants, and this is not helping. Bay trees may be tough, but yours are really having to fight for their existence. I suggest you move the other plants to a different spot and top up the container with a good quality soil-based compost and a handful of slow-release granular fertiliser. Then keep the base clear of any other plants or weeds.
Four more culinary herbs to grow
Chives
Chives are easy to grow. Just keep plants well watered, especially during long dry spells in summer.
Coriander
A hardy annual easy to grow from seed each year, mostly grown for its leaves but you can harvest the seeds too.
Mint
A great herb to have in the garden, but remember it spreads, so is often best grown in a container.
Sage
Another herb that is easy to grow and doesn’t die off in winter so you can pick leaves all year round.
