Unruly bay tree - what to do!

[Sunshine49]

Hi everyone,

I have a rather large bay tree in my garden that is taking over somewhat. I would estimate it’s about 12 feet tall by 10 feet wide, and there are a number of long stems that are starting to grow out of it. I was wondering - how much can I prune it to tidy it up while ensuring that I don’t kill it? Any advice you could give would be much appreciated. Thanks!

I’ve now got one that’s around 7’ I hard-pruned it two years ago, kept it watered and it sulked through last summer. This summer, it has masses of new growth throughout the branches, rather than height. Cut off any suckers in the wrong place.

Thanks Sumeris! When you say hard pruning, how much would that involve taking off? (Sorry - total novice here!)

I’d reduce it by about a third, pamper it massively and then have another go next Summer. Yours is big, so in stages might be less of a shock

It is pretty hard to kill bay. Prune it back to the size you want cutting the main branches shorter the the smaller ones.

I had one similar to yours, I pruned out all the trunks from the ground leaving one strong main one. Then I shaped the remaining tree into a ‘lollipop ‘ every year I remove the low branches that come from the main trunk to keep the shape.
As pp said they’re almost indestructible.

That’s great - thanks everyone for the advice and for putting my mind at rest!