Plaited Bay......in seating area.

And it looks like a proper Mediterranean corner there! Lovely healthy looking bay. Mine is doing well as well. You might remember I bought a small one last year for £7. I was shocked at the price at the time, but it has grown so well. This year it has done particularly well on the south facing patio. And tomorrow, the greenhouse is going up, so this winter I will have somewhere to protect it in case of hard frosts.

How exciting K a new greenhouse, eagerly awaiting photos, still catching up on your blogs, we opened the garden last Saturday, so it has been hectic, especially trying to keep the garden looking pristine and working in the heat, and boy was it hot!!

yes, it's been a bit on the hot side here. I flaked out today....I mean I just couldn't handle it any more...had to come indoors and didn't get any work done until 9pm. It was lovely then. Cooler tomorrow, so I should get more done.

Wow! That's amazing! A 30 year old laurel tree here in San Diego would be around 50' (15m) tall.

Hasn't it done well ! I loved the way you plaited the stem it gives an added interest ....

Delonix it will never get much larger, thank goodness.
Amy OH plaited it with 3 saplings, and it has fused together now......
Thanks Meadowland....

I remember you saying OH had plaited it long ago Angela he must be very pleased with the results :o)

It is his pride and joy Amy!!

I'm not surprised Angela My OH is trying to copy your Cloud tree its taking beginning to take shape !

Oh you must put a photo on......a before and after Amy. wish him good luck and always pay attention to what you're cutting off,so easy to take the wrong branch off!!

I'm not sure he knows what he's doing Angela he hasn't read anything about how it should be done Lol. I'll take a photo soon !

Please do....

Dottydaisy2:

Do you trim it to keep this small and compact?

Yes we do, unfortunately the roots soon start to fill the container, the French have a brilliant way of keeping them in the same pot, they have square wooden Versailles boxes the sides lift out, so you root prune each side, and slide the sides back into place....... not seen them on sale here, a brilliant idea, because to get a bay out of a pot this size is a nightmare.

That's a great idea! I don't think I've ever seen a bay laurel tree grown in a pot.

Have you ever heard of the California Bay tree (Umbellularia californica)? It grows to monstrous proportions: 100' (30m) tall with a much wider spread. It grows wild (where it's native) along the central coastal hills of California to southern Oregon.

My goodness, you would never find a pot that large!! cannot say I have heard of it though.
Can you see all the laurus Nobilis in pots to the right of this page? it is quite common here and very collectable.

That's funny you say that. I tried to grow California Bay tree (which I got from my friend's 150 acre property, growing wild) in a pot a long time ago when I live in the San Francisco Bay Area...it died in a pot. I think it has a massive root system. It must to accommodate such a gigantic tree.

I have seen many photos of Laurus nobilis (Bay Laurel) in pots...just not here in California. It's because it's such a common tree in the landscape and parks.

There are two types of Bay tree, the one that is suitable for growing in containers, like ours which is sweet bay and used in the kitchen, and the common bay which grows to an enormous tree and grows very quickly almost a weed in the south, that is the one you are talking about, which grow wild....and certainly not suitable for containers whereas sweet bay is ideal for pots and are very fashionable and very expensive....

I have read that the native California Bay tree grows wild in parts of Western Europe.

I've been searching high and low for 8 months for two standard bay laurels to frame our front door in pots. The only ones I can find are either fake or in UK, where they can't ship them to US. Any idea where I can order some from? Local nurseries (in Oregon) have come up short. Thanks!