Standard Bay Tree

Bringing beautiful greenery to your outdoor areas doesn’t get much easier than with this Bay Leaf Tree. So easy-to-care-for, the evergreen leaves will add year round colour and interest wherever you decide to place it. Best of all, it offers a superb flavour which is perfect for adding to all your homecooked meals from casseroles and stews to Asian and Mediterranean dishes. It will look particularly good when placed outside the front of your entranceways in pairs.

Top Tips

Topiary is best trimmed with secateurs during summer to encourage a dense habit and to maintain a balanced shape. Prune new shoots to a bud facing in the direction of the desired growth.

Care Guide

• Bay trees will grow in any well-drained soil in a sunny position, and thrive in containers, as long as they are kept well-watered.
• Use a soil-based compost, such as John Innes No 2, with extra grit added to improve stability of the post and help drainage as bay roots dislike sitting in wet.
• Add controlled-release fertiliser granules to the pot or use a liquid feed every two week from mid-spring to late summer.
• Check plants and repot every two years in spring so that the soil does not become exhausted and stale.
• Bay can withstand temperatures down to -5?C, but frost and cold winter winds can damage the foliage so protect plants with fleece if temperatures are likely to fall below this. Similarly, pots can be wrapped in bubble wrap to protect them.
• Any damage caused by winter cold can be pruned out in the spring.