Bay Laurel question ?

The Calif Bay is what I'm getting. Sorry for the confusion.

Whoops, my mistake! Thanks for the clarification. Mine is Laurus nobilis - Bay Laurel.

Evelyn ~ have you ever sample the CA bay? I remember reading something about it. When I find what I read, I'll forget why I was looking for it ~ LOL

Do you not worry about the potted roots of your bay freezing?

Podster ~ I do not worry about the bay in a pot. And no, I have never sampled the CA bay. I like the bay laurel so much, I just have no motivation for searching for a different type of bay.

So, I went in search of the CA bay info. My favorite herb reference says it is not as desirable tastewise.

But is also said Pesky scale insects seem to like bay as much as the cooks do. Alcohol swabbed onto the leaves with cotton is the best remedy. Include all leaf surfaces and stems in this treatment.

Funny how it works... this thread got sidetracked on CA bay and took me back to scale which is where we started.

Scale has not been a problem on mine. Let me go look closer at mine again. LOL

Thats funny.....I still haven't decided where to order my Laural Noblis at. I always used Alcohol to get the scale off of my plants and it would work for awhile and they would just come back. Now I'm wondering if the scale didn't start in the soil, I was afraid to transplant my last one because I thought that might kill it. I'd been trying something different each time I had one, but this time it is sure to survive because I now have a support group at DG Hurray!!!!!

Acts--you and I are in a similar growing zone. I've had a bay plant that is now about 5 years old, and about 18" tall with multiple branches. I started with a small plant in a 3" container, about 4" tall. I just put mine out in the spring, and bring it in every fall, and put it near (not under) my grow lights. It seems to do just fine. I do have fan running there for all of my plants so I have good air circulation. So far, no problem with scale. I keep mine in a pot just large enough to keep the roots slightly contained, but not really root-bound. So far, I've only had to repot about every 3 years. I continue to harvest leaves throughout the winter, and they continue to regrow.

I'm experimenting this year with starting cuttings. Yes, I know the chance of success is minimal, but I think I may have 2 of my 6 initial cuttings that are rooted. Fingers crossed....

WOw! I take cuttings but then end up drying the leaves for use in cooking instead. Maybe someday... tell us your process please?

Please be aware this is my first time taking cuttings, and I'm well aware of the length of time these can take to root. I took heeled cuttings from my plant, used a standard seed-starting mix, then put them under a humidity dome and on a heat mat. It's been about 3 months since I've done this, and a couple of cuttings are showing some resistance when I gently tug on them. None have rotted so far, which I know is huge problem.

Good for hear. I don't have cuttings patience. I keep wanting to remove them and look at the roots. It sounds like these will really take patience. If I ever need to replace mine, I may have to order one instead.

From what I've learned, they take up to 6 months or more to root from cuttings. I figured I had nothing to lose from trying it--my grow lights were on anyway, so just had to put the heat mat on. Starting bay from seeds are even worse--up to a year or more (assuming the do not rot before then). My goodness---it's no wonder the plants are so expensive! I'm so grateful I've been able to overwinter my plant, and keep my fingers crossed every year.

Now we can appreciate the effort that goes into propagation of the plants we enjoy. I always wondered why certain plants always seemed to cost more than others. Now we learn these facts first-hand as we attempt to do the propagation ourselves. I can only imagine how many plants that have to be discarded in the business of getting plants to us, as well as special equipment such as greenhouses and bottom heat. Somehow, with slow germination/cuttings rooted, now we can get some idea that goes into what we purchase as finished plants.

I agree, Evelyn. I always knew Bay was an expensive, slow-growing plant, but didn't really realize why until I heard a talk on how to propagate bay. The speaker was a horticulturalist from our local art museum (they have beautiful gardens and greenhouse). When I heard it could take a year or more for a seed to germinate, and that the percentage was so low, I had a new appreciation for my plant I could overwinter successfully. Now I'm amazed you can buy a plant as inexpensively as you can!

Same thing with rosemary--so difficult and slow to grow from seed, and cuttings are pretty iffy and take a long time also. I only get about 40 - 50% of my cuttings to successfully germinate. (sorry for OT here).

The current home I live in doesn't have windows that are conducive to growing houseplants, but I have battled scale in the past.

I became fed-up using alcohol-laced cotton swabs. So, I put alcohol in a spray bottle with some water and used that. Unfortunately, I don't remember what the ratio was :(