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My husband wants me to take out the bay laurel that I have planted here in Corsica, zone 10b, because he says it is invasive in this climate. I have seen bay laurel tree-height (15 to 20 feet) but I don't mind that -- I can prune it. He says that new plants will also soon show up near the original plant (because of its suckers, presumably) and that we will never be able to get rid of it. Have you ever read anything along those lines?
No, I haven't heard of that. The most detailed cultivation instruction I read was at the American herb society site - referenced in the article. About halfway through, the guy who does the gardening for a big nursery or something (which has lots of bays outside, as I recall) describes cutting off the suckers and pruning. It's a PDF file but it's easy to read; I highly recommend it for your husband's concerns. Apparently bays are difficult to germinate from seed - you are lucky! I think you'll be able to manage it nicely. Thanks for your comment!
Actually I read the Herb Society of America information right after reading your article and that is when I became nervous about the bay laurel, and its suckers. I may take it out and move it in the fall. Thank you for mentioning the society in your reply and also in your article, as I had never run across it.
My bay laurel was given to me by a friend who made a cutting, it didn't come from seed! They grow very easily here in Corsica.
They can also be grown in containers; have you considered that as a way to be sure of "containing" yours? In my climate, a smallish container is usually adequate but I would imagine that you might need something larger. But here where it snows and freezes, we will often sink a pot into the ground to grow something small and invasive, like mint, without appearing restrictive, or even sink a fence or wall underground in the case of something severely invasive and large, like bamboo. Then again, I have read of how wonderful it is to stand in a grove of Bay trees.
It's been so cold and rainy here for so long that I'm so jealous I can't think straight! After your last comment I looked up how much it would cost to take a short vacation on Corsica so my kids could practice their French (too much).
Thanks again for your kind and eye-opening comment!
I don't look back often -- clearly not often enough. I hadn't noticed your further comments. I am trying to get everything into the ground here, and so I don't really want to commit myself to growing bay in a container. And in any event, the plant, which I planted in the ground in the spring of 2008, has dried up and died. I pulled it up yesterday, and it didn't seem to have made new roots in the last 15 months. This is odd, as we had an unusually wet winter. No suckers, and I don't think they appear in the first few years as some of the people I know who have the plant don't have suckers yet. I have never heard of a grove of bay. But the flowers are attractive.
And if you ever decide to come here for a vacation, let me know!
