bay cuttings

[Thelma Sanders]

In April my friend gave me 2 bay cuttings each in their own tiny pot.
They look healthy enough, so I thought I'd look at the roots to see what's happening......
N O T H I N G

any idea how long they take to root? Should I bring them indoors now, or into the greenhouse..what's best

[rana]

Hi Thelma
I have taken bay cuttings in the past and they have taken a year or more to get going so be patient.
My preference however would be a 5"-6" pot in a gritty compost mix.

[traceys plot]

i have 2 cuttings nothing much going on yet 1 is in compost and 1 in water hope somthing happens .

[endymion]

In April my friend gave me 2 bay cuttings each in their own tiny pot.
They look healthy enough, so I thought I'd look at the roots to see what's happening......
N O T H I N G

any idea how long they take to root? Should I bring them indoors now, or into the greenhouse..what's best

They can take a very long time to root, and even then they're quite temperamental until they get going. Young Bays don't seem to like being disturbed, digging them up and transplanting them is often unsuccessful, but planting out a potted cutting usually works okay.

I think the best thing to do would be to put the pots into the ground, in a sheltered place and just leave them be until next year. If the leaves stay green they're probably okay, but looking inside the pots to see if they've rooted won't help much.

I don't know if watering them with an infusion of willow stems might help. I understand it's nature's own rooting mixture.