What's wrong with my bay tree ????

[grayhairdontcare]

Google either says not enough water or too much. Can anyone advise? Also is it salvageable??
Any help greatly appreciated!

Is it in the open ground or a pot? It can’t be too miserable as it’s producing flowers, but I suspect it’s starved of nutrients and light (if that’s a dark corner). Assuming it’s in a pot, I’d take it out, replace the compost and add grit, snip off the brown leaves and replant it. I feed my bay tree with tomato maxicrop. It’ll probably perk up.

It looks to have some newer leaves so I think it'll be OK but above advice is good.

It looks pot bound and agree with ComeIntoTheGardenMaud

Agree with the advice above. Just wanted to add that flowering isn't necessarily a sign of good health. Some plants are stimulated into flowering by the kind of stresses that threaten their life. Ifa plant can no longer survive in a particular spot, its best bet in evolutionary terms is to focus its dwindling strength on setting seeds for another go at life.

When you repot, take a look at the roots. If they seem fairly healthy it is more likely that underwatering (rather than overwatering) was the problem.

@Random789 is right.

The effect of underwatering or overwatering so the roots rot is the same - water not getting to the leaves.

I’m less sanguine about new growth - I can’t see any tiny new leaves, and those green leaves look rather thin and dessicated to me.

I don’t think it’s lack of nutrient because the leaves are green, not yellowing.

Take it out of the pot, put it in fresh compost, and get it out of the sun into the shade. Maybe give the leaves a fine spray of water

Make sure the pot has drainage holes, check how dry the soil is before watering. Just in case it's being overwatered.

The leaves are much paler than I’d expect to see on a healthy tree, hence my suggestion about feeding. I don’t see much value in misting the leaves. Better, I would have thought, to water the tree as needed so the water can be taken up by the roots.

Mine looked like that when it was pot bound - the roots had grown so much they were blocking all the drainage holes in the pot. Now I've cut the roots back and made more drainage holes it's looking better and has some new little green leaves amongst the dried out yellow & brown ones.

Yes, bays seem to sulk quickly if outbound, but respond quickly too.

Yes, don't know what I was thinking re colour.

I was think of misting as well as not instead of. Value is to cut transpiration, same as putting in shade. Obviously no point in cutting transpiration at the top end if there's no water going in at the bottom end.

Thank you all . I will get it out of the pot later on and report back

It was very wet so I'm guessing overwatering and potbound???
Is it salvageable if it's been over watered??

Hopefully OP! Mine was sitting in water when I discovered the roots had blocked the drainage holes, but it is bouncing back now.

Yes if it’s got enough energy to put out new roots

Bay can be very tough. We inherited a miserable little bay tree with our house - it was in a tiny dry pot in the shade. Put it in a corner of my mum's garden instead and a few years later it is 6foot tall and healthy.

Agree with all of the above, but I'd add that a dose of iron-rich feed might be good. Sequestrene or similar.

Note to self: Repot my very sad bay tree. Thanks for your query OP, hope the advice on here works for yours.