Question
I have a 12 yr. old bay tree (cooking) which is potted that is 6' high (once pruned 5 years ago).  It stays outside in warm months and under lights during winter.  My problem is the leaves are curling and drying, however not falling (yet).  It has been watered regularly.  The problem appeared about three weeks ago with random leaves being affected and now has spread to the whole tree.   I have not put any additive (fertilizer, etc.)on it. HELP.

S. Buton

Answer
Sandy:
The problem may be several problems. Bay trees lov to be potted, but not root bound. If it has not been repotted since you've had it, I would take out of pot, cut inti the root system until the soil is well loosen. Place in larger pot add bone meal, handful of grounded limestone. It also could be receiving too much water and it doesn't have good soil to soak up the water. Make sure it gets all the morning sun as possible, very important. West location is bad for it. Morning sun in a east or southern location is best. Even if all the leaves fall off, the root system will be still alive and will produce new growth in the spring. Feed only organic fertilizer, fish fertilizer and seaweed or all liquid fish. Good Luck! I will be sending more info about the Bay.

Laurus nobilis
Family: Lauraceae
Names: Bay laurel, Indian bay, Roman laurel, sweet bay,
bay tree, Grecian laurel, baie, Poet's Laurel, Royal
Laurel, Sweet Laurel, True Laurel, Daphne, Wreath
laurel, noble laurel; (Edler) Lorbeerbaum, Lorbeerblatt
(German); laurier commun, laurier franc, feuille de
laurier, laurier d'Apollon (French); foglia di alloro, lauro
franco, lauro poe5tico, lauro regio, alloro or lauro
(Italian); hoja de laurel; bahia (Spanish); Greek--dhafni;
Thai--bai krawan; dafne yepregi (Turkish); warak al gar
(Arabic)
Description: Stout tree to 25 feet in cooler climates but
up to 60 feet in warmer areas. Width: 30-40 feet.
Flowers are small, yellow, in umbel clusters of 3-4.
Leaves are 3 inches long, deep green, stiff, leathery,
oblong and pointed on the end. Shiny on top, gray-green
underside. Breaking the leaf produces a pungent aroma.
The fruit is dark purple to black berries, about 1/2 inch in
diameter. Blooms June to July..
Cultivation: Tender perennial if temperatures go down
much below 28F and extended freezes will kill it. Zone
8. Germination is 3-6 months in soil temperature of
70F. Prefers well drained, sandy soil with some moisture
and a pH of 4.5-8.2. Sun or partial shade. Occasionally
fertilize and make sure there's a good supply of water
while it is getting established. Once the tree is 2 or 3
years old, it is fairly drought hardy. Propagation is
easiest by cuttings from new growth. Take 6 inch heel
cuttings (snap tips off branches rather than cutting with
clippers leaving a heel 1/4 inch long) in summer. Trim
these carefully with a sharp knife to eliminate any bark
which overhangs the heel. Strip the bottom leaves off
the cutting, leaving 2/3 of bare stalk to press into a pot of
wet sand, firming it in with the fingers. Keep cuttings
watered at all times. By the end of spring they should
have made roots and will be ready to plant out into
containers holding potting mixtures. Grow in sheltered
location. Best to be container-grown so that it can be
moved indoors if necessary.
Potted plants require special attention to light,
moisture, and fertilization. Make sure they're in a sunny
place and that the pots have good drainage. Allow the
soil to dry slightly between waterings. Fertilize once a
month while the plant is outdoors with liquid 10-10-10
fertilizer, in a solution half the recommended strength.
Reduce fertilization to once every two months once the
plant is inside.
Biggest problem is scale. Alcohol swabbed onto
the leaves with cotton is the best remedy. Include all leaf
surfaces and stems in the treatment. One suggestion
from Southern Herb Growing to keep bay trees outside
year round is to grow them in a pit where the earth is a
natural insulator. In winter, a Plexiglas cover lets in the
light and keeps out the cold. In the example given the
bay trees were in a pit 4 feet deep and planted in compost
and sandy loam 2 feet deep. Two-ply Plexiglas cover
was used.
Constituents: essential oils are geraniol, eucalyptol,
cineol, pinene, eugenol, terpenes; tannic acid; bitters;
berries contain glyceryl laurate and essential oil similar
to leaves.
Properties: astringent, carminative, digestive,
stomachic, stimulant, diaphoretic, diuretic, emetic,
emmenagogic.
Nutritional profile: One oz of bay leaves has 54
calories. It provides 1.2 g protein, a trace of fat, 13 g
carbohydrates, 53 mg calcium, 1.5 mg iron, 3,000 IU
vitamin A and 15mg vitamin C. However, since bay
leaves are usually removed from a cooked dish before it
is served they do not contribute any appreciable amount
of nutrients to your diet.
History: Ancient Greeks crowned Olympic winners,
scholars and poets with bay (the Latin meaning to praise
the famous). Bay wreaths are even now placed on
Boston Marathon winners. Baccalaureate and
"bachelor's" degrees come from the French baccae lauri
or "noble berry tree. The emperor Tiberius (42BC-AD37)
had a phobia that made him always wear a bay
wreath during thunderstorms because it was said that
lightning never struck bay trees. The bay was sacred to
Apollo, the Greek god of prophecy, poetry and healing.
So the fumes that the priestesses at Delphi breathed to
inspire prophetic visions were probably burning bay
leaves. The roof of the temple was made entirely of bay
leaves for protection against disease, witchcraft and
lightning. Bay was also dedicated to Apollo's son
Aesculpius, the Greek god of medicine. In Greek the
word for laurel is dhafni from the myth of the nymph,
Daphne, who changed by Gaea into a laurel tree to
escape Apollo's advances.
Culinary Uses: The main contribution of bay to foods is
its fragrance, sweet but not cloying, pervasive but not
overpowering. Its blend is one of balsam and honey,
with faint tones of rose, clove, orange, mint and other
echoes. Its aroma peaks between three days and a week
after it has been picked. The taste of bay is sharp,
slightly peppery and of medium bitterness. Use fresh by
a few days after it's been picked. If you use commercial
dried bay, you will need to add more leaves than recipes
require.
French cooks always use bouquet garni (a
bouquet of fresh herbs tied together) in soups, stews and
bean dishes and bay leaves are an integral component. It
is found in most pickling spices. It differs from most
herbs in that it does not lose its flavor with long cooking.
Add to marinades, stock, potato soup, stuffing, pate,
curry, game and poached fish liquid. Remove before
serving. Boil in milk to flavor custards and rice pudding.
Place in rice storage jar to flavor rice. Thread swordfish
chunks on metal skewers, alternating with fresh bay
leaves and thin slices of lemon. Marinate in olive oil,
lemon juice and minced garlic and grill for 3 minutes per
side. In periods when people appreciated more and
stronger herbal flavors, bay was commonly ground fine
and sprinkled over fresh vegetables and cooked or
marinated in fruit compotes. Broil meat on twigs of bay
wood, which impart the fragrance into the center of each
piece. Or place two leaves inside the skin on the breast
of a roasting chicken.
Bedouins put bay in their coffee.
Be sure to remove whole bay leaves before a
dish is served. They are large enough to stick in the
throat especially of young children. But traditionally the
guest who finds the leaf in his portion was due to receive
some minor or major fortune.
NOTE: Never use leaves from the mountain laurel
(Kalmia latifolia) or the cherry laurel (Prunus
laurocerasus) as substitutes for bay leaves. California
bay (Umbelluluaria californica) is often sold as bay but
the aroma has eucalyptus overtones and the flavor is very
bitter.
Recipes:
Spiced Mushrooms
1 1/2 lb medium-sized mushrooms
1/3 cup olive oil
1 Tbsp lightly toasted coriander seed
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
6 black peppercorns
1 tsp pickling spice
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 cup dry white wine
2 large fresh bay leaves or 3 dried bay leaves
1 tsp salt or to taste
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
Brush and stem the mushrooms. Reserve the
stems for another use. Heat the olive oil in a large
frying pan over moderate heat and saut?the mushrooms
for 3 minutes, shaking the pan to coat them all over with
oil. Tie the coriander seed, fenugreek seed, peppercorns,
pickling spice, and garlic in cheesecloth, or put them in a
bouquet garni bag. Add the spice bag, wine, bay leaves,
salt and red wine vinegar to the pan with the mushrooms.
Simmer the mushrooms for 10 minutes, turning them
once. Remove the mushrooms to a glass or ceramic dish
and cool them to room temperature, turning them
occasionally. Chill them, covered, for at least 4 hours or
overnight. Let the mushrooms come to cool room
temperature and remove the spice bag and bay leaves
before serving. (Herbs in the Kitchen)
Proven鏰l Bay Soup with Potato
10 c veal or beef stock
9 fresh bay leaves
5 large egg yolks, beaten but not frothy
salt to taste
Simmer the bay leaves in the stock in a large saucepan
for approximately 25 minutes. Remove the leaves. Cool
2 cups of the stock, then pour slowly into the eggs while
mixing all the while. Pour the mixture back into the
remaining broth slowly while still mixing. Heat the
soup, being careful not to allow it to boil.
8 slices thick-cut French bread
3-4 Tbsp butter
2 large or 3 medium size potatoes
3 cloves garlic (or more)
pinch of salt
1/3 cup fine olive oil
freshly ground black pepper to taste
Butter each slice of bread. Heat a skillet so that
it will be hot enough to brown the bread, but not so hot
that it burns the butter. Saut?the bread in the skillet until
it is golden brown and set aside. Peel potatoes and boil
until they are soft but not watery; about 20 minutes.
Drain and press through a potato ricer. In a blender or
food processor puree the garlic with the salt. When it
becomes a paste add the potatoes and mix until smooth.
Slowly add the olive oil in a stream while beating to
make a thick, smooth paste. Ladle the soup into bowls
and grind fresh pepper into the soup. (Fresh Herbs)
Tomato Sherbet with Cloves, Bay Leaf and Thyme
3 1/4 cups tomato juice, divided
1/4 cup sliced scallions
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1/8 tsp hot pepper sauce
1/4 cup tarragon vinegar
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp light honey
1 dried bay leaf
3 sprigs fresh thyme
3 whole cloves
2 tsp unflavored gelatin
1/4 cup cold water
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 egg whites
Mix together 1 cup of the tomato juice,
scallions, and tomato paste in a blender or food processor
until scallions are liquefied. Stir mixture into remaining
tomato juice, and pour into a medium-size nonstick
saucepan. Add hot pepper sauce, vinegar, pepper,
Worchestershire sauce, and honey to tomato juice
mixture. Combine bay leaf, thyme, and cloves in a
square of cheesecloth, tie, and add to tomato juice.

The Herbman's Newsletter

This is my first Newsletter, so I will try to make it short and interesting. After becoming sick in Aug., 2003, I have decided to take 1 year off from growing herb plants at The Smile Herb Shop. I also will not be at David's in Columbia or Sun Splash in Baltimore. I will be available for workshops. Send for details by e-mail.  I plan to be back in 2005. The Baltimore Herb Festival will also take a year off and return in 2005. I have published a book called 揟he Herbman's Journal? It is a loose leaf formatted book with lots of unusual info about your favorite herbs and the unknown ones. The Journal cost is 19.95+ 3.95 shipping and handling. Deduct $3.00 if you do not want a loose leaf cover. Send check or money order or thru PayPal.com to the address below. Your order will be sent within (3) days.
There is one for cilantro and it can't be beaten for flavor. Did you know cilantro is used to protect the body from certain metals For cilantro lovers only. It is called culantro; shad a beina; Recao plus72 more names. These are listed in the Journal. If you need more info on where to purchase it, just e-mail me. If you have problems growing some of the favorite varieties send questions. Check my web site for more info: www.askthisherbman.com. Or go to Allexperts.com E-mail [email protected]. If I did not remove your name from this list, please type 揜emove?in the subject heading. Thank you.

Leroy J. Wilton
5517 Nome Ave.
Balto., Md. 21215

410-358-0557


The Herbman,

Leroy