January 27th, 2013 at 12:22 pm
Posted By: gardenguru
Posted in: Herbs

 After watching Rick Bayless pick a fresh bay leaf from a plant on his counter I thought I’d try that.

 

But when this four inch plant arrived I thought it would take years before I could use more than one or two leaves.

So I ordered another one.

  topped bay leaf tree

This one was so much better, but I wanted to prune it and try to root the cutting.  The hardest decision was where to cut.  Above are the “before” and “after.”

cutting with stripped leaves planted cutting 1-16-13

After dipping the cut end into rooting hormone I planted it in the pot where I wanted it to live for a long time.  Since success rates, according to my research, are only about 20 percent it’s a long shot.

mini-greenhouse Bayleaf growth

The last step was covering it with a plastic bag to give it the greenhouse effect.  About a week later these shoots began to grow.  I know that doesn’t mean that roots are also growing.   I’ve seen apples blossoms come out on cut branches on the ground.   However, I have high hopes!

 

 

 

 




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